If misery loves company, then American and English taxpayers can enjoy a bonding experience after reading this story about excessive pay for bureaucrats in Brussels. According to the Daily Telegraph, at least 1,000 (and probably more than 2,000) of these euro-crats earn more than the U.K. Prime Minster.
More than one thousand EU officials earn more than the Prime Minister, according to research carried out by the The Daily Telegraph. …Included in the overall total are Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president, Baroness Ashton, Europe’s foreign minister, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President along with six vice-presidents and 19 commissioners. This group of 28 people, who are all unelected, earn £57,000 to £103,000 more than Mr Cameron and include the three best paid politicians, Mr Van Rompuy, Mr Barroso and Lady Ashton, in the western world. Among the 995 European civil servants, who are on the AD14 to AD16 grades earning £146,267 to £179,703, are at least 90 unelected British EU officials earning more than the Prime Minister. The Commission has admitted that the true numbers cannot be calculated and could be at least twice as high. After tax relief and generous perks are taken into account it is likely that over 2,000 officials are earning more than Mr Cameron. …Research and information requests have also found that there are 19 European Parliament assistants, or researchers to MEPs, who earn £75,752 a year. Another 12 assistants, eligible along with EU officials for low tax rates, pocket £70,217 a year. A British MP in the House of Commons earns just £65,738.
Come on now Mr. Mitchell,
Every progressive knows that £179,703 is a small, very reasonable, pittance compared to the billions these politicians manage through mandatory tax, mandatory spend, mandatory redistribution, and mandatory subsidies to privileged sectors, committees, companies and voters. What is even 1000 x £179,703, to rectify the ubiquitous market failures we see in virtually every aspect of economic activity these days? :-). And what is even a few thousand x £179,703 to prevent the continent from growing at more than 1.7%/y in a world that grows at 4.0%/y on average? We would not want runaway growth, would we?
Something akin to the old Soviet adage applies here: “The only ones morally justified to rise above the equality of the lowest common denominator, are those encharged of safeguarding equality itself”.
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