Back in 2005, David Dingwall, a politician turned Crown Corporation boss, uttered the famous phrase, “I’m entitled to my entitlements.” That line has stuck with us all this time, as we see, over and again, politicians, well-paid bureaucrats and, most recently, captains of industry latch on to the gravy train paid from the public purse.
People might like to pretend the entitlement game is one played only in political circles, but the simple fact is it trickles right down to entry level jobs. We all want what’s coming our way.
As long as the cheque comes on Friday, or the expense sheet is not questioned, greedy folks will keep pushing the envelope. The poor souls who try to keep costs down and lunch at a diner rather than a steak house only leave more crumbs for big shots to consume. In time, many join the steak house crowd, feeling an obligation to get their piece of the pie.
Outrage filled the airwaves earlier this week as one of the world’s largest insurers, AIG – recipient of $90-billion of American taxpayers’ funds – was poised to spend $165-million on bonuses for its executives. In its most recent quarter, AIG was some $60-billion in the red. The bonus was about a third of what AIG expects to ultimately spend, rewarding what some call incompetence. The issue is now under review.
That action has prompted a populist movement stateside, and surely it will follow into Canada. Why should taxpayer funds be used, directly or indirectly, to reward executives who reigned during the latest global meltdown? Word about giving bail-out funds to large companies here has more than a few people scratching their heads about spending tax dollars on industries that should probably mutate in order to survive in the longer term.
Closer to home, the expense sheets of local councillors was recently brought to our attention. Specifically conference costs were queried; if they are reasonable, to which we could only suggest they were not entirely unreasonable. The sensitivity to this issue is of little surprise since it is, after all, an entitlement.
Soon, the results of the $100,000 club for 2008 will be published. While the intent of publishing those numbers is to keep readers informed about how council is managing their tax dollars, we wonder if printing the annual costs at the top end goes far enough. Privacy laws are such that a full listing of staff remuneration is not allowed, leaving us to question the fairness of exposing the top end to ridicule in some circles. Since that $100,000 club was conceived under Bob Rae, times have changed significantly too.
Editorially, national Newspapers have decried the pay raises for public sector workers and politicians while poverty ramps up. The notion of a coming class war was chronicled in the National Post as an emerging issue where workers, now fearing job loss will begin to loathe the apparent overpayment of public wages, keeping in mind the generosity of guaranteed public pension plans.
The Toronto Star published a comparison of a private sector pension compared to a public one, and concluded pensioners are head and shoulders better off if they work for government. Increased resentment lies ahead, but in the paraphrased words of Dingwall, those are entitlements owed, regardless of the outrage they might cause to others.
The whole subject reminds us of the acrimony years ago when everyone seemed to pile on school teachers as fat cats with great summer holidays. The same thing happens now with auto workers. Any job that seems to pay good money is looked at with contempt by those making less money. While we understand the sentiment, the good fortune and planning of others to seek out good paying jobs by getting an education or spending years at a workplace, is a choice available to others. When we ask complainers if they would work in a school, a stuffy government office or factory, few would take the challenge over what they do today.
The culture of entitlement that led to the present boom and bust we are all suffering through at the moment needs a correction. For what it’s worth, business leaders and public sector personnel would be well advised to offer up examples of restraint.
Without that, raucous times lie ahead.
