Too much money for too little work: This is the common prejudice about the payment of members of the Bundestag. Currently, a deputy receives a monthly allowance of 10,323 euros – a lot of money, especially in times of high inflation. But too much? For one or the other, a low five-digit salary may not be enough, says Prof. Niklas Potrafke from the Ifo Institute.
In the “Bild” he now stimulated a debate about the fact that politicians’ salaries should be based “on the wages of the last job outside of politics”. “Especially in times of crisis, Germany needs the best and most experienced people in politics. In order to attract more highly educated people to politics, the incentives have to be right. Salary can also play an important role in this.”
The logic behind it: A top manager from the business world would hardly want to work 60 or 70 hours a week for a good 100,000 euros a year if he could earn x times as much at large companies for such a workload.
According to an Insa survey, a narrow majority of Germans support such a payment model. It remains to be seen whether the concept has really been thought through to the end. If only top managers, lawyers or other well-paid people try to get political mandates because it’s not worth it for a hairdresser, for example, the (professional) diversity in Parliament will probably disappear faster than it already is.
The perspective of young people would then probably be seldom if ever represented in the Bundestag. In addition, it should be borne in mind that politicians often act out of idealism and not primarily to get rich as quickly as possible. Also, the higher the diet, the bigger the outcry from taxpayers…
