All in it together?? Are we really?

We’re all in this together. And so we might be but I do wonder about the proposed 6.5% pay rise proposed for MPs after the next general election – taking their salary to about £75,000. That is before the various allowances they are able to claim. It surprises me that a meal allowance is one of these; I have to pay for my food out of my stipend! Then again it appears that being an MP is not enough work (or money) for some people who also hold down other jobs, consultancies, directorships and so on. Ed Milliband seems likely to propose that MPs who are members of the Labour Party should not earn more than 15% of their income from other sources. Still, all griping aside, we do want the very best brains and minds and hearts and souls to be encouraged to offer themselves as MPs so that the country is run really well.

Just a note……the proposed 2% pay rise for clergy could not be met so it was reduced to 1%, bringing a clergy stipend in this diocese to about £22,000 – still not a bad whack when you add in use of the house. What does this teach us about generosity, the fairer sharing of the earth’s resources and wealth, and the fairness of allowing millions of people in the poorer parts of the world to exist on 1 dollar a day? Do the poorest people in the world feel that "we are in this together"?