Singapore leaders face salary cut

FT ^ | 26 Nov 2008 | John Burton

[BGHater]

Singapore is to cut the salaries of Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister, and senior government officials next year by up to 19 per cent, writes John Burton .

The city-state is one of the few countries where the salaries, among the highest in the world, are tied to economic performance.

"Public sector salaries follow the market up and down. The mechanism allows salaries to respond more rapidly to market conditions," said Teo Chee Hean, the minister in charge of the civil service.

Government salaries are pegged to top earners in six professions and Mr Loong's pay is more than six times that of the US president.

[GreaterSwiss]

Interesting idea

[LifeComesFirst]

No wonder they have one of the freest economies in the world (freer than our own, for example). They’ll defer to pro-growth policies, rather than what most other nations’ politicians would do (i.e. giveaways for votes).

[OCC]

Officials defend the practice, saying high salaries are needed to attract talent from the private sector and prevent corruption.

That is always the excuse for raising Congressional salaries. It has been less than successful so far.