Politics Is A Carpet

 

 

Politics is a carpet

Plush and swollen,

Manufactured by politicians

With myriad problems.

 

Swept under this carpet

Day in and day out

Are issues galore

And many a doubt.

 

It is nothing new

Though some will disagree,

Just lift the carpet end

And you will see.

 

There was a certain test

That caused an uproar,

Under the carpet it was swept

To be heard of no more.

 

A report was called for

And its findings to be revealed

But so far it is still hidden

And very well concealed.

 

It is classified information

Upon which we walk

Yet very few know about it

Though there is talk.

 

Some unions were adamant

About a significant increase

But offered a paltry one-off payment

Their effort suddenly ceased.

 

 

Apparently, the tax stick

Was held over their head

And the workers unions capitulated

As though they were dead.

 

Three percent this year

And three percent the next

And then up came a condition

That made teachers vex.

 

With all on their plate

They must now also oversee

What the school children are eating

With regularity.

 

Some rumbling from within

But then “We will try”

And again, the unions hang out

The poor teachers to dry.

 

Swept under the carpet

Every one of these!

This is my observation

If you please.

 

The Bajans’ nine-day wonder!

After this they are mute

And it does not really matter

The gravity of the dispute.

 

A promise to raise the age

Before demanding a medical

Re the renewing of drivers’ licenses

For our ‘over-seventy’ people.

 

Nothing more on this-

Under the carpet it went

Now more money for the doctor-

Yes, more money to be spent.

 

Senior citizens matter, though-

The impression that is given

Yet, when it truly matters to them,

They are invariably forgotten.

 

I will end with this one

Not that this is an exhaustive list

But please, if you will,

Wrap your mind around this.

 

 

The QEH is in trouble

And has been for a long time

And “What if I become gravely ill!”

Is plaguing my mind.

 

Critical equipment is lacking

And procedures are being delayed

Whereby more often than not,

Outsourcing is the way.

 

So that, having paid for services

The tax payer must pay again,

This too is swept under the carpet

As part of the unexplained.

 

I said that would be the last

But like the politicians, I lied,

This one is very close to my heart

But in you I will confide.

 

It’s about old age pensions

That are being double taxed:

Taxed when you were working

And now the second tax.

 

Taxed when you were paying

And taxed when receiving:

Taxation upon taxation-

This is almost like stealing.

 

Penalties if you cannot pay

And interest added to that:

Even the old age pensioners

They are killing with tax.

 

This too is swept away

And hidden under the carpet,

Not to mention the prorating of pensions

That they remembered to forget.

 

 

Don’t ask me about the last one

Check under the carpet!

I have no doubt you will find it

Right where it has been swept.

 

Stewart Russell © May 3, 2023

 

Is It Asking Too Much?

 

Is it asking too much

To have an explanation

Into some of the goings-on

Of activities in this Nation?

 

Is it asking too much

To request an account

Into the millions borrowed?

Such an enormous amount!

 

Is it asking too much

Considering we pay taxes

And government has a responsibility

To report on its practices?

An account of the tax

Collected at the petrol pumps

And the disbursing

Of the entire amount.

An explanation of recovery

In terms of the economy

In a matter of months

Given COVID-19’s ferocity.

An account of loans engaged

And how disbursed

Re: this excessive borrowing

As a matter of course.

Why NIS is added to pension

To increase taxable income,

For old age pensioners

Whose work days are done.

 

Pensioners have paid their dues-

Some for over forty years,

Is it asking too much

That they be allowed to enjoy

Their retirement years?

 

Morning and evening words

Are invariably different

And we the tax payers deserve to know

How come we buy the house

And still must pay rent?

 

Is it asking too much

To have some light shed

On this darkness that engulfs us?

Enough said!

 

Stewart Russell © May 4, 2023

 

“CTLV”

I am a household name

Known the country wide,

Whenever I am mentioned

It is woe betide.

Very few people like me

Soon you’ll see why

I’m seen as a necessary evil

That most will defy.

I have been around

For thousands of years,

You could wish all you want

I won’t soon disappear.

As long as there is life

This terrestrial side of heaven

I will be criticized and despised

I will never be forgiven.

I come in different forms

And I have many names

But whichever one you call

People will still complain.

Sometimes I can be direct

But mostly I am indirect,

It doesn’t matter the approach I take

People will still fret.

I’m unmoved by their complaints

For I have a job to do,

I am not looking for friends

And I don’t care about their view.

Of course I am filthy rich

And filthy is the operative term

Not because of my enormous wealth

But how I make people squirm.

Whenever they hear my name

They become quite unsettled

And if they were coming forward fast

They suddenly back pedal.

  

I am worse than my bark

I am more known for my bite,

In many a big man’s heart

I will often caused him fright. 

I have a faithful group of friends

Oh, just a comparative few

They make decisions concerning me

But on their behalf too.

I would have mentioned before

I am known by many names

But never mind which one is used

It brings a constant drain.

I know I have you guessing

And you thought that I was Sin

But the chance of escaping me

In this life is pretty slim.

I am a household name

They talk about me all day

And I would be executed tomorrow

If some people had their way.

The most that they could do

Is to attempt to reduce my effect

But this day in which we live

That they certainly reject.

And so I get richer and richer

As I take from everyone,

The more you make the more I take

Sort me out before the money is gone.

Are you getting brighter now?

No, it’s not the Government,

Sorry if I misled you

That was not my intent.

One of my names begins with “C”

My surname commences with “T”

Another starts with the letter “L”

And even one with the initial “V”

That may have put you right on track

Or perhaps it set you back

But the list makes known the fact

Of names I have no lack.

Time to wind this poem down

I never intended it to be long,

Perhaps on this the twentieth verse

You would say that I was wrong.

You will find me in the Bible

Under a name beginning with “T”

There a group was very grateful 

For the benefits they derived from me.

The fact of the matter really is

I am greatly needed; that’s the truth,

Look around you at all I give

And therein you’ll find the proof.

By now you should have guessed

The name by which I am known,

Short or long you’ll know it’s me

Wherever you may roam.

I’m like a plague that some avoid

But all find me hard to shun,

They call me Tax for my shorter name

But I am really TAXATION.

Stewart Russell © November 2017