Taxpayers might be forgiven for wondering what's up with the public sector, given the line-up now at the taxpayer's door who demand pay hikes (nurses, deputy ministers, and members of Parliament). I've written in the past on the nurses' dispute and the problem with their union making private sector comparisons when that union opposes private sector health care delivery, and that issue will reappear in a future column. For now though, here are some issues as it concerns deputy ministers and MPs.

In the proposal for hiking the salaries of members of Parliament, there are two extremes that ought to be avoided. They are A:) that MPS should never get a raise at any point and B:) any raise is justifiable because (some) MPs work hard. In the present however, the proposed 20 percent raise for federal politicians is not justifiable.

One reason is the ethical problem whereby MPs vote on their own pay packages. (If you own a company you can do what you like as regards salary. Members of Parliament do not "own" taxpayers and thus that reason is off-limits to them.)

Another reason is the recent behaviour of some members of Parliament which hit a new low this past year. Some MPs have compared Canadians to cross-burners, bigots, and holocaust deniers. Many MPs supported a gag law that, in effect, told anyone not a member of a political party to shut up during elections or end up in court and in jail. And then there was M.P. Tom Wappel, who denied help to an 80-year-old because of that man's politics.
It gets more depressing better when one looks at the leaders. Stockwell Day took forever to apologize to Canadians for his $700,000 legal bill. And Jean Chretien's story has flip-flopped over Grand-Mere enough times to make one seasick.

Given the record of the past year then, do MPs deserve a raise No, not right now, and not until the bad apples among them stop insulting and gagging Canadians for, oh, at least a year. Call it a probationary period for the new parliament.

As for deputy ministers in BC, a rotten deputy minister appointed for his or her politics who lacks proper experience can and has cost taxpayers a fortune in the past; a sharp one can save taxpayers money. Does that mean taxpayers should be thrilled about double-digit pay hikes for new senior mandarins in B.C. Hardly.

But when it comes to pay increases for provincial deputies or federal politicians, taxpayers should dismiss the arguments from envy - they are a lousy basis for tax policy and just as inappropriate when discussing compensation. (The reason MPs do not now deserve a pay increase ought to be discussed in the context of their behaviour, not envy. Also, many are now paid significantly more than they would earn in the private sector so the pay-them-competitively argument does not apply here.)

As it concerns deputy ministers and nurses, if the new provincial government intends to pay more and the justification is to keep or attract talent, then they also must ensure the overall government payroll for already overtaxed taxpayers does not grow significantly larger in the short-term. Preferably, it should shrink. That means choices have top be made about what it is government should do.

Any lay-offs in the public sector should be handled fairly. But at the end of the day, the size of government and those in employ to taxpayers (whether they are MPs, deputy ministers, or any other staff) serve at the pleasure of taxpayers (who pay a pretty penny for BC's government), not for their own sake.