Re: Salary for legislators.

[Kush Khatri <free_voice@yahoo.com>]

The issue is not high salaries for the legislators but how legislature
as an institution can be strengthened.  Legislature is the most
important institution in a democracy.  Unfortunately, in the last
fifty years  legislatures both at the center and the states level have
been subjected to continuing neglect.
Raising the salaries of the legislators alone will not in itself
improve the quality and strengthen the role of the legislature.  A lot
more will be required.

Take for example India's parliament (the central legislature).  It
lacks proper authority as well as supporting institutions.  By
authority I mean accounting of public money and the power to spend
that money.  The Parliament cannot exercise its fiduiciary
responsibilites unless it has complete authority on the public purse. 
Thus, the first supporting institution required is something akin to
the GAO (General Accounting Office).  Without complete and absolute
accounting of every paise to the parliament, and thereby to the
people, legislature will remain weak.

Indian legislatures are expected to perform all by themseleves with no
help from personal staff and other qualified institutions.  Once again
compare with American legislators: House reps and senators are all
provided by a minimum of support staff (chief of staff, analysts,
secretaries and reasonable offices with phones, faxes, computers etc)
all paid by the people.
Indian legislators have no such support.

In addition the US Congress has the world's largest library, a
Congressional Researh Service (CRS) and the CBO.  The GAO has not only
hundreds of auditors and accountants but has hundreds of analysts
producing world class reports on nearly every subject that concerns
governing.(Most of these reports are free to the public. I will
encourage you to read some of these reports produced by GAO--there is
one on every subject you can think of!)
Lastly, do not forget the committes of the house and the Senate.  Each
committe has its own full-fledged professional staff, providing
quality analysis and information to the legislators.  Indian
parliament has no committees and no other workable alternative has
been found.

Therefore, salaries alone cannot and will not do the job.  The key to
success is in (1) technology, (2)professional experts who are there to
support the government, (3) ability of the legislators to obtain
timely and pertinent information, and (4) an internal arrangement
where legislators can work in smaller, specialized groups, otherwise
known as committees. 
Yes, once we are prepared to invest in technology and professionalism,
them by all means raise the salaries of the legislators.  It will work. 

I have a lot more to say on this subject, but I will stop for now. 
Sincerely, 

Kush Khatri, D.C.

---Sanjeev Sabhlok <sabhlok@almaak.usc.edu> wrote:
>
> I think this is a point that all of us can readily support. The
question
> of how funds will come in for this is not critical; the purpose of
it is.
> 
> An MLA/ MP in power today makes much more than this amount:
definitely in
> the range of many lakhs of rupees, through patronage, transfers and
> postings of officials, bribe collection, etc. The official salary is
so
> low that nobody in his right sense would enter politics. Therefore a
> majority of those who enter are either already rich or are quite
> shameless in creaming off whatever they can, from their jobs.
> 
> Ensuring that an MLA makes an official Rs. 5 lakhs per year and an MP
> about Rs. 8 lakhs or so, will have two effects (both not welcomed by
> existing political groups, unfortunately):
> 
> a) Many well-educated, honest, middle-class folk will try to enter
> politics. Many of these people can easily make Rs. 3-5 lakhs at
today's
> rates in the private sector. Therefore the incentive will be just
right
> for them to take the risk of forsaking an existing "secure" career in
> favor of entering an area where if they do moderately well, at least
they
> will be able to feed their family and send their child to a good
school
> (fundamental priorities of a middle-class person). We need to pluck
out
> our middle class intellengtsia from their secure, tiny, jobs, and
induce
> them to enter politics, the main area of public service, properly
defined.
> 
> b) Among those who are already in this "career" of politics, there
will be
> at least some who will cut down (if not eliminate) their bad
"habits" of
> squeezing out money from every "favor" they grant. If an average
MLA/MP is
> assured the life that is enjoyed by an average private medical
> practitioner, then there is hope that he/she will cut down on
corruption.
> 
> I think Puneet or someone (I can help, too) can start compiling those
> views that are generally supported and send them over to me in a
mail. I
> will place these on a web page which can be entitled "An Ideal
Manifesto
> in Process" and "An Ideal Agenda in Process." 
> 
> Views that are still controversial (i.e., with differences amongst
us) can
> be sorted out at length, in due course, but we should have the sense
of
> accomplishment of having agreed to some points, as time passes by, by
> watching our "list of agreements" growing.
> 
> How does that sound? 
> 
> Sanjeev
>
***************************************************************************
> 
> On Fri, 17 Apr 1998, Suresh Anand wrote:
> 
> > I fully support the following proposal from Utkarsh. I wud say you
need a
> > mimimum of Rs. 40-50,000 pm plus free decent housing and other
usual civil
> > service benefits to attract the right kind.
> > 
> > suresh
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > HI EveryOne:
> > 
> > Just a thought. As a group we should ask our legislators and
lawmakers to
> > be paid
> > well to do a good job. In my understanding, it will bring educated
and able
> > individuals
> > to give a second look for a career in legislative branch of
government. Any
> > body
> > has any idea how much an MLA and MP makes? I have read some
numbers.  But
> > would like
> > to hear a factual number. Can anyone propose a salary for such
important
> > positions
> > to reform India's policy making?
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > 
> > Utkarsh Kansal  
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 

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