NationStates Jolt Archive

"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."
( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4652940.stm )

Pretty amazing for a couple of reasons:

1) A politician actually kept a campaign promise.
2) A politician is actually trying to do something at his own cost.

Here in the United States, it seems that the meer thought of a politician keeping a promise of any kind is essentially intolerably utopian. But then to actually cut one's own pay (and, it seems, the pay of everyone else in the government) in half in order to do so? Mindblowing.

(Not that I endorse any of Morales' other policy plans. But then, socialism would be less of a problem if those first-world industrialized governments pushing international "free trade" had any remote clue what freedom actually is.)

Wow. Now he earns less than I do. Hell, even before, he earned barely more than I do. :eek:

This is a good thing. It's also a good thing that it's being spread around here.

Any bets on how long it'll take before somebody says something bad about this thread?

Any bets on how long it'll take before somebody says something bad about this thread?
What, that we are liberal apologists for communism? :p

Wow. Now he earns less than I do. Hell, even before, he earned barely more than I do. :eek:

He can probably get more stuff per buck than you though.

Wow. Now he earns less than I do. Hell, even before, he earned barely more than I do. :eek:You earn around £100k
a year? I seem to remember you being fresh out of university not so long ago...

But yes... Morales has shown us the part of humanity that capitalism denies the existance of.

What, that we are liberal apologists for communism? :p

Something like that, yeah :D

Hmm, I did think of something though.

Which do you think is stronger?:
Government officials earning less, therefore more corruption (easier to bribe).
Government officials inspired by president, therefore less corruption (more idealist).

I think either way, he's going to have to find some alternative ways to reduce corruption, as he's also promised to do that.



btw:
1800 dollars per month * 12 months per year = 21600 dollars per year. This is way way below 100k dollars per year. It is even more below 100k pounds per year.

What, that we are liberal apologists for communism? :p

Or possibly for "socialist narco-terrorism"

I think that's great. It's nice to see a leader of a country putting the interests of a country above their own.

"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.

Pretty amazing for a couple of reasons:

1) A politician actually kept a campaign promise.
2) A politician is actually trying to do something at his own cost.

Here in the United States, it seems that the meer thought of a politician keeping a promise of any kind is essentially intolerably utopian. But then to actually cut one's own pay (and, it seems, the pay of everyone else in the government) in half in order to do so? Mindblowing.

That's amazing that a politician would actually do anything like that. It is also very idealistic to say the least here in Europe. The politicians here are always giving themselves pay raises.

Looks like "Morals" really have won the day in Bolivia (sorry, I've really wanted to make that pun for ages!)

Which do you think is stronger?:
Government officials earning less, therefore more corruption (easier to bribe).
Government officials inspired by president, therefore less corruption (more idealist).
Yes, because if history has shown us anything, the more highly paid politicians are, the less likely they are to take bribes. :rolleyes:

You earn around £100k a year? I seem to remember you being fresh out of university not so long ago...
The quote says his pay is now £1k per month. So that's £12k per year. You earn that working in McDonald's. I graduated last year and earn £20k. No idea where you got £100k from.

Yes, because if history has shown us anything, the more highly paid politicians are, the less likely they are to take bribes. :rolleyes:

:P yes yes, I know, I personally believe the idealism is stronger. But anyway, if a highly paid politician became a lowly paid politician, then surely, he would be more willing to make up for his loss, right? At least, until he gets used to it.

Any bets on how long it'll take before somebody says something bad about this thread?

This thread does not take into account the tremendous efforts of the people who work hard every year to make Guyman Oklahoma "Pioneer Days Festival" an incredible success.

I wonder how much cocaine money he's rolling in now...

"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."
( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4652940.stm )

Pretty amazing for a couple of reasons:

1) A politician actually kept a campaign promise.
2) A politician is actually trying to do something at his own cost.

Here in the United States, it seems that the meer thought of a politician keeping a promise of any kind is essentially intolerably utopian. But then to actually cut one's own pay (and, it seems, the pay of everyone else in the government) in half in order to do so? Mindblowing.

(Not that I endorse any of Morales' other policy plans. But then, socialism would be less of a problem if those first-world industrialized governments pushing international "free trade" had any remote clue what freedom actually is.)
Can my new political hero possibly be a Left Winger??!?!?? :eek:

Then again, didn't JFK revert most of his salary too?

(Oh wait, JFK would be considered a rabid Conservative these days...)

The quote says his pay is now £1k per month. So that's £12k per year. You earn that working in McDonald's. I graduated last year and earn £20k. No idea where you got £100k from.Whoops, I misread month as week... woah... that exposes some part of preconceptions.

snip
(Oh wait, JFK would be considered a rabid Conservative these days...)
At least that shows us we are progressing :p

Pretty amazing for a couple of reasons:
1) A politician actually kept a campaign promise.
2) A politician is actually trying to do something at his own cost.


1) for now.
2) for now.

but seriously it'd be great if there was just one politician who was actually human. no matter where in the world he/she was, i'd support them.. even if they sucked..

I wonder how much cocaine money he's rolling in now...

Supporting coca growers does not necessarily mean supporting cocaine.

"Morales, a coca-growers leader, vowed to legalize planting of the leaf, a traditional medicine in the country that is also used to make cocaine.

There will be zero cocaine, zero drug trafficking, but not zero coca,'' said Morales, an Aymara Indian and former llama herder, today."
( http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=a6A2zvEBAlLs&refer=news_index )

"Morales' approach to the coca issue is that the cocaine problem should be solved on the consumption side, not by eradicating the coca plantations: the chewing of coca leafs has been a tradition for more than a thousand years among the indigenous peoples (Aymaras and Quechuas) and coca leaves are considered sacred by them. Its comparatively slight narcotic effect has arguably been beneficial in Bolivian society, enabling the country's many poor people to keep working the entire day, which can be as much as fifteen or eighteen hours long"
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales#Coca )

If his attitude is that it is not the responsibility of Bolivia to enforce United States law, that the United States should take responsibility for its own problems and leave Bolivia alone in the process, then I agree with him 100%. I see no reason to penalize Bolivia because some strangers in a foreign country cannot control their habits and addictions. Of course, I tend to view the so-called "war on drugs" as a miserable failure as well as a huge profit-making opportunity for organized crime, as government interventions into the market process are prone to becoming.

Wow. Now he earns less than I do. Hell, even before, he earned barely more than I do. :eek:

shit, when i lived in Africa i could get 8 times the amount of stuff for a dollar as compared to here. maybe ten times. i'm sure it's similar. depends on the corruption. ;)

Vegetarianistica']shit, when i lived in Africa i could get 8 times the amount of stuff for a dollar as compared to here. maybe ten times. i'm sure it's similar. depends on the corruption. ;)
No man is more wealthy than I am, for I have everything I want. :)

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales#Coca )

If his attitude is that it is not the responsibility of Bolivia to enforce United States law, that the United States should take responsibility for its own problems and leave Bolivia alone in the process, then I agree with him 100%. I see no reason to penalize Bolivia because some strangers in a foreign country cannot control their habits and addictions. Of course, I tend to view the so-called "war on drugs" as a miserable failure as well as a huge profit-making opportunity for organized crime, as government interventions into the market process are prone to becoming.Yes.. his first steps will be about Bolivian Sovereignty.. No more US Military "advisers"

the US Police can Enforce US Law.. INSIDE THE US

no more US-World-Police Puppets in Bolivia :mp5: :sniper: :mp5:

Nice to see a Socialist practice what he preaches.

Yes.. his first steps will be about Bolivian Sovereignty.. No more US Military "advisers"

the US Police can Enforce US Law.. INSIDE THE US

no more US-World-Police Puppets in Bolivia :mp5: :sniper: :mp5:
AAAAAHHUUGGHHH!!!!!!!! :headbang:

It is specifically against all Rules of Decency and Liberal Trolling for you to say things I agree with.

Stop it. Stop it right now or I shall pout. ;)

Well, let me be the first to say it's no big deal, considering that a salary for a politician is not their only source of income. The salary for many CEOs of large corporations is only $1.00 /year for tax purposes, simply because they have expense accounts that they can use to buy stuff. Governments do the same thing. Who needs a salary when you have people making exceedingly large "campaign contributions"?

Ok, so maybe I'm cynical about the whole thing, but it seems more the sort of thing a politican would do to get support without putting a dent in his wallet.

I wonder how much cocaine money he's rolling in now...

I wonder if you can show he is receiving any.

I wonder how much cocaine money he's rolling in now...
My guess would be none.
With this sort of action all eyes will be on his income.

Good for Evo Morales. By all indications he's a very cool-headed, pragmatic, upstanding guy who genuinely has Bolivia's interests at heart.

Government officials earning less, therefore more corruption (easier to bribe).

By that theory, criminals aen't bad, just underpaid.

Dogbert, the greatest philosopher of sarcasm ever...

...Who needs a salary when you have people making exceedingly large "campaign contributions"?
This isn't the States though...I'm not sure politics in Bolivia works that way, with big campaign distribution, bonuses and all the rest of it.

I think this guy is really starting to impress me. It's what happens if you let a normal person become a politician, instead of these elitist bastards who've never had a proper job in their life.