Did
Gordon Campbell discover a way to deal with an effective
Opposition by buying it off and discrediting it, or did
Carole James discover a way to set 15% as the minimum for
200,000 public sector workers entering into collective bargaining?
At first blush one might think that Campbell got a good
buy for his money; the destruction of the Opposition's credibility
for a few million, but we'll have to wait and see the consequences
of the rush to the trough as a precedent for public sector
bargaining. The increase that MLAs gave themselves on their
base pay ($11,180), is almost twice as much as a single
person on welfare is given to live on for an entire
year. The MLAs tried to fudge the increase by claiming that
an employer contribution of $6,800 per year to an RRSP is
part of their base pay; they then turned around and voted
themselves a gold plated pension plan. Out of almost 3 million
tax returns for BC in 2002, only 470,330 (16%) showed deductions
for registered pension plans, and only 776,400 (27%) showed
RRSP deductions. MLAs shouldn't feel too hard done by because
they "only got $6,800" as an employer paid RRSP
contribution.
Anyone
who watched the performance in BC's legislature for about
45 minutes following question period must be more disillusioned
and disgusted than ever before. It took less than an hour
for a bill that re-instated gold plated MLA pensions and
pay increases, ranging from 15% to almost 50%, to be rushed
through all stages of "debate". Given the contempt
for the public displayed in the orgy of diving into the
pig trough, it's amazing that both sides of the House didn't
rush the Lieutenant Governor into the chamber to proclaim
the Act.
It is
not as if BC MLAs were hard done by. The base pay was $75,400
plus extras for various specific offices plus benefits to
die for. On top of that, the employer paid RRSP contribution
was more than most British Columbians could make if their
lives depended on it - $6,800. The new
base pay of $86,580 is the starting point before bonuses
such as an additional $57,740 for being Premier or $44,740
for being Leader of the Opposition; lesser lights such as
the caucus chairs receive an extra $23,948.
The
biggest pig-out is the instant awarding of a defined benefit
pension plan retroactive to all MLAs with previous service.
The new pension will give MLAs 65% of their best 3 year
average salary if they have 12 years of service, collectable
at age 55. In the best public service defined benefit plans,
pensions accrue at 2% for each year of service. It would
take over 32 years for most public employees to come anywhere
close to what MLAs gave themselves retroactively for one
third as much service. It is as if Gordon Campbell, Mike
de Jong, Mike Farnworth, Jenny Kwan and others who will
have 12 years of service by the time of the next election
on May 12, 2009, suddenly won the lottery; however, they
not only picked their lottery ticket but they also selected
the winning numbers! It is disgusting.
Just
so there was no misunderstanding, "division" was
called for the vote on Bill 17 (2005), in other words, a
recorded vote. It passed with not a single opposing vote.
There is a very good reason why people shift from support
of political parties to support of advocacy groups. On November
17th, both the Campbell Liberals and the James New Democrats
sent a message that reinforces that cynicism with politics.
About
Me |
Mail Me | Links