Politicians: Masters Of Defying Reality

If you’re a well-connected jester, buffoon, or liar, there’s always a job waiting for you

In Economies of Obsolescence, I discussed how the Formula 1-like speeds of change we all face in the twenty-first century are sending us rapidly towards obsolescence.  Blue collar workers got the chance to be the first in line, but skilled workers whose jobs can eventually be done by overseas penny labor will be joining their blue collar brethren eventually.    I personally watched as an upper tier manager of a major vacuum-cleaner manufacturer in my hometown saw his job dive into the Chinese abyss.  His job didn’t dive in alone.

One thing you can be sure of is that the politicians will never be made obsolescent, as they seem to operate in a world immune from the yardsticks the rest of us are forced to measure up to.  They are truly masters of defying reality. In the real world, someone or something is made obsolescent when someone or something better comes along.   ‘Better,’ in this case, can have several meanings:   less expensive, more powerful, easier to work with, safer, more value.

By these definitions, politicians should be obsolescent.    Compared with politicians a hundred years ago, today’s politicians are:

• More expensive. In 1900, an American senator earned $5,000/year (about $120,000 in today’s money)  The same senator today earns $174,000.   Presidential salaries have fallen in real terms.  Factoring in inflation, Jimmy Carter earned more in 1980 ($200,000/year) than Barack Obama earns today.  But Presidential benefits packages are better than they’ve ever been and no one can ignore the lucrative speaking circuit and memoir-writing racket a recent ex-President like Bill Clinton has pocketed millions of dollars from.

• Less powerful – that is, less powerful in what they can or will do for the people they represent.  They’re actually more powerful in what they can do for themselves.   40% of all American senators as of 2003 were millionaires.
• Harder to work with.     I am talking about working with and for the people they represent, not working with big business to facilitate corporate and personal gain.
• More dangerous. In the Soviet Union at least, everyone knew the guys in government didn’t represent them.  The stooges standing in as representatives for most Western democracies are actors playing civil servants.
• Worse value. That’s what you call people who get paid more for doing less.

The politician’s ability to defy reality is not limited to the United States.  The basic salary of a British member of parliament (MP) is £64,766 plus a generous expense account.  MP’s from constituencies outside London can claim up to £24,222 in mortgage interest, rent, utilities, and furnishings and have access to another £100,000 per year to employ staff and hire office space.   This a huge jump from 1900.  Until 1911, British MP’s earned nothing, and even then, they were still expected to support themselves with another job.

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