Long Live The Queen, America Is Dead PDF Print E-mail
Written by Andy Aplikowski   
Thursday, 24 July 2008 07:20
It's Not Public Service If You Expect To Get Rich

$144,000 is dang good money. It is well above the average salary for America and I bet everyone who is slaving away in a factory or at the mall working 50 hours just to scrape by would gleefully take a 6 figure salary. But the Strib is advocating changing a law so people can get rich off the taxpayer's hard earned money.

Ramsey County's top manager will soon leave his job for a similar position in California, where he'll get a $100,000 raise. And the No. 2 administrator of the state pension fund recently resigned to work for a county in Maryland, where he'll earn $100,000 more than his boss here was paid.

When it comes to executive pay in government, Minnesota stands out -- and not in a good way. Ours is the only state that ties top manager's salaries to what the governor earns. Consequently, most city, county and state administrators earn no more than about $144,000, in some cases tens of thousands dollars less than their counterparts across the nation.

The salary restriction affects local governments' ability to attract top talent. With an expected rash of baby boomer retirements and good managers leaving for better pay, officials need the flexibility to offer competitive salaries. That's why the state-imposed salary cap should be repealed.
Public service is public service. If you won't do it unless you get private sector pay, then it isn't public service. If we cannot possibly run the government with out a few select people with skill sets that set them apart, then Government has gotten too big and is operating well outside of the scope it is intended. Government of the people!

Government should not be in direct competition with the private sector. It is not designed nor is it intended to be everything to everyone. America was founded on the basis that we have the freedom to pursue happiness and make it or not. Under British rule, we had no choice, no ability to get rich or accumulate wealth and happiness. When Government is consuming so much wealth of the nation or state that it must take more and more money away simply to function, it has stopped serving the public, and the public actually starts serving the Government.

Are all supposed to aspire to work for Government in order to get rich? If that is the case, maybe the American experiment has failed.