President-elect Barack Obama just announced that he, acting upon the advice of economists from both sides of the aisle, will be spending more money than budgeted for as much as two years in order to keep us out of a depression. This brings to mind government salaries.
I don't know about the readership of this little journal (in fact, I don't know if there is a readership of this little journal), but I know that its author would love to make federal pay. The members of the President's Cabinet all will make nearly $200,000 a year for as long as they serve. The President himself will make $400,000. Many other officials in the various branches will top $100,000. To be fair, many of these people are taking significant pay cuts from their private sector jobs, but that leads to my thought: their savings are safe. In the case of our President-elect and our Vice President-elect, they will have their room, board, transportation, utilities, and even entertainment paid for as perks of the job.
It would merely be a symbolic gesture, but what a gesture it would be if all members of the Obama administration voluntarily donated part or all of their federal salaries to the rescue efforts going on. For a President elected because he was truly of the people, it would be a great symbol of how he was still connected to the people and not above their suffering. It wouldn't change the fact that Obama, like many of his advisers, is worth over $1 million. It wouldn't change the fact that none of them will need to worry about foreclosure or bankruptcy in the near future. It wouldn't even make a discernible dent in the amount of money that will be poured into this deficit spending.
As I said, though, it sure would be one hell of a gesture.
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