Lead By Example

Dr. Peter Phillips announced that the government cannot afford the salary increase requests of public sector workers. Information provided by various financial analysts clearly supports Dr. Phillips’s statement that the government may not be in a position to provide the increases that would enable government workers to afford the high cost of living. However, Dr. Phillips’ suggestion for the population to begin living within their means is quite ironic. For the population to do so, it will be necessary for Dr. Phillips and other government ministers to lead by example.  If workers need to make sacrifices, then certainly government ministers can: take a pay cut of their salary; cut the financial perks that include entertainment expense accounts; cut back on the excessive travelling with their entourage to the United States and distant continents; decrease their support staff that attends to their homes, transportation, and security. The list of frivolity that the government indulges in that causes them to live above their means could save tax payers millions of dollars. Dr. Phillips made a good suggestion, but first he and ministers need to show the population that they are willing to make personal financial sacrifices versus simply expecting only the population to bear the burdens of the country.