I'm definitely no fan of Robert Gibbs, but I completely agree with President Obama's statement that Gibbs has been working for "relatively modest pay".
In bidding a sort-of farewell to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, he noted the "relatively modest pay" for which Gibbs has labored.In fact, he earns $172,200 in a nation where the average family income hovers around $55,000, unemployment is high, record foreclosures persist and wages for most folks are at best stagnant.
I believe that we need to pay our top government officials -- the President, his Cabinet, the Supreme Court, Senators, and Congressmen -- vastly more than we do. At least ten times more. Why?
I've known elected officials, who had significant impact on laws and regulations touching the private sector, who bristled at the sums earned by the CEOs who lobbied them and whose firms they impacted, sometimes helped enormously. One congressional titan even pointed with blatant envy to the seven-figure salaries of network television anchors who cozzied up to him.
These officials have more power than any CEO, have jobs as difficult as those of any corporate executive, but aren't paid accordingly. So what do they do? They leverage the power of their office to make money. It's called corruption, and it is motivated by greed and envy. Sure, it would be nice to have politicians who are honest, trustworthy, and motivated by the public good... uh, right. In the meantime, maybe we should consider paying them salaries that are high enough that corruption isn't so tempting.
