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**Stafford Joseph** » 2013-02-04 18:23

Check out "Laws of Antigua and Barbuda, Pensions and Gratuities (Parliamentary and Special Offices) CAP. 322.

"It is wise to seek to go behind the changes and see the unchanging behind the changing"

**Stafford Joseph** » 2013-02-04 17:07

I am of the opinion that, “the proliferation of titles, offices and emoluments to satisfy well connected associates and interest groups, continue to be one of the banes of successive regimes, increasing the burdens of the tax payers while hastening sclerosis in practical administration” , is to a great extent responsible for the current status of the economy.

"Government is an art and should be entrusted to those who know the art; the just and the good; the competent and the trained. Such men are necessarily few".

**Chucks** » 2013-02-04 15:35

All men are created equal..Just that some are more equal than others.

JD » 2013-02-04 13:41

Ridiculous thinking. Elected politicians are of course our (civil - so called) servants - we are paying them, we gave them the job, but how quickly they forget their place. And 1 person = 1 state pension. That's it - simple.

**GoodJobBob** » 2013-02-04 12:52

“Politicians are not government employees."

Tell it to the judge in Texas!

**fnpsr** » 2013-02-04 10:51

Skywill says, "And you can collect pension after pension all the way pass your eventual death into hell? You would have to pay Satan ABST." This priceless!

Skye, I can't stop laughing. Skye, they can give an MOU or a Bond into perpetuity for the ABST!

"Let's fix the little things with RWE before we attempt to fix the big things."

**skyewill** » 2013-02-04 10:28

Me a cum home me go hafu run! Moneuy ina dat! All dis time me a wase a work hard! Damm. Another piece of the puzzle. I have to study this one. "Politicians are not government employees" Hmmmmmmm! I want to thank CA, the AG and my fellow bloggers. Today, and on this very forum, I have been challenged to quest for understand of the statement, "Politicians are not government employees". This statement is making my brain go Bzzzzzzzzz, as I try to wrap my consciousness around the thought. So I guess if you are a politician maybe you could serve forever, right? And you can collect pension after pension all the way pass your eventual death into hell? You would have to pay Satan ABST.

**fnpsr** » 2013-02-04 10:21

Picky Head, that is a good point. Please see my post below. That could be considered extraordinary, and an the offset could be waived. However, you have to sit down a craft the regulation thinking of what is extraordinary and what is not. It should be clear an unambiguous and not subject to different interpretations , that could to create a loophole that could benefit someone.

"Let's fix the little things with RWE before we attempt to fix the big things."

**fnpsr** » 2013-02-04 10:11

One of the reasons Antigua is in a quagmire is because the laws, rules, regulation and the like are set up to benefit a few. They should be applied equally, without ambiguity, to all.

In the US, the general rule is, when a federal pensioner is rehired by the government, the pension is offset by the salary currently receiving. This applies to Members of Congress as well. There are exceptions to the rule, but they have to be extraordinary. A person who is elected to office would
not qualify as extraordinary and therefore, such pension would be offset, by the salary received for the elected office.

If the pensioner goes to work in the private sector, there is no offset, since he is not being paid by the government.

"Let's fix the little things with RWE before we attempt to fix the big things.

**Antigua Bill** » 2013-02-04 09:27

Everyone's retirement dream is different except politicians in Antigua.

**Piky Head** » 2013-02-04 09:16

What about law enforcement? For example an officer returning due to a state of emergency.

**GiveMeABreak** » 2013-02-04 09:06

This is the icing on the cake. Antigua people need to rise up and have some say in all of this. There are a handful of people in this country running it straight into the ground, and the people that put these politicians where they are today have blinkers on. People of Antigua need to come together and fight this, because these guys are not fighting for you or your country, they're just setting themselves up for a very comfortable future and taking all they can get. :sad:

**Villager** » 2013-02-04 08:40

Now is the time brothers and sisters for us the people to stand up to the politicians and say "NO WAY". To all the learned citizens What can the people do at this time to stop this madness. Can we seek a referendum? Where is the Treasury get the money from to pay out these hefty salaries? Is bad enough when they complete two consecutive term they are entitled to a pension; now some may qualify for two pensions. Brothers and sisters this is not a "PARTY" thing it is WE THE PEOPLE OF ANTIGUA & BARBUDA thing and this will hurt us in years to come, just as we allow the politicians to create situation that puts us in the spell of the Syrians.

**Aunt Rose** » 2013-02-04 08:19

This is not FAIR at all. Members of Parliament, Senators, Speakers and Presidents, are considered non-established workers but they can get 2 and 3 pensions all stacked up consecutively from the treasury. We the poor people of Antigua and Barbuda, pay our Social Security all our lives but your government won’t pay back the $500 million pillage from the scheme so that we can get our meager monthly pension on time. The people's recommendation is that you go back to Parliament to fix the pay back to Social Security, send back the old WPP to China and purchase a working US plant, rescind the $72 million contract for Tablets in schools and then you and your sunshine government should resign immediately afterwards and only receive a Social Security pension like everybody else. Now that's FAIR.

**Justin** » 2013-02-04 07:29

“Politicians are not government employees. Established and non-established employees work under contract and Cap. 210 and Cap. 211 address them respectively". I MUST BE MISTAKEN BUT I THOUGHT THAT POLITICIANS WERE PAID FROM THE TREASURERY OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA. I ALSO THOUGHT THAT THE PRESENT SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE WAS RULED NOT TO BE A PUBLIC WORKER BECAUSE SHE DID NOT GET PAID FROM THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. WAS IT THIS ATTORNEY GENERAL WHO DEFENDED THE GOVERNMENT IN THE CASE THAT WAS BROUGHT AGAINST THE PRESENT SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE BY THE ALP OR GASTON? AS SHORT SHIRT ASKED IN ONE OF HIS SONGS, WHEN? OH LORD WHEN?

**Morris** » 2013-02-04 07:20

Of course it wouldn't apply to politicians; they make it so that they get the best of both worlds.

“Politicians are not government employees..." No wonder they feel they don't have to answer to the real gov't; the citizens who elected them to work for them.

**Audley Dave Joseph** » 2013-02-04 07:17

"This means that politicians, who would have reached the age of retirement and continued onwards in politics – having been re-elected – could stand to receive two pensions from the state. If this practice is currently being employed it has not been confirmed". LOOK AT ADVANTAGE. THEIR LAST SALARY IS THE SAME AS THEIR PENSION (ONCE THE QUALIFY). WHAT DO OTHER WORKERS GET? NOW THEY CAN GET TWO PENSIONS. THE SAME PERSON/PEOPLE WHO IS FIGHTING TO THE END NOT TO PAY "POOR PEOPLE" TWO PENSIONS CLAIM TWO PENSIONS FOR THEMSELVES. BUT WE THE ELECTORATE ARE THE DAMN FOOLS CAUSE WHEN THESE THINGS COME TO OUR ATTENTION WHAT DO WE DO? SOME OF US VOTE FOR THEM TIME AND TIME AGAIN. HOW MUCH LONGER WILL POOR PEOPLE ALLOW POLITICIANS TO FOOL THEM AND LIVE HIGH AND MIGHTY ON THEIR BACKS? WHAT THE HELL IN HIGH HEAVEN WILL IT TAKE FOR POOR PEOPLE TO ACT IN THEIR OWN SELF INTEREST?

**Fireworks** » 2013-02-04 06:16

Wow - Count on this sx Attorney General to xxx poor people who he thinks doesn't know any better. Our beloved Prime Minister often refers to himself as the "your humble Chief Civil Servant".... since when a civil servant is not considered a Government employee? Oh yeah,... your right AG,... whenever it is to the financial benefit of sly Politicians like x.

Never mind that Politicians here are entitled their full salary-pension at the tender age of 50 once they serve a measly TWO terms (10 years).... and your UPP seeing that injustice priming up to add another tax increase on over taxed poor-people through raising Social Security and the retirement age to 65????

If there ever was a Clown for AG.... Justin Simon QC is he.

**GoodJobBob** » 2013-02-04 02:47

Add that to the offshore accounts, and you're talking real money. Maybe US$21 Million a year!

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