Is it just me?

Integrity. What is it? What does it mean? How do you get it and does it really exist?
For months now I have listened to to various pundits/politicians talk on the radio/TV and I am told how men at the top within politics, banks, civil service etc are men of "great integrity".
Only last week I hear Shane Coleman, a journalist whom I would have respect for, told listeners to Newstalk's Lunchtime show, how Kevin Cardiff , the Secretary General of the Dept. of Finance, was a man of great integrity.
This got me thinking. What does integrity mean. I hear it being bandied about all the time but I cannot put my finger on the pure essence of it as the interpretation that I understand does not seem to apply to these people whom have been labelled with it.
Having integrity to me would mean that if mistakes or errors were made that I am paid to be responsible for, I would do the honourable thing and accept the responsibility and resign. I would fall on my sword for the good of the organisation that I represent.
This kind of integrity does not exist on these islands. Mr Cardiff was present on the night of the most disastrous error any politician/ civil servant has ever made in this country and yet instead of saying Mea Culpa, he carries on as if nothing untoward has happened. Where was this "great integrity" that Shane Coleman spoke of. I am just misinterpreting the meaning. Is there anyone out there who knows what it means?
Are people too free with labelling someone as a person with integrity. It's like respect. I always believed that respect had to be earned. Should a person have to earn the right by his deeds to show he has integrity. I don't know Kevin Cardiff, so should I not judge him by the actions I have seen to determine whether he has integrity or not. Or if you are going to say that someone is a person of integrity that you at least give us an example of the deeds or actions that led to this belief.
Any thoughts are welcomed.

To Be or Not To Be?

Having read and listened to all the experts for the last two years concerning our economic crisis I have come to the conclusion that the best course of action that I can take is to become a Corporation. I have decided that there is no longer any value in being a Citizen and that I must change in order to get the best out of the austerity we are all facing.

You may say that our fore-fathers fought and died in order to secure us the right to vote, but I have to ask the question ; What is the point of the vote? I voted against Lisbon 1 but was told that was not the right answer and so they had Lisbon 2. They got the answer they wanted that time. In the general election I was presented with a list of doozies to vote for but in reality if I was an employer and that lot were paraded in front of me looking for a job none of them would make the short list.

If I was Incorporated I would be able to petition or lobby the Government to protect my Corporation. As a Citizen my voice falls on deaf ears.

If I was Incorporated I would only have to pay 12.5% Tax instead of 41%. I could register for VAT and claim back the VAT on all my purchases.

I could offset all my expenses against tax, probably paying little or no tax. What a great idea. 

I couldn't be jailed for crimes of any sort even murder. I mean whens the last time you hear of a Corporation going to jail. Not in my lifetime, I never heard of it. Have you?

If I default on my loans with the banks et al I can just fold up my Corporation and walk away from the debt. I would have limited liability. They could not pursue me further but as a Citizen the debts would follow me for my life.

I would be free to travel around the world without being required to show a passport. You don't need a passport when you Incorporated.

If I was considered systemic to the country and I made a bollix of my Corporation the government would bail me out, but as a Citizen I will never be considered systemic to the country. I am meaningless. I have no worth to them. Well, except the taxes that they can screw me for, to bailout the Corporations that did make a bollix of their companies.

In essence I believe that we should all hand back our Citizenship and become Incorporated instead. The outlook would be a lot rosier for us then.

Yes we Can!

Walking past the Custom's House early Saturday morning. Nice enough day for November. Not raining and according to my phone, the temp is 15C.

It has a nice wide pavement on the river side but unfortunately struan across it were a mixture of beer cans and plastic bottles . As I was looking at this mess a thought came to me.

Years ago I lived in California  and there they had what was known as California Redemption Value. This was a 5 cent tax on all cans and bottles, 10 cents on large bottles and  bi metal containers. If you brought your cans et al back to the recycling centre you would be refunded your 5 cent tax for each item. Some supermarkets would have vending like machines, which would take your cans or bottles and refund you your cash. Last year in California they recycled 16.5 billion cans, plastic bottles and bi metal containers.

When I first came across this recycling system I thought , " What a simple concept" . No rocket science needed here. it's a win-win situation. Our streets and countryside no longer need to be littered  with the "King of Beers" or "Probably the Best Larger"

Now you may ask. Would this work here in "Green Ireland"? 

I think yes,it would work, but, and there are always buts.

In order for this to be implemented we would have to have a government that is actually capable of making an intelligent decision. So far, since the election, I have seen no evidence that they have this simple capability.

It is a bit ironic that this thought came to me while passing the Dept. of Environment, the body responsible for recycling and litter.

I will live in hope.