I don't get the Senate scandal

If I understand this, Duffy and Wallin are accused of making fraudulent expense claims.  Of course this is bad, but things should never have gotten this far.  It seems simple to me - the Senate should have clear guidelines on what constitutes legitimate expenses, and then all claims can be assessed to determine if they qualify.  Legitimate claims get paid, and others are denied.  End of story.

If the problem is that the guidelines are unclear, then fix the guidelines.  Simply trusting that politicians will only make legitimate claims, and paying off every claim that's made, and only afterward checking to see if the claims are legit is, quite frankly, stupid, and the Senate shouldn't go blaming the cats if they took more goldfish than they are entitled to.   I mean, really, my company won't pay my expenses unless I can prove that I'm entitled to get them, so why should we treat politicians differently?  The problem here is less the actions of some 'bad eggs' and more a lack of clear policy.

I hope that the opposition parties won't get completely hung up on this issue, and instead focus on the real reason to get rid of the Conservatives:  Stephen Harper's government is bad for Canadians.

Not transparent.
Unaccountable.
Bad at managing the economy.
Reducing level of service.
Waging war on government employees.
Acting only in the interest of corporations.
Driving down wages.
Retroactively changing rules.
Bargaining in bad faith.
Betraying veterans.
Refusing to work with provinces.
Denying climate change (or maybe refusing to acknowledge climate change).
Attacking any who disagree with government diktats.
Muzzling government scientists.
And that's just for starters.