Sunshine List will expose six-figure salaries of Alberta government employees

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

I don't agree with all this fake outrage over privacy. Nobody is outraged about business owners knowing what the employees are making; that's normal. People own the Government. They have the right to know. Public work offers significant benefits that are not available to private employment. It also offers substantially less risk. Some loss of privacy in terms of the people knowing public employer's remuneration package is a reasonable compromise.

So much wrong with this post.

1) There is a massive difference between 1 person knowing what you make, and everyone knowing what you make. do any of your neighbours know what you make?

2) Are you benefits you are talking about include every other friday off, stock options, bonuses, etc? Because those are all available in the private sector, not in government.

3) Substantially less risk? Every time there is a new minister or Premier, there are huge layoffs. Ask Canada Post about the low risk of working there. It's all the same.

I agree there needs to be more information available to the public in regards to where money in being spent. Budgets should be posted publicly and audited. But posting the names of average Joe's and how much they make is an invasion of privacy, plain and simple.

[CaptainYooh]

Doesn't need to be extreme and by name. Remuneration packages for each position can be posted within each government department's web-site; they all have them nowadays. And yes, if my neighbours were my employers, it would be perfectly OK for them to know what they are paying me. Here's another example, when a janitor is hired by a condominium corporation, everyone in the condo complex CAN find out what a janitor is paid if they want to know. Same principle.

[psicodude]

Uh, read the article. They are going to post the person's name, job title, wage, benefits, and severance package.

I'm not talking about "if they were your employers". What if your neighbour was just nosy and wanted to know what you made? Would you be cool with them googling it and finding out?

[CaptainYooh]

Well, people ARE their employers. Here's the difference.

[psicodude]

No they aren't. By that logic, if I shop at Wal-mart and they make a profit off of me, I am now an employer of Wal-Mart?

Like I said, I am all for transparency in government and believe every dime spent should be justified. But posting a person's name and what they make is an invasion of privacy. If you disagree, then please post your name and wage here.

[CaptainYooh]

No, you are a customer of the private business. Governments are hired by the people and work for the people.

As I said earlier, posting names may be going a bit too far, but posting position financials for each Government position is perfectly OK.

[darklord700]

I don't know what goal this disclosure accomplishes. But if we know about Redford or Nenshi's renumeration? Why are lower lever employees different? Maybe because Redford and Nenshi could be considered public figures so they are treated differently.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by psicodude

No they aren't. By that logic, if I shop at Wal-mart and they make a profit off of me, I am now an employer of Wal-Mart?

Like I said, I am all for transparency in government and believe every dime spent should be justified. But posting a person's name and what they make is an invasion of privacy. If you disagree, then please post your name and wage here.

I totally agree. I think the same transparency can be accomplished without using peoples names. Frankly, I'm surprised that's even legal.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

As I said earlier, posting names may be going a bit too far, but posting position financials for each Government position is perfectly OK.

Then we agree because I have no issue with posting positions either. Actually, I like the idea.

I agree Slava. I would be surprised if this isn't challenged in court.

[opendoor]

They've done this in BC for years. You can even look at what specific teachers and principals are making (as long as it's over $75K).

I can't say that I really see the benefit of it. At the same time I don't get the opposition to it, though I've never really understood the whole privacy surrounding peoples' income thing.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by Muta

It's all about choices and priorities. If you're scraping by, at $100K a year, and fearing you aren't being financially set because of your income bracket.... you're doing it wrong.

As an Albertan living in a major centre I find this comment just so wrong and so monumentally stupid I don't know where to start...

For those of us who are single parents with mortgages, car payments and kids in post-sec.... Aw, #### it, what do I care ...you are clueless, and arrogant. And not worth another second of my time.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by -TC-

As an Albertan living in a major centre I find this comment just so wrong and so monumentally stupid I don't know where to start...

For those of us who are single parents with mortgages, car payments and kids in post-sec.... Aw, #### it, what do I care ...you are clueless, and arrogant. And not worth another second of my time.

Uhhh.... ok?

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Slava

I totally agree. I think the same transparency can be accomplished without using peoples names. Frankly, I'm surprised that's even legal.

Sorry, I got nothing but this totally popped in my head.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by -TC-

As an Albertan living in a major centre I find this comment just so wrong and so monumentally stupid I don't know where to start...

For those of us who are single parents with mortgages, car payments and kids in post-sec.... Aw, #### it, what do I care ...you are clueless, and arrogant. And not worth another second of my time.

Why is it stupid? Poorer people have survived on less and thrived in this city. Most of my friends don't make that kind of money.

And I question why a single parent has multiple mortgages and multiple cars?

I'm an urban Albertan too.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

And I question why a single parent has multiple mortgages and multiple cars?

Hey now, gotta keep up with the Joneses!!

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by -TC-

As an Albertan living in a major centre I find this comment just so wrong and so monumentally stupid I don't know where to start...

For those of us who are single parents with mortgages, car payments and kids in post-sec.... Aw, #### it, what do I care ...you are clueless, and arrogant. And not worth another second of my time.

As I posted earlier, the median household income in Alberta is $89k. That means that half the province's population has a total family income less than that. So please go on and explain how rough someone making $100k+ has it.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Another way that this will harm the taxpayers is that the Government will become an even less attractive place to work...thus you end up with lower quality individuals filling these positions and a less competent Government overall.

If anything I would be trying to make the Government more accountable AND a place that can compete with the private sector for good talent.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

This^^^. CaptainYooh makes the point that civil servants work for us. If I'm the owner, I want good quality people coming up with good quality solutions for us, not the barely qualified, barely educated person that got the job because the 5 other people ahead of them said "I'm not dealing with this crap". (witness the quality of candidates running for public office)

That's not to say there isn't crap working in government at the best of times, but starve any organization of good people and it's destined to fail.

I never get the "Silly Hall" crowd's vendetta against public servants getting the odd perk here and there. As long as it's warranted for superior performance and done in a fair manner, people have got to understand that it's a fraction of what the private sector is paying out.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by -TC-

As an Albertan living in a major centre I find this comment just so wrong and so monumentally stupid I don't know where to start...

For those of us who are single parents with mortgages, car payments and kids in post-sec.... Aw, #### it, what do I care ...you are clueless, and arrogant. And not worth another second of my time.

We have a thread about the best posts from the year, should we open one for dumbest or is it unanimous that this is it?

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

We have a thread about the best posts from the year, should we open one for dumbest or is it unanimous that this is it?

Ok, I nominate yours.