The first controversy sparked by the new island government that emerged from the polls and post-election agreements was that of salaries, and in particular the salary of the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort of Coalición Canaria.
The controversy arose when in an initial proposal the salary of the president of the Cabildo was determined to be €92,928.03 gross, a much higher amount than what his predecessor, María Dolores Corujo (€67,000 gross), was earning, and even higher than the salary of the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez (€90,010.20 gross).
To get out of the way, or as a distraction trick, it was then decided to submit the final salary of the president to a random popular consultation among 300 people. The options were four, the lowest being €87,000 gross and the highest being €104,000 gross.
As expected in a citizen consultation on the salary of a politician, the final option chosen was the lowest possible, the €87,000. And then many were happy that the "people had voted wisely", of the "slap" that had been taken and, of course, almost everyone began to compare that salary with that of the workers and what people normally earn slaving away eight or more hours a day.
But that joy of many, from my point of view, is a more serious mistake of the people than it might seem at first glance. Let's go in parts.
To begin with, €87,000 gross is not €7,250 in the president's pocket each month, but rather about €4,800 approximately, once the endless taxes with which the Treasury robs Spaniards are deducted. A cool salary from the point of view of the average Spanish salary, but nothing out of this world. In fact, it is a lower salary than that of many five-star hotel managers. That is, the president of all of Lanzarote has worse economic status than a hotel manager who manages a few hundred people.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote should earn an amount probably three times higher than what he earns now. Something like €250,000 or even why not? half a million euros a year for his work.
This should be the case to prevent the president of the most important institution on the island from falling into the temptation of corruption. There is a saying in English that is wonderful and that says "pay peanuts get monkeys", which could be translated as if you pay peanuts what you get are monkeys, instead of someone appropriate for the position. Well, here the same. If you pay little then don't complain about having a bad president of the Cabildo, or one that ends up being corrupt. And we know a lot about corruption on this island, to the point that in 2014 El País titled a news story about Lanzarote as the paradise of the 200 defendants (for corruption, of course).
Now many will tell me that one has to be honest regardless of everything. That's very good for people who believe we live in the "world of should". But the world is not as it should be, but as it is and it turns out that the saying goes: opportunity makes the thief. The human being is moved by incentives and, therefore, giving a really high salary for a person, would save us millions and millions that are lost every year in corruption.
It is not the same to earn €4,800 a month and see millionaire projects pass before your eyes from where bribes can be taken, than to earn €12,279 net per month. The difference matters. And even that high salary would point out to the corrupters that corrupting the president is not so easy.
Another reason why our president should earn €250,000 or more a year is to encourage people with greater capacity and prestige to reach the position. The higher the salary, the better and more capable people will be able to preside over us. But if you pay salaries that, even if they are good, are not really different from those that can be obtained in many activities and positions, then the people with the greatest capacity will choose those other activities where they do not have to burn themselves with all the public exposure that presiding over the Cabildo of Lanzarote entails.
It cannot be that a senior official earns more or similar to the president of the Cabildo. But, in short, if what people want is to be governed by climbers who have been militating in parties since they were 16 years old, then, of course, the best thing is to pay relatively little. Isn't that what we already have and have had for so long?
Many people will say that the president of the Cabildo cannot earn more than the president of the Spanish government. But the salary of the president of the government is not higher for pure populism, since it looks bad to raise it. Let's not forget that when someone becomes president of the government, apart from having guaranteed income for life, he will always earn a lot of money when he leaves politics, either by publishing books, giving conferences sponsored by influential groups or, of course, working as an advisor in some large company where salaries are high. If not, look how Pablo Iglesias laughed at the rich to end up being one and living almost like a maharaja in a beautiful residence with a pool.
But when our president of the Cabildo leaves politics, where will he go? Well, nowhere. At most to his previous job if he had one.
In short, these are my reasons for paying a really high salary to the president of the Cabildo: to prevent him from becoming corrupt, something that costs us millions every year, to bring better presidents of the Cabildo instead of political climbers and also so that they do not give pity. Because with €4,800 a month many people look down on him.
It is no coincidence that Lanzarote has been one of the most corrupt places in the Spanish geography. And the first part of the blame lies with us, the people, who pay peanuts and in the end we get monkeys.
