My MP expenses rant

There's two points regarding elected members of Parliament (MPs) that raised an eyebrow for me.

I saw a poll that asked, "Should MPs be allowed to have a second job?" My answer to that poll is an emphatic "NO!" Last time I checked, elected politicians in our federal system made $157,731. That's a base salary, you make more if you hold a certain position as well. For example, a Minister makes an additional $75,516. It is my belief that this includes expenses. Those salaries are frozen by the way, to account for the recession and all. So, considering how much we pay these folks to represent us in government, I'm willing to go out on a limb and suggest that they should focus their energies on that task.

The other issue is that the Auditor General, Sheila Fraser, asked if her office could do a "performance audit" on annual spending by both the House of Commons and Senate. They responded "NO!". I think if this were put to a referendum, the taxpayers would vote to open the books.