Doesn't it make you sick?

[jpakaferrari]

So I was just taking a little glance around some BBC news articles as I often do and saw this lovely article.

[link]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10391693.stm[/link]

I suppose this is somewhat directed at those individuals on this site that currently or will someday have to pay quite a hefty tax in order to support the royal household. 7.9m pounds a year! That would be like if we just started paying ex presidents that are still living About 3 million dollars a year! I seriously don't understand how having a royal family means anything. And even if you see them as significant why you would give them that much money to live off each year. So just to get me educated how do you feel about this and whys it worth it to keep doing it? I'm acknowledging my ignorance in the British culture and asking for a little heads up on whats the deal is.

 

[ThePantomimeThief]

I think the spending is justified under how good the Royal Family is for the 'image' of the country, and how it creates its own revenue through tourism, etc. Personally, I don't agree on spending that money to suspend the image of Britain (Prince Harry going to a fancy dress party as a Nazi officer, Prince Philip being a generally racist ass, and Prince Charles having no knowledge of how real people live doesn't exactly give a great lasting impression) but I do think the Royals help with a massive boom in revenue through tourists. Would people come to see Westminster Palace if it wasn't a place where an antiquated, obsolete memory of a previous dictator lived? I don't think so.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Presumably they bring in a lot from tourism.

I fail to see how anybody cares, personally.