Christmas Raises for Politicians
*sigh* Our elected officials at Queen's Park have decided to give themselves a 31% pay raise. Of course, it was for a truly altruistic reason. They want to attract better people into politics, and I suppose that with the provincial election a few short months away, it seems reasonable. NOT!
This is just greed and ego, probably mostly ego. It's about being paid comparable to their colleagues in Ottawa, just like Toronto city council gave themselves a raise to be paid comparable to their colleagues in the 905. They don't need the money, but their egos couldn't take the fact that someone else doing about the same job as them was making more money, as if somehow money was the only important determination of their worth.
Even in the corporate world, the reality is setting in that even upper management must earn their keep. Bonuses are tied to measureable goals, not because someone else at another corporation makes more money. But what exactly have the politicians at Queen's Park and Nathan Philips Square done to earn their salary increases?
The most noteworthy thing that they've done at Queen's Park is the strengthening of the current law again mortgage fraud, but even then, the government had to be shamed into it with a private member's bill that was better, and as far as the Liberals are letting on, we are still in a deficit situation because of the "fiscal imbalance".
As for the guys and gals at city hall, well, hmmm, they bought a garbage dump, sole sourced a contract for TTC vehicles, sold our light posts to Hydro, and generally showed no real leadership in attempting to solve this city's problems.
How does any of that equate to these insane raises? Oh, and the argument that more money will attract better people into politics? The ones who have the leadership necessary to make government better could probably get much higher paying jobs in the private sector, don't have to deal with the glaring spotlight of public life, and realize that their worth is not measured by how much money they make, but by what they've accomplished.
Let's face it, John Tory didn't get into politics because Rogers wasn't paying him enough.
This is just greed and ego, probably mostly ego. It's about being paid comparable to their colleagues in Ottawa, just like Toronto city council gave themselves a raise to be paid comparable to their colleagues in the 905. They don't need the money, but their egos couldn't take the fact that someone else doing about the same job as them was making more money, as if somehow money was the only important determination of their worth.
Even in the corporate world, the reality is setting in that even upper management must earn their keep. Bonuses are tied to measureable goals, not because someone else at another corporation makes more money. But what exactly have the politicians at Queen's Park and Nathan Philips Square done to earn their salary increases?
The most noteworthy thing that they've done at Queen's Park is the strengthening of the current law again mortgage fraud, but even then, the government had to be shamed into it with a private member's bill that was better, and as far as the Liberals are letting on, we are still in a deficit situation because of the "fiscal imbalance".
As for the guys and gals at city hall, well, hmmm, they bought a garbage dump, sole sourced a contract for TTC vehicles, sold our light posts to Hydro, and generally showed no real leadership in attempting to solve this city's problems.
How does any of that equate to these insane raises? Oh, and the argument that more money will attract better people into politics? The ones who have the leadership necessary to make government better could probably get much higher paying jobs in the private sector, don't have to deal with the glaring spotlight of public life, and realize that their worth is not measured by how much money they make, but by what they've accomplished.
Let's face it, John Tory didn't get into politics because Rogers wasn't paying him enough.
1 Comments on "Christmas Raises for Politicians":
I'm crazy about your blog title! Which one of y'all left the comment on my blog? The one mentioning the magic "K" word?
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