It doesn't matter whether you live a meagre existence or a lavish lifestyle, you soon become accustomed to your station in life. That's not to say circumstances can’t change, but live a certain way for any length of time and it can’t help but become your normal.
Now, what’s normal for one might be something totally unfamiliar for another, so it can be difficult to fully appreciate someone else's view given we all look at the world through our own lens. I raise this bit of human nature because it seems there’s an ever-widening disconnect between the average Joe and our political leaders.
I often hear taxpayers lament that if politicians were in their shoes, they would do things differently, a refrain that’s most frequently uttered after a tax or fee puts one more burden on already stretched household budgets. I’ve been hearing that sentiment a lot lately given the cost of living crisis we’re experiencing.
I’ve long thought that this was a classic Catch-22 situation: You want smart, experienced, well-educated people running government, which requires sufficient compensation to attract them, but it also creates a situation where the people entrusted to make the decisions have a view, at least from a financial perspective, that’s not necessarily in step with the average constituent.
Throw in the fact that many of the bureaucrats, particularly high-ranking ones, that provide advice to elected leaders are also compensated quite handsomely, meaning they too wouldn’t feel the financial pinch to the same degree as your garden variety taxpayer.
I should note that compensation for civic politicians doesn’t compare to senior levels, but on a whole, and I’m generalizing here, those making decisions on how much we must pay are almost always in a better financial position than those who will end up paying the bill.
The 338 MPs we send to the House of Commons in Ottawa make a base salary of almost $200,000 (more for those with cabinet responsibilities), which is close to quadruple what the average Canadian earner makes in a year. Getting back to that notion of becoming accustomed to your station in life, it’s got to be hard for those making a certain salary to fully comprehend how their decisions will impact those making a fraction of what they do.
This has been going on for years, regardless of the political party in power, so it’s hardly a new phenomenon, but as a greater number of people face financial hardships, I think the disconnect is becoming more acute.
I can’t help but wonder if the national housing crisis was allowed to worsen, in part at least, because those calling the shots weren’t having any trouble finding suitable accommodation. I wonder if a tax hike, at any level, would get the OK if those approving it would then be faced with a choice between paying their rent/mortgage or paying for groceries.
I’m not begrudging a decent wage for politicians and bureaucrats, and in a perfect world government would attract the best and brightest, but it sure would be nice if those folks had a better handle on how the other half lives.
