On Mon, 22 May 1995, Mary C. Simmons, Hydrologic Assistant, Albuquerque, NM wrote:
> Politicians and athletes and talk show hosts
> contribute virtually nothing, yet are paid the most. Teachers and day-care
> providers and health care providers contribute much more, yet with the
> exception of the doctors, are on the lower end. Where is there justice in
> this?
I agree with almost all of the above, BUT....
I would like to register an objection to the notion that politicians
contribute virtually nothing. I know that this anti-politician rhetoric
is widely accepted and I know that there are politicians who are
interested primarily in themselves, in supporting special interests, and
in getting re-elected. But, as someone who lives just outside of
Washington DC and who knows some of these "politicians" my own experience
is that most of them are extremely hard-working, very conscientious, and
honestly trying to do the best they can for the people of their
districsts WITHIN THE SYSTEM. Now, the SYSTEM may be totally screwed up
and some might even say beyond redemption or repair.... But, that does
not mean that the PEOPLE are evil or that they contribute nothing. It
was politicians such as Hubert Humphrey who pushed through legislation to
protect the environment.... Without politicians would we have even the
modest enviro protection laws that we do have?
Nor are
politicians (at least in the United
States) drawing astoundingly large salaries. Yes, they are bigger than
average. But, there are also major expenses involved in maintaining a
home in Washington and a home in your district. Ask anyone who has
moved to this area about the heart attack they had when they went to
look for a house. Even a
modest, 45 year old 3 bedroom home runs close to $200,000 in this area.
For the amount of work these people do, they are probably underpaid by
most standards. Any one of them could earn a great deal more in private
enterprise -- if you want to talk about over paid people, why not look at
the CEOs of the major corporations? They take absolutely no interest in
benefitting anyone other than themselves, their companies, and their
shareholders and they are paid mega-bucks. In the past 15-20 years they
have gutted entire towns and communities, laid off workers, etc. and have
been rewarded for these efforts with salaries so far greater than their
own workers that it is hard to comprehend. If they do screw up and get
fired, it is with a generous golden parachute paid for by wage freezes
and cut backs among the average workers.
This kind of talk about politicians as a group is similar to the slamming
of "bureaucrats" by Newt and friends. It is inaccurate and possibly even
dangerous.
Jayne
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon May 22 15:13:19 1995
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: power communication
Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 15:15:53 -0600
From: "Mary C. Simmons, Hydrologic Assistant, Albuquerque, NM
"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Well, Jayne, I think you are right, there ARE some politicians who work hard,
and I'm sure Newt Gingrich is one of them, though I personally don't care for
the work that he does. I brought politicians into the argument, as being
among the group who contributes least and receives the most monetary
compensation, because I really believe they are an over-privileged elite,
composed mostly of white males. Let us not forget that almost none of these
guys live on their paltry 6-figure incomes--most of them, as a result of their
political connections, receive loads-o-dough from speeches, books, etc,
because of WHO THEY ARE. A lot of them are up in the million dollar income
range--leading lives of extreme privilege.
It is still WAY out of balance. Lots of people work that hard, yet do not
receive anywhere close to the same kinds of compensations, or privileges.
This is not to say "everyone should make $9/hour". I think this is very
narrow thinking, and yet another example of the "either-or" mode we seem to
have such trouble shaking.
I still want to drag this idea back to the concept of "value as human beings",
not "value as future commodity", or value as "who does the most work", or "who
has the most education", or "who is doing the most VALUABLE work". Etc.
Mary.
_________________________________________________________________________
Mary Simmons
U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505)262-5332
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
