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Editorial: What are politicians paid for?

Taiwan's politicians probably think they are doing a good job.

They probably look at their multitudinous accomplishments -- even if all they have done this year is change a couple of signs and prevented any meaningful legislation from passing -- and say to themselves: "We're earning our pay, and we deserve all of these perquisites that we get."

It is pertinent to note that your average legislator makes upwards of NT$150,000 a month, or five times the average monthly wage in Taiwan, and can pull in about NT$600,000 a month to cover expenses like staffing, telephone bills and "constituent services." Officials at a variety of levels also receive a car and driver, government housing, huge stipends and, lest we forget, a sizeable monthly "special allowance," from which they can plunder willy-nilly.

When one ponders all of the time and effort that our politicians spend on the "issues of the day," it's not hard to end up wondering at their salaries.

The responses to the plan to rename Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall make up a spectrum of reactions from those who say it is a wonderful step forward for democracy (in the case of the pan-greens), those who argue it is an exploitation of ethnic conflict (in the case of the pan-blues), and those who believe it is a total rejection of history (in the case of a handful of veterans of the Civil War).

It is an emotional issue, and people will have emotional reactions. A more rational response would require one to question how important any of this really is. What is difficult to establish -- beyond the fact that the name plate on a pile of marble can upset people -- is how any of this could possibly affect anyone's daily life.

But of course, it is important to establish that it isn't merely the pan-greens who are immature and unreasonable.

It was no surprise when the Taipei City Government decided to fight fire with fire by renaming part of Ketagalan Boulevard the "Anti-Corruption Democracy Square." Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) argued that he was acting merely on the suggestion of "some residents," forgetting for the moment that this rationale would contradict his party's official line on why the memorial hall should not be renamed (that it is an unnecessary expense).

There is a very real problem with the way in which our politicians conduct business. Anyone who, at this late date, is still running around blaming "the other side" for the mind-numbingly facile political discourse in this country is simply not pausing long enough to let the oxygen reach his/her brain.

It is infuriating and irresponsible of these politicians to be so single-mindedly focused on pointless slanging matches when there are real problems that must be addressed.

For instance, Taipei County Councilor Wu Shan-jeou (吳善九) was gunned down in cold blood on Wednesday, most likely by gangsters looking to continue bilking taxpayers out of millions of dollars through construction rackets.

What was the response of our noble political leaders? They wasted no time in pointing the finger at each other and claiming that it was the other's fault. Wu's body was barely cold when People First Party Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) claimed the premier had to take responsibility and step down.

Is this the kind of opportunistic monkey that gets paid using our hard-earned tax dollars?

There is a legislative election coming up. It is hard to say how it will turn out, given that the number of seats in the legislature will be cut in half and the electoral system will change.

But it is already hard not to be happy. No matter what happens in December, one thing is certain: Half of these oafs will lose their jobs.
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