Sigh… exemptions for people in power
Sunday, July 29th, 2007It is pretty annoying that people making our laws think they aren’t bound by them. This goes for the President, members of Congress, and reps in the UN. I always hate hearing how people come to our country and park or speed with impunity and then claim diplomatic immunity.
Granted, it is easy to get mad about people coming to your country and doing that but then I read that members on Congress do the same thing. Read here. I’ve also seen articles about US ambassadors and politicians going to London and doing the same thing. Awesome. Can’t we be better than that?
I do understand that there are multiple sides to all of this. Diplomats don’t pay taxes, so are the London congestion fees a tax? What’s the legal definition of a tax vs a fee? I also understand that the rules in the US were created to prevent harassment of officials traveling across the country. I can see people using their influence to make life difficult for people in Congress trying to make controversial changes, but couldn’t we setup a tribunal or something to review these and weight in? I know the justification for the President not bring subpoenaed because it could grind the system to a halt… but there has to be a way. If they have time to go to bars and get drunk… they probably have time to go to a tribunal and explain why they shouldn’t have a DUI appear on their record.