$150,800 Isn't A Bad Starting Pay

By Ben Meisner

While the nomination for the right to represent the Conservative Party in the Prince George -Peace River riding has been pushed back until January 2011, the field remains the same, at least as of this date.

We have three teachers in the race, and while one is a principal of a private school,  that should not detract from their  shared background.

There is nothing wrong with being a teacher, the problem only arises when one looks at the candidate and whether they have, as the saying goes, “ever signed the front of the check”. At least two of three would also be eligible to return to the classroom when the politics are over.

It is a very large prize to get the nomination, because whoever is chosen the candidate from the north riding is a shoo-in for election as the sitting MP.

What’s in the fortune cookie you ask? Well a base salary of $150,800 a year, an automatic pay increase based on private sector settlements, and extra cash for extra duties. Those duties ranging from committee vice chairman and on up to the PM.

But don’t let me stop there; there is a $22,000 yearly expense allowance for living costs in Ottawa plus 64 return airline tickets each year to share with their partners and their dependants.

The job as an MP can best be described as a great, "Gig”.

So why haven’t we had some more high profile names emerge from the shadows to seek the nomination that will guarantee all the aforementioned plums?  That's hard to say.

It was expected that Blair Leckstrom would take the plunge after rubbing the Liberals the wrong way in Victoria on the HST issue. He would have the inside track even though he formerly was involved in some union duties in days gone by.

There is former Mayor Colin Kinsley, but he made the try some time ago and got smacked at the nomination, so with that and his age going against him, is unlikely to try for the prize.

So what do we have?  Well no one who might be considered high profile enough to snag a cabinet post, so we will settle for a back bencher, and they will settle for a very good paying job.

Oh did I forget?  People don’t enter politics for the money, they do it as their own personal sacrifice for the good of the nation.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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