Someone told me.
Henry Paulson was chairman of Goldman Sachs. He earned more than USD 30 million in 2005.
He was invited by President Bush to be the Secretary of the Treasury, for a salary of less than USD 200,000. He accepted. He did not need to be paid the same salary as he earned in the private sector.
Perhaps, there are other motivation for people, such as Henry Paulson, to serve in the top levels of government?
This is something that probably we may like to query if it is a necessity to increase the salaries of our ministers.
ReplyDeleteIts passion and not only monetary rewards that ones need in order to serve in the ministry.
Henry Paulson is only one of the many American politicians who are willing to accept lower paying govt jobs. How about Robert Rubin, Alan Greenspan, George Bush, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf a country's ministers are chiefly motivated by money, aren't the citizens exposing themselves to the risk that these ministers might sell state secrets for money?
Do people really want ministers that are too money-minded?
Sure, we have to pay them well.....but certainly not at the level of top private sector salary.
I don't buy the argument that our ministers can do equally well in the private sector. People get retrenched in the private sector. I have never witness any minister being axed without being given a cushy role in some GLC.
We hear the same arguments that ministers have to be paid top salaries bcos their jobs are equal to the top executives in private sector. But many of the ministers were not top executives before. They became top executives after they retired politically!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think a minister's job is that difficult! There is a whole army of support staff from perm sec to scholars to help the minister. Let see how these ministers can do when they have to strike out on their own without political connections and doors already opened for them!
It's a practical world, and he has earned enough to actually stay alive (very well) to endure the lower salaries.
ReplyDeleteSalaries are not a measure of ability; neither are they a measure of responsibility.
You also cannot chain a man to a desk with money if the man already wishes to leave.
What motivates people to serve in the top levels of government indeed?
I believe that is a question which people like Henry Paulson have answers for.
Would it be possible to actually query them in order to find out what makes them tick?