The best article in today's newspapers comes from West Yorkshire's Chief Constable, Norman Bettison, writing in the Times. He says he is "not worth" the £213,000 a year he costs the tax payer.
I think most of us will probably agree with him: he may be excellent at his job but, regardless of his excellence, two hundred grand plus is just too much for the taxpayer to be expected to shell out for anyone. We've writtenbefore on how we got ourselves into the ridiculous position of paying tens of thousands of public employees these insane salaries, so I won't go into that here. The question now is simply how we put an end to it.
David Cameron has a sort of solution he doesn't want the top salaries in the public sector to be more than 20 times the bottom. But this won't change much it still allows salaries well over £200,000.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Bettison has another. He suggests the 'Micawber Plan'. Under this, all public sector pay and pension provision would simply be frozen, with "no exclusions or special pleading." He'd start with the top 25%, then move down in later years, hence ensuring that not only would real salaries be cut across the board, but differentials in pay would be cut too. That, he says, "should do the trick and sustain the public services".
I like it. But you know what? It just doesn't go far enough. Far better, surely, to say that no one in the public sector should earn more than, say, £150,000 (the level at which Labour believes people are being paid enough to pay a special rate of rich people's income tax). And then to cut all salaries below that by a set percentage. Say 15% off all salaries between £100,000 and £150,000, 10% off all from £75,000 to £100,000 and 5% from £50,000 to £75,000. That should do the trick, too. Just faster.
-
Beating inflation takes more luck than skill – but are we about to get lucky?Opinion The US Federal Reserve managed to beat inflation in the 1980s. But much of that was down to pure luck. Thankfully, says Merryn Somerset Webb, the Bank of England may be about to get lucky.
-
Rishi Sunak can’t fix all our problems – so why try?Opinion Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement is an attempt to plaster over problems the chancellor can’t fix. So should he even bother trying, asks Merryn Somerset Webb?
-
Young people are becoming a scarce resource – we should value them more highlyOpinion In the last two years adults have been bizarrely unkind to children and young people. That doesn’t bode well for the future, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
Ask for a pay rise – everyone else isOpinion As inflation bites and the labour market remains tight, many of the nation's employees are asking for a pay rise. Merryn Somerset Webb explains why you should do that too.
-
Why central banks should stick to controlling inflationOpinion The world’s central bankers are stepping out of their traditional roles and becoming much more political. That’s a mistake, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
How St Ives became St Tropez as the recovery drives prices sky highOpinion Merryn Somerset Webb finds herself at the epicentre of Britain’s V-shaped recovery as pent-up demand flows straight into Cornwall’s restaurants and beaches.
-
The real problem of Universal Basic Income (UBI)Merryn's Blog April employment numbers showed 75 per cent fewer people in the US returned to employment compared to expectations. Merryn Somerset-Webb explains how excessive government support is causing a shortage of labour.
-
Why an ageing population is not necessarily the disaster many people think it isOpinion We’ve got used to the idea that an ageing population is a bad thing. But that’s not necessarily true, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
