The government of any country plays an active role in managing the society and developing the economy, and is paid by the country through taxes collected from its people. Controversially, there have been debates contending whether high salaries for government officials, including heads of state, ministers, members of parliament, judges and civil servants, are ever justifiable. While political leaders such as Minister Mentor of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew are adamant that high salaries are necessary to attract top talent into politics and reduce the incentive for corruption, high ministerial salaries have been a perennial source of disgruntlement for the general populace. Granted, government officials should be rewarded for their good performance, but it is in my opinion that government officials should serve with their heart rather than for the monetary benefits, which leads to the conclusion that high salaries for government officials are unjustifiable.
Supporters for the high salaries for government officials argue that a high pay is justified given the intensity and rigor of the government service. Politicians have to endure late nights, cope with a lack of privacy and are oft-times under immense pressure to perform for the people. Unless high wages are offered, countries would not be able to attract the best and the most capable leaders to serve a nation. The common adage of "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" is a common argument; perhaps society will indeed be worse off if we trade a lower salary for less-than-capable politicians. As such, civil services around the world have pegged their salaries to the appropriate corresponding rungs in the private sector. In Singapore, for instance, ministers' salaries are currently pegged to two-third of the median salaries of the top 8 earners in the private sector. Basic economics apply here: in a free market economy, the government must compete with the private sector for talents and so official wages must be competitive or most of the top brains will prefer to work in the private sector.
Another strand of argument that is commonly used to support the high salaries of government officials is that it helps in establishing a corrupt-free government. A high salary provides less incentives for corrupt practices. This can be seen in Singapore, where politicians are the most highly paid in the world. The last publicly-available figures in 2009 showed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earning $3.04 million, a staggering 5 times more than what runner-up Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong takes home. In fact, PM Lee's salary alone can fund the combined salaries of 8 of the world's highest paid politicians, including Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. Similarly, an entry-grade minister in Singapore earns much more than his counterparts in other countries, taking home a yearly income of $1.57 million. With the provision of high salaries, Singapore is one of the most corrupt-free countries in the world. High salaries are thus deemed to be justifiable as the money of the people are not pocketed. Rather, it is used to improve the welfare of its people.
However, the above two arguments can be debunked in a few ways. High salaries would attract the best talents into the government, but these talents might not have the innate passion to serve the people. Political office is simply seen as yet another career choice. Without the drive to do the best for its people, politicians would find it a chore to remain in office and this is detrimental to any country's progress. On the other hand, while there is a strong correlation between the salary rates of government and the level of corruption in a country, it does not suggest a causal relation between the two. The world's least corrupt countries, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand, do not provide their government officials with high salaries. It is believed that anti-corruption should be a trait that is embedded in government leaders. Even if the risk of corruption still exists, it can be prevented with the establishment of anti-corruption bureau. In Singapore, a powerful and non-compromising Corrupt Practices and Investigation Bureau is a strong deterrent to politicians who want to have their palms greased. Evidently, the presence of the bureau is more than enough to prevent corruption, and high salaries are thus redundant and unnecessary.
High salaries are unjustifiable because they often result in public dissent. In the United States, a bill legislating the rise of pay for politicians by 33% met vociferous dissent in the House of Representatives, and strong protests were registered across the nation in all mediums, be it in newspaper editorials, web blogs or talk shows like The Daily Show. Catholic Church bishops in France railed against the Government officials' high salaries, which in some cases exceeded one million pesos monthly. In Singapore, the dissatisfaction towards the government is evident in the recent May 7 election, in which the People's Action Party (PAP) only obtained 60.1% of the votes, its lowest mandate since independence in 1965. A pre-election survey conducted by Australian company UMR Research showed that 68% of Singapore's voters are dissatisfied with the overwhelmingly high ministerial pay. Evidently, high salaries of government comes at the expense of alienation from the masses. As such, leaders of a country may face problems in marshaling people to make sacrifices for the country. Citizens should be able to look up to leaders for moral leadership and inspiration. If what they perceive are mercenaries at the helm, then asking them to make sacrifices will be met with cynicism and indifference. This will not bode well for Singapore's future.
Public service must remain a noble undertaking for which people are prepared to make sacrifices in exchange for the benevolent power to improve the lives of others. If we corrupt this by money, we can be efficient but never a country of high ideals. Many countries, including Singapore have acknowledged that salaries must reflect the values and ethos of public service. On May 21, it was announced that NKF chairman Gerard Ee will be the head of a committee to review the basis and level of government salaries. The PAP is aware that the unhappiness over high ministerial pay must be addressed if they are to renew the compact between the government and the people.
In conclusion, high salaries are unjustifiable because we need leaders who serve out of love and patriotism, not workers who simply work for a high pay. The high salaries should neither be used as an incentive to recruit talents nor as a deterrent to corruption. Instead, we need to cultivate a strong sense of nationalism so that talented individuals serve the people on their own accord, while having the moral conscience to handle the public funds with proper care. Only then can we truly progress as a united nation.
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