Why do MP's make so much?

[lookingforitallthetime]

In any event, maybe the results would have been better if there had been
equally capable people on the other side of the parlimentary chamber.

I think especially on the right side of the political spectrum, the most capable people
have more of a tendency to seek their fortunes in business. You and Lancs are prime examples
of extraordinary capabilities lost to the dance around the golden calf.

While I find this to be a plausible analysis, I detected the slightest amount of sarcasm in the last sentence.

 

[solitaria]

Thanks for the link but I don't think it's necessarily accurate to take U.S. figures and factor in the exchange rate to get Canada's figures.

I maintain the majority of MP's are professionals and few would consider their government salary a big pay increase.

You keep saying shit that is entirely untrue. These MP's, if they are lawyers in fact, would not make nearly the same in the private sector. I found the median for big Canadian cities and it is less than in the US.

http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Attorney_/_Lawyer/Salary/by_City

 

[FOOTSNIFFER]

I'm sure the numbers are similar in Canada. Having said that, those who are not lawyers are most probably professionals of some kind. Accountants, doctors, etc.

Again, the MP's pay scale doesn't seem inflated for me.

If they actually represented the views of their constituents, went to bat for me against the egregious bureaucracy as my advocate, then they'd be worth that and more. But they're neutred trained seals.

 

[solitaria]

Solitaria is 180 degrees off target. The problem we have in this country, as in most democracies, is that it is very difficult to get capable people to seek public office.

That is why I liked Trudeau. Anybody can argue about his policies. But he was clearly an intelligent and capable individual. We need his kind in politics on the left as well as on the right.

You don't need the intelligence of Trudeau for public office. It is wasted. All that matters to voters about politicians are their viewpoints and where they stand on issues that are important to them.

Basically you want MP's to be running because they want to make a difference and serve the public. To attract those types of people you don't pay them huge amounts of money to the point of being way more than what they would make in the private sector because then you attract both the people that want to make a big difference and serve their country and the money whores. Pay them the median and you will only get the people that want to serve for the right reasons.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

You keep saying shit that is entirely untrue. These MP's, if they are lawyers in fact, would not make nearly the same in the private sector. I found the median for big Canadian cities and it is less than in the US.

http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Attorney_/_Lawyer/Salary/by_City

The lawyers I know (my own included) do much better than the median. I also suspect most of the professionals who seek public office are doing better as well.

I personally don't have a problem with the current MP pay scale.

 

[onthebottom]

You keep saying shit that is entirely untrue. These MP's, if they are lawyers in fact, would not make nearly the same in the private sector. I found the median for big Canadian cities and it is less than in the US.

http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Attorney_/_Lawyer/Salary/by_City

Damn, I think Teamsters make more than that.....

OTB

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

To attract those types of people you don't pay them huge amounts of money to the point of being way more than what they would make in the private sector because then you attract both the people that want to make a big difference and serve their country and the money whores. Pay them the median and you will only get the people that want to serve for the right reasons.

This sounds like an ideal formula to attract the best and brightest.

 

[danmand]

This sounds like an ideal formula to attract the best and brightest.

You have to admit, that it is a novel solution to the homeless problem in Toronto.

 

[solitaria]

The lawyers I know (my own included) do much better than the median. I also suspect most of the professionals who seek public office are doing better as well.

Wow that's pretty scientific. Much better than the salary survey I posted done by PayScale.

I am pretty sure if he is your lawyer he doesn't make nearly as much as the median MP salary that would probably be more than $200K.

 

[solitaria]

This sounds like an ideal formula to attract the best and brightest.

You aren't trying to do that since their jobs aren't that hard to do. Politicians have never been and never will be as smart as the top people that work in the private sector.

 

[solitaria]

MP - Diane Finley

She is the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Diane makes at least $223K along with the usual perks. Basically her job is to slow immigration since that's the Harper platform. Her biography isn't that impressive. I would give her a D for her job performance. She isn't a lawyer.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/department/minister/index.asp

Why do people allow politicians to feed at the trough like this? It all adds up.

 

[onthebottom]

She is the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Diane makes at least $223K along with the usual perks. Basically her job is to slow immigration since that's the Harper platform. Her biography isn't that impressive. I would give her a D for her job performance. She isn't a lawyer.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/department/minister/index.asp

Why do people allow politicians to feed at the trough like this? It all adds up.

Perhaps you should go into public services.

She seems like she's done quite a bit, why don't you give us your resume and we can judge your relative experience / pay.

My government waste issue isn't pol pay, it's pols buying votes with my money.

OTB

 

[solitaria]

Perhaps you should go into public services.

She seems like she's done quite a bit, why don't you give us your resume and we can judge your relative experience / pay.

My government waste issue isn't pol pay, it's pols buying votes with my money.

OTB

I don't go in because I wouldn't be able to get the votes. I am in my early thirties and believe in:

-legalising all drugs/prostitution
-slashing wasteful spending
-paying down the debt
-increasing the flow of highly-skilled immigration (why Diane Finley gets a D among other things)
-crushing unions
-environment
-building infrastructure especially for subways and trains
-anti-war causes

 

[onthebottom]

I don't go in because I wouldn't be able to get the votes. I am in my early thirties and believe in:

-legalising all drugs/prostitution
-slashing wasteful spending
-paying down the debt
-increasing the flow of highly-skilled immigration (why Diane Finley gets a D among other things)
-crushing unions
-environment
-building infrastructure especially for subways and trains
-anti-war causes

So, you have unpopular views?

OTB

 

[alex52]

I think I'll go back to the lounge section this thread is too scarry, I thought it was on massage parlours.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

Wow that's pretty scientific. Much better than the salary survey I posted done by PayScale.

I am pretty sure if he is your lawyer he doesn't make nearly as much as the median MP salary that would probably be more than $200K.

Wow. Talk about scientific. Do you have any links to support this?

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

My government waste issue isn't pol pay, it's pols buying votes with my money.

OTB

Exactly.

MP's salaries are a drop in the bucket and to some degree, one of the least wasteful government expenses.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

Politicians have never been and never will be as smart as the top people that work in the private sector.

Ever hear of Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln?

I'm sure you can provide a link to prove your scientific analysis.

 

[trisket]

That is why I liked Trudeau. Anybody can argue about his policies. But he was clearly an intelligent and capable individual.

"When they are 50 yards from Parliament Hill, they are no longer honourable members, they are just nobodies."
-Pierre Trudeau

 

[thompo69]

Financial compensation is about more than just work done -- it's about the working conditions. Many people seem to have this delusion that MPs sit around doing nothing and just collect their pay checks. The reality is that the vast majority of them work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, maintain two homes, travel back and forth between Ottawa and and their riding every weekend, have little or no family life, and no job security. The salaries are high to compensate for this.