The article mentioned this because it was questioning the method in which America seems to be coordinating its financial stimulus. In a highly publicised and criticised move some time ago, Obama gave some top CEOs huge wads of cash, taken from taxpayer money. Some say it is because leaders must be well paid if they are to do their job well, but the journalist who wrote this article, Rothkopf, imagines it would be much better if such an arrangement goes to government officials instead, to which he commented "Perhaps it's time we pay our government officials too little."

Just as CEOs need incentives (is their pay so paltry? I was under the impression that it was also CEOs who gave the green light for things like running up huge invisible assets.) government officals also do. When I was still going for MPS some time ago, it was evident how much a minister in Singapore has to do, and that isn't even scratching the surface. In addition to their portfolios, which I have no idea as to how demanding they might be, they need to attend MPS, various special invites to ceremonies and the like. I have no clue as to how much 'free' time they have to themselves. Even if the article is accurate in citing that ministers have salaries in excess of 1 Million, (in USD, mind you) I am guessing the only time when they will be able to afford the time to enjoy the sums will be when they retire.

This brings to mind why Singaporeans don't cry foul over such pay. Well, for starters, their pay is not that highly publicised. Secondly, it is said that the ministers are paid "two-thirds of the average of the eight highest salaries in six key professions, lawyer, accountant, banker," etc. Thirdly, and most importantly, as long as the country feeds the majority of the population with sufficient grub, few would complain. There was a reading that I had to study for the Dubai Trip last year, and in it there was a quote that ran along the lines of, "It's hard to protest behind the wheel of a Mercedes."

Well, that's not to say that we all posses such wealth as the average Arab sheikh, but the government has been doing a mighty fine job (well, in my scant point of view) and many of us are living the adequate, (if not more so) life. There isn't a lot to complain about, since clearly the government isn't rolling in cash at our expense.

Essentially, the article cites that Singapore's efficient functioning can be attributed to the way the government functions as an enterprise. The government "recognises that they have to pay to get them there, otherwise they go work in the financial community, sell their souls and ultimately add to the overcrowding problem that is currently one of the biggest social issues facing Hell." Well, yeah, I'm not to sure about the latter...

Now that I've typed all this out, I'm not even sure what the gist of this post is. I guess I'm agreeing with the concept that ministers cannot be left without incentives; most no one can. Pay a minister well and the best minds will be attracted, and more importantly, there is little need for corruption to take place when you're paid handsomely already.

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