On October 14, 1983, Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister of England, gave a speech to Conservative Party activists.
Here’s what she says:
“Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the state has no other source of money than the money that workers themselves earn.
Public money does not exist, there is only taxpayers’ money.
As servants of the state, we have the mission to ensure that every penny raised by taxes is spent wisely and well.
People talk about free service. However, nothing is free. You have to pay for it!”
THE KINGS OF SPENDING
This speech should be engraved on the facade of all public buildings.
To remind civil servants of a fundamental truth that they tend to forget: namely that they do not manage THEIR money, but OUR money.
And that they have a duty to manage this hard-earned money of you and me RESPONSIBLY.
Yesterday, my colleagues from the Bureau of Investigation told us that employees of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (“The Navy Seals of the expense”, as I wrote in my column) were not content to eat in gourmet restaurants at the princess’s expense.
They traveled the world!
In order to keep up to date with new discoveries made in their environment!
Calvary, these officials do not send probes to the edge of space, as far as I know!
They are not developing nanotechnologies that will allow us to cure chronic diseases!
They organize consultations!
A room, two microphones and an email address allowing organizations that want to comment on this or that City proposal to send their submissions!
Do the employees of this august institution need to participate in conferences in Mozambique, Australia or Ivory Coast to know how to organize such an event?
What’s the deal?
Not once has anyone within the Montreal Public Consultation Office asked themselves if these trips were necessary?
WE SHINE!
“Yes, but by participating in these conferences, we promote our expertise to the four corners of the world,” we are told to justify these trips.
Wow, what a great deal!
I’ll think about that the next time I pay my taxes! I will say: “It costs me dearly, but at least the inhabitants of Mozambique let out a whistle of admiration as soon as someone talks about Quebec!”
Hey, do you like organizing consultations?
I have a good idea for you: consult taxpayers to find out if they agree that public bodies are wasting the money they are obliged to send them!
No, but who do these people think they are?
Are they not taxpayers themselves?
“If you go to the theater, you can be sure that the revolver you saw hanging on the wall in the first act will be used in the last,” said the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.
Likewise, you can be sure that if an executive gives a civil servant a credit card and an expense account, he will find a thousand and one ways to use them.