Bolivia leader halves his own pay
 

Could you imagine something like this happening in your own country?

[quote:c7e37]
Bolivia leader halves his own pay
Bolivian President Evo Morales
Mr Morales says he wants to share the burden of the poor
The Bolivian new left-wing President, Evo Morales, has cut his salary by more than a half to a little over $1,800 (£1,012) per month.

The decision means that the salaries of all Bolivian public sector employees will be reviewed, as no official can earn more than the president.

Mr Morales said the money saved would be used to increase the numbers of doctors and teachers.

Mr Morales suggested that members of Congress should cut their salaries too.

During the campaign, Mr Morales had pledged to halve his own pay if elected.

The move announced after his first cabinet went beyond that, with a cut of 57%.

BBC South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says many voted for Mr Morales believing that he was different from the more conservative politicians who have governed in the past.

The former llama herder and coca leaf farmer was inaugurated last Sunday as Bolivia's first indigenous president.

He has promised to fight corruption, introduce a new tax on the wealthy, and renationalise energy companies. [/quote:c7e37]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4652940.stm

Re: Bolivia leader halves his own pay
 

The decision means that the salaries of all Bolivian public sector employees will be reviewed, as no official can earn more than the president.

Sucks for everyone else..

It would be nice, but in the US a lot of college presidents earn more than the president, dont even get me started on athletes.

thats pretty cool of him, but if everyone halves their salary, i think it would make the people who arent as honorable as him more susceptible to bribes and corruption.

South America is heading in the left direction. rock:

good to see there are some unselfish leaders out there who are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the people who elected them....thats something thats hard to come by these days.

After years of Dictatorships, and CIA interference.... they all deserve something better.

doesnt matter what direction they take, most countries in south america have never had a true democratic system - sooner or later a dictator will take over.

democracy/capitalism is not for everyone

Re: Bolivia leader halves his own pay
 

Yep. That president is probably pretty well off and it won't hurt him ... or at least not be a tremendous sacrifice. But the little guy that is living paycheck to paycheck will suffer. (I'm assuming they will adjust more salaries than just the ones that are now higher than the president). So it is not really an unselfish act but a selfish, "hey look me at me! Ain't I great!" one. If he wanted to be unselfish he would pass a law that allowed his salary to be lower than others, at least temporarily.

Re: Bolivia leader halves his own pay
 

I beg to differ.... As you know, there are a lot of overpaid political officials even in the US, and Bolivia is no different. And im sure he wont be cutting the salary of his secretary's secretary who barely makes enough money to scratch a living. Im sure it applies to those that are well off. And doing something about it is better than doing nothing. People should be in politics because they genuinely want to better the lives of the people which they represent, not because of the money.

Re: Bolivia leader halves his own pay
 

Actually, I don't know any overpaid public officials. Most would make much more money in the private sector. Until 2001 the US President's salary had not changed in 32 years.

How can you be sure? And since we are assuming, I will assume that not too many elected officials in Bolivia are "well off" at least by US standards, unless their money comes from businesses outside of their office.

notice his name? mr. morales. i thought that was kinda ironic

politicians get too much money...good for him.

Re: Bolivia leader halves his own pay
 

[quote:aacd3]Actually, I don't know any overpaid public officials. Most would make much more money in the private sector. Until 2001 the US President's salary had not changed in 32 years.[/quote:aacd3] At the very least salaries should be standardized. Did you know the range of salaries for Governors of states of the US ranges from 60k-170k? Now if it were more like 80k-90k
not only would money be saved in the long run, but it would be a much more equal system.

[quote:aacd3]How can you be sure? And since we are assuming, I will assume that not too many elected officials in Bolivia are "well off" at least by US standards, unless their money comes from businesses outside of their office.[/quote:aacd3]True, but then again you can take 50,000 american dollars to russia and be extremely wealthy there. The point is they are overpaid by their standards and thats what matters.