Politicians are severely underpaid.......

[Niflmir]

yes i remember a while back there was a vote in the british parliament to decide whether they'd get a 7% raise or a 23% (vaguely remembered figures). it was the first unanimous vote for decades

Its things like that, in the face of the difficult struggle that other public servants face, that really bother me. Teachers, police officers, doctors, nurses and all sorts of other people face terrible battles, strikes and more to eke out a measly increase in wage to match inflation. The government has all sorts of reasons why these important people don't deserve more money. If the government had ever turned down their raise, we would have heard about it.

It is my personal opinion that all government employess should be locked into some sort of wage plan. I don't know specifics because I don't know the raw data. Whenever the government decides they deserve a raise, everbody in the wage plan gets the same proportional raise. The minimum wage should increase the same. It would make for less lobbying, less laws, and less social injustice, as I see it.

I would also like to affirm that in this day in age, unlike the old adage, you almost never get what you pay for: companies are more interested in the promotion of their brand than the quality of their product. The same goes for most political parties.

 

[folcar]

Niflmir,

Excellant idea, i would go a step further and make all government wages salaried. With wage increases only as inflation dictates, and as the country prospers and can realistically afford it.

 

[snfu73]

Consider there are few jobs in society where those working in it have the ability to write there own raises! If the salaries are what they are than politicians only have themselves to blame for 2 reasons. One not raising their own salaries higher, and two for not convincing the public they are doing a good enough job to warrant the support of such a raise. Are they underpaid, well the job is supposed to be one of public service. Instead it looks more like one as previously posted, driven by personal advancement and status. So i am on the side that favours no, and in some cases i wiould wager overpaid.

Even though they have the power to raise their pay, they are still under a great amount of scrutiny when and if they do.