So “il-lejborist” is a bank employee, executive or what have you (being employed by a bank does not automatically make you a banker) and so qualifies for a house loan under the bank’s staff house loan scheme under favourable and flexible conditions for the amount, rate of interest, and even bridging finance when flipping properties.

The plot thickens.

[Daphne – Oh, I just think he’s a fantasist, and that a banker in his 30s on ’45K’ living in a house bought for 230K (a neat Lm100,000) is what he wants to be and not what he is.]

You can take your pick; it’s still a bachelorship.

Yes. In fact, Kev’s comments about Prof. Scicluna taste of sour grapes.

I agree with your observation. It is like the title for “the theory behind the concept of a living wage.”

Lejborist, you say you believe that Muscat will seriously fight corruption and tax evasion – I beg to differ.

First of all, I do not think that there is any human administration which can eradicate corruption or wants to fight “beyond a certain” level tax evasion.

Speaking about corruption in Malta, we need to distinguish between what I call institutional corruption (the alleged case involving BSWC) and corruption at the level of the commoner which was the bread and butter of the previous MLP administration – you cannot equate these. Whilst the former happens at the high echelons of administration and sometimes boarders the legal (for example lobbying), the latter is discriminatory between neighbours in the exercise of their basic rights. For example my father back in 1983 had to pay then pretty onerous sum of LM30 to our neighbour (an MLP canvasser) so that we could get a telephone 3 years after applying for it.

Why I not do believe that Muscat will seriously fight corruption.

– There are still a number of people in parliament and at the highest level of the party structure that were part of that administration. Two year ago the PL party delegates had the possibility to choose between ambition and wisdom – they chose ambition.
– Muscat has been directly and indirectly involved in “high” level politics since 1996. Since then he was against VAT (instrument that limits tax evasion), defended the MLPs shopping spree with contractors in Dubai, was against the EU (an additional institution of recourse and an additional investigative institution), was against the EURO (which strengthens the monitoring element introduced in my previous point), undermined the judiciary, covered up the alleged corrupt practices of a number of mayors and councillors and immorally paraded other mayors from the opposing camp who are facing serious corruption charges.
– The BSWC saga. To me there is two theories here. The first is that the MLP has no evidence at all but is spinning the issue for political gain. The second is that the MLP has strong evidence but is keeping the kettle below boiling point in time for the next general election campaign. Obviously both are wrong and immoral and work against fighting corruption.

I’d love to continue discussing tax evasion, but it’s Friday evening…and I’m off.

Nobody would disagree with lejborist that there is still a lot of tax evasion going on but equally the government is collecting more tax now than ever before.

I distinctly remember a very successful hotelier and restaurant-owner claiming to earn half of my income as an employee and that was during a Labour administration.

Why should I believe that Joseph Muscat would wave a magic wand and tax evaders fall in line pronto?

It is naive to say the least.

As far as corruption is concerned there’s nothing stopping lejborist or anyone else for that matter to report to the highest authorities. That Joseph Muscat will eradicate all corruption when the Labour Party has a history of harbouring the most corrupt individuals on the island, perhaps we’ll put that one down to fantasy.

I actually think that if Labour had to be elected to govern, corruption will be rampant as the underclass, long starved of power, will be primed and ready to have a go.

In his mind, oddly enough for a Labour leader, the living wage is not a measure to improve the lot of those who earn least. It is not a social welfare measure at all.

In fact, when I pressed him on Bondiplus, the Labour leader practically said that the living wage is the average wage plus about 50 euros a week.

I KNOW it’s possible, my wife did it too – as I said, possible but unlikely.

However, getting a salary of 45,000 from a Maltese bank, fresh out of university is – well – even more unlikely.

[Daphne – Yes, particularly with somebody who ‘does mistakes’. Miaaaooowwwww.]