[Claeren]

I hate cliched complaints about government salary increases.

I don't like the thought of MLA's making a lot of (my) money any more than most people, but they make less than most of them would make in private industry doing similar work.

Do you want the people elected to represent you to (1) not be making much money compared to the industries/people they are charged with regulating and (2) not representing as many of our best and brightest as possible? If someone can make $500,000 in the Energy Sector as a senior upper mid-level (not even CEO, CFO, etc) executive with many years experience why would they spend a load of money to become an MLA for 4 years for a salary of much less than half that?


Also, I bet most Albertans here have had salary increases at least similar too, if not outright double or triple, what most government jobs have had over the past 5 years??



I know I am biased as I work for the Health Region, but we got 3%/year (often split between 1% in spring and 2% in fall - brutal) for the last 5 years (after big salary cuts and freezes in the 1990's) while all of my friends were getting 10%-100% raises/year, plus stock options, plus company trucks, etc etc. We have a 5% raise this year and next and I already know the government is talking about trying to open dialogue about salary cuts instead. I am not exactly complaining, as I value my job security, but my friends who have kept their jobs are complaining about 10% pay cuts but have received (often) hundreds of thousands in options and bonuses AND have had huge salary increases which means a 10% paycut still leaves them about 90% overpaid. (And I think my point still stands even if someone is not the extreme private sector example, for while my friends tend to be engineers, real estate types, business consultants, financeers, etc private labourers and the like have also enjoyed a pretty good boom in wages)

Meanwhile we 'spoiled overpaid government workers' will probably end up making the same in 2012 as we did in 2004 in absolute dollars (and thus actually making much less after inflation) despite having to do each do the work of 3 people due to constant cuts in the system. We didn't get any boom in wages/benefits during the boom, only the increase in costs, yet we also take heat when times are bad again.

The point is that everyone likes to think they deserve their money but that the other guy doesn't. -- I am pretty sure that there is some balance between wages and who does the job and I am not so sure that just complaining is that constructive. If you think the MLA wage is so high for the work involved why are you not an MLA?





Claeren.