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G6 - Tie Politicians' Pay to Regional Median Income
| Politicians' income should be directly tied and capped to the regional median income for their constituency. | |
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Description
Check it out here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/96603272/Why-Pay-Them-At-All
Arguments
Forcibly more than half of people would want to make the median income for working in politics, other expenses such as travel are already paid, it would restrict corruption and encourage fewer people for joining to get rich, but would still provide enough for anyone to join politics.
Counterarguments
Isn't this kind of already the way it is? Aside from post-political-career lobbying jobs (see my idea: the99vote.com/idea/US73), I don't think anyone goes into politics for the money.
Theoretically, do we want politicians who have the median intelligence and education level as their constituents? I wouldn't think so. Don't we want intellectual elites -- the sharper tools in the sheds -- to be our leaders? If you only pay what the median make, you'll get middling politicians.
Problem is this would encourage politicians to join very rich constituencies and be paid high sums of money while doing absolutely nothing, and discourage politicians from trying to improve things in an extremely poor constituency. This would also encourage huge increases in public-sector wages to the expense of businesses, low-skilled jobs, those on social security, infrastructure improvements, progressive tax policies, housing, transport, etc.
2 Topics
Discussion
started
by TaylorWebb
on Aug 14
Pay
There is no political system where the pay of the politicians is tied to the median income legally. Of course there will be a tendency for the pay rate to follow inflation and the general economy, but what I am talking about is litigation on the matter.
Those who seek higher salaries are no smarter than those who do not. The more educated, the best leaders, the people we need to run a government will not be deterred by the fact that they will not be making six figures, especially since they will forcibly be making more than half of the population. Lastly, do you mean to imply that governments in countries with lower standards of living cannot afford good politicians? Of course not. Good leaders make due with what their constituents can afford.
Those who seek higher salaries are no smarter than those who do not. The more educated, the best leaders, the people we need to run a government will not be deterred by the fact that they will not be making six figures, especially since they will forcibly be making more than half of the population. Lastly, do you mean to imply that governments in countries with lower standards of living cannot afford good politicians? Of course not. Good leaders make due with what their constituents can afford.
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