I would gladly pay them each a million dollars per year if it meant we got a House full of outstanding MPs. These are the people running our country, FFS. Complaining about MP pay is incredibly shortsighted. What we need to focus on is removing barriers to running for Parliament so that we can get better candidates that better represent Canadians.
Complaining about MP pay is incredibly shortsighted.
I mean according to this article they are making at least 200k/year. I’d posit we are in the land of diminishing returns at that point.
No, we really aren’t. Not only do many highly qualified people make more than that, but the job also requires you to put your career (and pretty much your whole life and family) on hold. 200k is not that much when looked at more rationally (or comparing it to private sector jobs with similar requirements and high pressure) but we live in a land of crabs in a bucket eager to pull others down to the lowest level possible.
I think it’s especially important to realize how stressful it is to constantly be in the public eye and be targeted for personal attacks.
Absolutely, especially with the emboldened right wing over the past few years. Nobody I know has been personally targeted to any great degree, but it’s definitely bad out there.
This, like every argument about executive pay, just demonstrates how overpaid those similar private sector jobs are.
You are making an argument against private sector pay, not for MP pay.
200k is overpaid for anyone in any context? I think you’ll find yourself in the minority there, but OK. FWIW I disagree.
Won’t get you far in Vancouver…
There’s no point in having incredibly qualified MPs if they’re all whipped on every vote. And that’s the way Canadian politics works - an MP is just a glorified seat filler.
Get us an electoral system that breaks up the majority rule and allows MPs to actually represent their constituents, and I’ll fully support a gratuitous salary.
For now, I think paying the median wage in Canada would serve just fine to try to motivate these mushrooms to improve the working conditions of the 99%.
Join a party and choose someone better to run for MP, work to get that person to get elected.
Now you aren’t going to have a say in who represents other communities (they decide for themselves), but you most definitely can have more of a say in who represents yours. But complaining on the internet won’t accomplish this, you will need to put in some effort.
I am member of a party and I personally know several candidates. That’s how I know how high the barriers are. As @psvrh@lemmy.ca said in another comment here, the system is set up in a way that makes it very difficult for anyone other than people who are effectively “retired”, whatever their age. And then we have the gall to complain that most politicians are out of touch with the average Canadian? Of course they are! It’s nearly impossible for the average person to run, let alone coordinate the requirements of the job if they manage to win. That’s how we end up with weirdo oligarchs like JT and PP who are completely divorced from your or my reality — they’re the only ones who are able to make it through the system as it’s currently set up. Harping about their salary is irrelevant because they don’t need it. They could be paid $0 and they would still want the job because all they care about is power and fame. Low-ish salaries only hurt the “middle-class” candidates — the accountants, professors, small business owners, etc.
If you can’t influence these people how would you go about influencing people to vote for you?
Seems like you might be projecting a little bit here. You want it to be you that has the fame and the power instead of them. You’ve indicated how you’re incapable of influencing others, and you only think in terms of power and notoriety. You equate democracy to an oligarchy. Why would I want to support your candidacy over the candidacy of someone else?
You’re so laughably off-base with this comment that I will no longer waste my time here. I’m not sure why you pulled a bunch of random insults and assumptions out of your ass rather than engage constructively.
I’m sorry but I won’t be supporting your candidacy to represent my riding. You’re just lacking in the ability to connect with people.
Maybe if you work on your people skills you’ll have a better chance next time.
Did you know that almost every MP/MPP/MLA, and certainly every Conservative MP/MPP/MLA, is already independently wealthy and doesn’t really care about their salary?
Bitching about MP salaries is a big red herring that just further gatekeeps representative government by ensuring that only people who are already wealthy will run.
I mean, it’s basically impossible for young and/or poor people to run for office today, since you need both time and money, which no one who isn’t independently wealthy, has. Take time off work and go into debt in order to run for office? Hahaha fuck no. This tempest-in-a-teapot just makes it worse.
Then we should stop referring to it as a democracy because clearly it functions as a plutocracy, a government of the wealthy and a system that works on wealth and power instead of the will of the people.
It definitely is a dumb emotional issue in the grand scheme of things, but I feel like I could get by on $194K per year if I were elected MP without being independently wealthy.
I feel like to get competent people you have to pay something like they’d get in the wild. This is not me saying I think they’re competent though.
Yeah this is a much better point. In theory you want people that are their top of their field to be in these positions.
I don’t really see the logic here. They’re already wealthy so who cares if they get a raise? All the more reason they don’t need one, it’s so out of touch with the rest of the country.
The logic is that they’re all rich because a regular Canadian can’t afford to be an MP - if we raise MP salaries we’ll open the door for regular people to compete without significantly impacting the wealth of current MPs.
I’m confused, I thought the issue was that regular Canadians can’t afford to run for MP. I find it hard to believe anyone would struggle to live on nearly $200,000 after being elected. Are you suggesting people would be incentivized to go into debt campaigning for the chance to be elected if their potential future wage was a little higher? There has to be a better use of that money, even in an elections context. Why not some form of funding for “low income” candidates, possibly a loan that’s partially forgiven based on votes? I don’t know what the solution is, but I just can’t see how voting yourself a raise (especially on the same day as unpopular tax hikes) can be seen as anything other than tone deaf.
Well if the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it, it must be true.
How do the proposed raise stack against gen pop wage increases?
Comments from people who have never had real exposure to the political system are useful as tits on a fish.
Being an MP or MLA is an absolute grind. Even more so now with myriad anonymous threats being levied at not only you but your family. They have some reimbursements, but inevitably end up spending some of that pay on expenses.And for the most part, they aren’t rich.
Here is the list from Manitoba MPs:
Niki Ashton NDP university lecturer
James Bezan CPC Rancher, crop adjuster
Ben Carr Lib Teacher, consultant
Raquel Dancho CPC –
Terry Duguid Lib Non-profit organizer
Ted Falk CPC Construction company owner
Leah Gazan NDP Lecturer
Kevin Lamoureaux Lib ATC assistant & Military
Branden Leslie CPC –
Larry Maguire CPC Farmer, Lobbyist
Dan Mazier CPC Pres Keystone Agricultural Producers
Marty Morantz CPC Lawyer
Dan Vandal Lib Middleweight Boxer, Social workerBezan (CPC), Falk (CPC), Maguire (CPC), Mazier (CPC) and Morantz (CPC) are pretty well off. The rest are doing okay, but hardly rich.
Dancho (CPC) and Leslie (CPC) went from school right into politics.A former MP that I new pretty well was a teacher and served on a small city council, an unpaid position in those days, before getting into federal, and then provincial politics. He was the hardest working person I knew.
He got calls at all hours as a federal MP regarding garbage pickup and street plowing FFS. Some constituents were completely clueless as to what level of government does what. He’d listen and try to direct them to the right people, and the only thing he got in return was abuse.
I’ve seen quite a few posts and articles recently citing the Canadian Taxpayer Federation. I want to provide some information about who the CTF is, according to Wikipedia:
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF; French: Fédération canadienne des contribuables) is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization in Canada. The Federation describe as a populist “citizens advocacy group” but critics accuse it to be an astroturf organization.
They have 5 members, or board of directors, who decide the direction of the organization. Many of their directors go on to or come from conservative, separatist, or far-right political parties. A number have gone on to be editors for right wing media such as the Toronto Sun and the National Post.
So when they say "x% of Canadians disagree with [liberal policy], just keep in mind who their respondents are and what the organizations here to do.
To illustrate, one previous president of the organization was none other than former Conservative MP and UCP leader Jason Kenney.
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I endorse a wage decrease across the board till the average Canadian is no longer working cheque to cheque
The PM should make more than the people who run crown corporations. 80 of Canadians are wrong.
