Why Prisoners Should Be Given The Vote

My brother was talking about the whole prisoners being allowed to vote thing the other day.  I said I thought they should be allowed the vote.  He said they gave up that right when they committed the crime.  I can’t remember what answer I gave to him, but it was rubbish.  This is what I actually think.

Prisoners do not give up their rights, either at the point they commit a crime or the point they are sentenced.  We, by which I mean society, temporarily withhold certain of their rights for the period of their imprisonment.  But not all.  We do not deny prisoners three square meals a day.  We do not deny them shelter or warmth.  They can see and talk to friends and relatives.  They have access to healthcare and education.  They are able to practice their religion, whatever that may be.

So we are admitting that there are certain human rights so unassailable that they cannot be withheld, regardless of the seriousness of the crime.  So we are now into the grey area between rights which absolutely cannot be restricted and those which absolutely must be restricted, for reasons of punishment and public safety.

The rights that are generally accepted as being the values of democracy and the basic rights of all human beings are remarkably similar to those enjoyed by prisoners.  Access to education and healthcare.  Shelter, food and warmth.  Freedom to practice one’s religion.  And, of course, most importantly, the right to choose (and get rid of) one’s government through one man one vote.

We send our army around the world to fight in the name of defending and spreading democracy and human rights.  If we’re sending young men to die in their hundreds for this thing called democracy, shouldn't we be damned sure that we truly believe in it?  That the democracy we have at home is held so dear that we are willing to sacrifice young men to defend it?

Giving 80,000 prisoners the vote isn't going to swing an election.  It won’t suddenly put a party in power whose sole manifesto promise is to release all prisoners and burn down the jails.  But it may encourage some prisoners to engage with the society that in some way they have tried to destroy.  It may encourage just a small number to take an interest in issues that will affect them when they are released, and that affect their families while they remain inside.  It may encourage some to get involved in local politics or community groups when they’re out, and may discourage one or two from re-offending.

Democracy is imperfect, obviously.  But it is apathy and non-engagement that allows those imperfections to fester and grow.  Communities are better when people are engaged in contributing to, improving and maintaining them.  Countries work the same way.  We should take every opportunity to encourage engagement.  And giving the vote to a captive audience is a good start.

Resolutions - Again

New Year's Resolutions

Well, it's that time of year again (ie, the start of it) to make the same resolutions that I've made for the past gawdknowshowmany years.  So, and in no particular order, here goes:

1. Pay off student loan

It's down to c£2,200 as of 1 Jan and my focus is now on paying it off asap.  I should not still have a student loan aged 30 - no-one should!  It is entirely likely that as soon as I have sufficient cash to pay it off, I will, leaving myself with no rainy day fund and a cashflow crisis that leads to me begging, borrowing or stealing just in order to feed myself.  It will be so worth it.

2. New job, new start

This one's getting silly.  How long have I gone on about getting a new job and going to London?  Too long, that's how long.

I have to battle this feeling of, I don't know what, of being trapped, of it being too difficult.  Of thinking that I have no transferable skills and that I am pigeonholed into not just one industry, but one narrow path within that industry. Of the fact that I've made crap career choices for the past 7 years meaning I have to make crap career choices for the next 7 years too.

I want a job I'm passionate about, working with people my own age and who share my views, my attitudes, my outlook.  I love my team at the moment, but they're older than me, more Conservative than the bloody Conservatives and have little to no desire to improve things, to be better tomorrow than they are today.  But instead of me injecting that into them, I get dragged down to their level, and so end up grumpy because I'm frustrated.  And then I come home and spend the evening on my own, lonely, and miserable.

I have to stop benchmarking myself to my friendship circle, all of whom earn twice as much as me.  I'm in this mindset whereby the only way I can see to earn as much is to plough on in this job in this godforsaken industry, but it's not like that plan's worked out so far.  I need to accept that I can change industry, but that I may need to make financial sacrifices for a few years to do it.

If I loved my job, I might excel at it, and that's the route to financial success, and if it isn't, at least I'd be a bit happier.  Wow, I said it.  And if I don't have the skills to go where I want, I need to bloody well start studying until I get them.

3. Live, don't just talk about living.

I'm quite a moralistic person.  I think people should pay their taxes without groaning, that we should look after the neediest in our society, that we should do things not just for financial gain, and that we should do the right thing even if it's hard (and sometimes especially if it's hard).

I try to do that in my work, I think with some success.  I fight my superiors more than any of my colleagues to be able to do what I think is the right thing for my customers.  Sure, it doesn't always work, but that's no reason not to try.

But elsewhere in my life, I don't always back up my fine words with fine actions.  I will however try better this year.

For starters, this means changing my shopping habits. I think companies should pay tax. What Amazon et al do to minimise their tax bill may be legal, but that doesn't make it right.  They benefit from a stable political environment, a reliable, educated, healthy workforce, the roads that their parcels are delivered on, and a wealthy population to buy their goods.  These things are only possible thanks to the taxes that pay for education, healthcare and infrastructure.  If they (and their shareholders) benefit from it, they should contribute to it.  Amazon had UK sales of £4.2 billion in 2012.  Taking a conservative 10% net profit margin and a 23% rate of corporation tax would give them a tax bill of £96 million.  So why did they only pay £3 million?

I first used Amazon 12 years ago, and in that time have placed 158 orders (thanks Amazon for your meticulous record keeping).  At some point I'll take the time to add up the value of those orders, but it will be several thousand pounds.

In 2014, I am aiming to avoid using Amazon at all costs, as well as other companies that avoid paying their fair share.  This resolution will be tough.  Amazon is, sorry was, my go-to shop, so to speak.  I would rarely compare prices with anyone else.  So I will have to spend more time searching out other retailers (or, heaven forbid, actually go to a shop), and will almost certainly end up paying more.  But hopefully this will mean I think more about what I'm buying, buying only those things I really need, and therefore likely spend less overall.

And yes, I am well aware of the argument that if Amazon doesn't make a profit it doesn't have to pay any tax.  But I have two issues with this: (1) if you don't make a profit, why not be transparent about it?  Why declare UK sales of £320m for tax purposes, then admit that UK turnover was really £4.2bn, but most went through Luxembourg, a well-known tax haven?

And (2) if Amazon cuts prices to the point where they don't make a profit, but their huge buying power means that they can sell things more cheaply than their competitors before they make a loss, where does that leave us?  Their competition (and everybody competes with Amazon now - the supermarkets, the home stores, garden centres, clothes retailers, electronics retailers, my beloved bookshops, everybody) will all go under and Amazon will have achieved what so many before them - Caesar, Genghis Khan, Alexander, Hitler - tried and failed to do.  World domination.

The End

So that's it.  Three resolutions.  1, pay off student loan.  Very do-able.  2, get a job and move to London.  Incredibly difficult but necessary if I'm ever to cheer up.  And 3, live my life to the very highest moral standards, only giving my hard-earned cash to those businesses who can be trusted to do the right thing with it.  Simples.