As the global economic crisis is still roaming the world one might think that now would be the time to come together, forget private ambitions and work towards a common goal. Yeah one might think…
If this would be an ideal world with an ideal society then maybe it would be possible, but sadly this is not the fact. While these truly are hard times, these are also times of various possibilities. Of course in an ideal society everyone would do their outmost to combat the crisis in every possible way. Today more often then not everybody fights for themselves. While this might be ok for private entrepreneurs and larger companies, at least it would be justifiable, it is totally wrong when government officials start to use this crisis for their own benefit. While some politicians use the crisis as propaganda to increase their party ratings others simply gain financial benefits. Is it morally correct to proclaim that now everybody must tighten their belts and accept huge cuts in salary for the benefit of overall economy while at the same time the salary levels of government official remain ridiculously high. How can you order a family to survive with minimal income while you yourself have never experienced that? I, as a private person, might understand that it is necessary to decrease costs and thus decrease wages, but only if I see that the official who have ordered it do the same. While this may not be text book corruption I still perceive this as corruption if an official uses his post to gain unfair financial benefits in the time of crisis. If the overall situation is normal I have nothing against higher salaries for government officials, after all they represent our country and must be rewarded. Sadly in most cases government officials have now forgotten who they represent and only thinking about their personal ambitions.
I really do hope that the situation will change, but I fear that this will not happen in my lifetime. On some level I even understand these people. It is very hard to let go if you have gained something valuable, even if it is for the good of us all. This is the nature of humans.
