By Celsias
Posted on Oct. 13, 2012. Listed in:
Interesting to see the Green Party get more and more into financial issues.
Russell Norman did well in his call for control over the NZ dollar. It's interesting how quickly things become orthodox. Printing money or quantitative easing is not new, and is common elsewhere to protect economies. Why would we still have any adherence to the notion of absolute free market economics when we are watching in appalling technicolor what happens when Greece or Spain or Italy has no ability to control their exchange rate? It makes no sense at all at any level.
What is it that makes us want to attract substantial foreign capital through higher interest rates than others and which then pushes our currency up?
And what makes us want to have no control?
Is there some magic in the free market that says we have to kill off all our exporters before we act ?
inflation in New Zealand is not this issue. There are far more pressing problems. Youth unemployment is one and another is the growing gap between incomes...a factor which leads to very many social ills.
This income inequality is another part of the equation which has this time beenaddressed by Kennedy Graham, who doesn't usually speak on economic issues.
So an interesting and noticeable change here in the Greens. While action on child poverty has been a high priority issue for a long time , this much more comprehensive approach to other things economic is refreshing and interesting.
In a statement today Green Party MP Dr Kennedy Graham said there needs to be a review of the salaries paid to public sector chief executives.
The call comes in the wake of reports that the highest public sector CEO salary in New
Zealand goes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade chief, John Allen, at $620,000 to $629,999.
He says the level of public sector chief executive salaries in New Zealand is out of alignment with the values of this country.
“The rationale for such astronomical salaries is invalid,” says Dr Graham.
Two arguments are normally advanced in justification of these salaries. First, that high financial remuneration is a precondition of high performance and to attract the best talent. Second, that New Zealand needs to pay internationally-competitive salaries or witness the loss of such people to overseas jobs.
“Both arguments are wrong”, Dr Graham said.
“Repeated studies show that financial reward is several ranks below the top motivation
for taking a job, below quality of life of a country, the nature of the professional challenge, and intrinsic job satisfaction.
“Public sector chief executives tempted to depart overseas in the event they can find higher pay are more than welcome to go.
“These are not the people we want to be running our public service. Indeed, a lower salary would be a healthy litmus test of their commitment to the public good, which is surely what we are after in the public service.
“I have heard it said of the MFAT chief that, based on performance, he should be receiving nothing – his Ministry is in structural disarray, his staff leaving in droves, and there is deep discontent over the Ministry’s change proposals,” said Dr Graham
“New Zealand society is out of kilter when we have a $620,000 public sector salary while our youth are offered $10.80 an hour.
“It is time for a review of these grossly inflated salaries.”
And they haven't even begun on the energy sector yet !
