Hello all,
By way of introduction, this topic came about because of a feature we have up here in Ontario called the Sunshine List. Sounds like a happy thing, doesn't it? Well, yes and no. The Sunshine List was instituted by the previous Conservative Party administration as an example of "transparency in government". Unlike the current transparency efforts of the Obama Administration to show where dollars are being spent from stimulus and so on, it tracks something far more personal.
The Sunshine List publishes the name of every single person making $100,000 who works for the provincial government. That includes any body or agency that is a creation of the government or receives funding from it. Cities and counties. Hospitals. School boards. Police. Fire. Transit. It's a big list.
Of course, this immediately raises the hackles of anyone who believes in some right to privacy. While there is an argument to be made about some salaries being published for elected officials or top civil servants, the list as it stands seems to be merely an arrow in the quiver of those arguing those damn lazy civil servants make far too much. It is also provided without any context. For example, commenters on newspaper articles delight in screeching about the police constables or bus drivers making just over the 100K amount, but nowhere is it indicated the massive amounts of overtime it took to reach that level. If you are going to do this, at least provide base salary or hourly rates to show how they got there.
There's also quite the double standard. The salaries of top executives at hospitals, the OLGC (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.), Ontario Hydro and others don't seem to exact the same level of venom as Joe Schmoe who puts in 80 hour weeks to earn less than one-fifth some of those higher up the org chart earned. Apparently these peons need to learn their place.
Anyway, this brings me to my circular logic. We've all seen the following two talking points:
"Government should be run like a business"
"Public servants should be making less"
I want to beat the following points into the heads of whomever spouts these lines in close proximity to each other.
"Government should be run like a business"
"Well, they aren't really the same. Governments can't really close or sell unprofitable units like social services, justice, or rural areas"
"Sure they can, they just need to shrink their payroll"
"But the work still has to be done..."
"Outsource it! Contract it out!"
"So people are willingly going to work for less...."
"Ha ha, yeah, what else are they gonna do?"
"Well, you know, most people have skill sets they can transfer elsewhere. Then you end up with less qualified people in the civil service. Mistakes get made, more money gets spent to correct it"
"Nah, private sector can run things must better."
"Really now? So you're OK with the high price of gas? Your bank fees? Oh, and how did that privatization of the toll highway north of Toronto go? The one that bills people who have never driven on it and harasses dead people"
"Oh, I hate them. The province should do something about that"
"(sigh) THEY CAN'T YOU STUPID ASSHAT, THE CONSERVATIVE MORONS RUNNING THE PROVINCE GAVE THEM A 99 YEAR LEASE AND THE RIGHT TO ASK OUR POLICE AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO ENFORCE COLLECTION."
"oh"
I don't know if this is happening in your states or cities, but it seems like the recession has made public sector workers even bigger targets than before. While I don't disagree that some could be doing a better job, and money collected in taxes should be spent with the utmost of care, it worries me as the husband of a hard-working civil servant that the rhetoric is escalating to hatred towards our fellow citizens.
Peace and God Bless You.