Real justice
I'm not a great fan of the concept of prisons as a punishment.
Basically all they are are very expensive training grounds for criminals.
I believe that the punishment should fit the crime. Not quite the "eye for an eye" method or some of the barbaric methods used by the likes of the Taliban, but I think a more imaginative approach is feasible.
Take for example our dear friend Paul Kiely.
For those of you out of the loop of Irish news, Paul Kiely was the CEO of the Central Remedial Clinic. That clinic is a highly respected institution involved in the rehabilitation of people with severe injuries. It relies heavily on public donations such as collections outside churches, tin-rattlers in the streets and the like. People usually are generous, as it's a good cause.
Dear mister Kiely however considers himself worth more than the charitable organisation he headed and on retiring, he walked away with a nice little package of three quarters of a million. Yes – €750,000 out of the funds donated by the cash-strapped public.
Our illustrious leaders are now throwing their hands up in horror at this and screaming that "something must be done". Well, they are in a position to do something but I ain't holding my breath.
If the unbelievable happens and Kiely is brought to court what happens then? A prison sentence? And what good would that do? It would just cost the state more cash to keep him there.
What would I do?
Two things.
Firstly I would force him to make a charitable donation of €750,000 to the CRC.
Then I would smash his legs so he became a patient in the clinic.
Maybe then he would appreciate where the public donations should be going?
Methinks you would want to break his sticky fingers too!
I would have no problem with that. More poetic than breaking legs? Ah feckit! Legs and fingers it is….
can't find fault with that lesson
convert the money into euro coins, put it into wooly socks and beat the fuck out of him.
750,000 coins? Better to just drop the lot on him.
The "Third Sector" seems to be morphing into the turd sector. I worked in charity admin (voluntary, unpaid or expensed) in the late 70's and was uncomfortable then with some of the creatures operating there. Things have moved on and particularly in the UK – the "business model" in many outfits absolutely stinks and there is a veritable plague of heavily political charities and their demon spawn "not for profit" infested with "professionals".
This damages confidence that your contributions aren't responsibly used. Government "activist bureaucrat" mission creep has also infected the sector with almost wholly tax funded client lobby groups hiding under the charity banner.
That stuff is piling up in the stables
http://fakecharities.org/
The problem with this sort of carry-on is that genuine charities suffer. There are many out there who rely almost exclusively on public donations and they are suffering badly from the public lack of confidence. I know I think twice [or more] before making donations now.
I like that link – we could do with an Irish version!
Unfortunately – I think http://fakecharities.org is a bit dilapidated after the folk running it ran out of steam. I'm going to have a small try at resuscitating it (maybe with a database that allows selection by country) Don't hold you breath – but I think it's a valuable resource – who'd have known that RSPB; gets £20 million plus from our taxes otherwise …..
duh back to typing class….
I would imagine that the biggest problem is the sheer proliferation of "charities". New ones seem to spring up every day, and it can be more than difficult to discover where they get their funding.
The constantly shifting target was I think the reason that it was implemented as a database – now broken.
From what I can see in England the "not for profit" game has been spreading with various associated "charities" involved – with many particularly ex local council penpushers ensconced in "community interest" nfps comfortably beyond direct accountability but still in receipt of large wedges of public funds – it stinks. …..
Plus, from what I can gather, "charities" are not obliged to publish their accounts?
Why don't we just tell him to give the fucking money back.
The gubmint is seeking ways to ask him to return it!
Could you imagine a drug dealer known to have stashed away millions and hearing that, "The gubmint is seeking ways to ask him to return?"
As there are no pockets in the shroud, those who have accumulated great wealth at our expense over the years will undoubtedly have that wealth listed carefully in their last will and testament. Surely all that is needed is access to this by the CAB. The Criminal Assets Bureau then would do their thing by asking, "Can you prove where you got the money from for this?" It would show us all just how widespread such crimes are at the top.