Like high-level managers at publicly traded private companies, politicians who made bad decisions – judged according to a variety of indicators, from unemployment to health outcomes – should face clawbacks. The easiest way to achieve this would be to adjust their pensions.
NEW YORK – When the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, retires at the end of his term in January, he will likely qualify for an annual government pension of more than $80,000. Ryan’s case – and that of the dozens of other members of Congress who will be retiring this year – highlights the chasm between the financial benefits available to politicians and those available to the vast majority of citizens they are supposed to serve, regardless of how well they actually perform in office.
NEW YORK – When the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, retires at the end of his term in January, he will likely qualify for an annual government pension of more than $80,000. Ryan’s case – and that of the dozens of other members of Congress who will be retiring this year – highlights the chasm between the financial benefits available to politicians and those available to the vast majority of citizens they are supposed to serve, regardless of how well they actually perform in office.