The $100,000 club: Who’s really making big money these days

By Nancy Macdonald - Monday, April 15, 2013 Macleans (Full Article)
Canada’s new upper class: firefighters, police officers, teachers
Excerpts Below:

In the past three years alone, the total number of provincially paid public sector workers earning six-figure incomes jumped a staggering 39 per cent in Ontario and 32 per cent in British Columbia—the two provinces that release so-called “sunshine lists” detailing the earnings of the highest-paid public sector workers. That number is inevitably growing as the years go by, and it’s true, of course, that a six-figure income is not the milestone it was 15 years ago. Nevertheless, hefty raises and generous pensions and benefits have public sector workers earning, on average, 12 per cent more than their private sector counterparts nationally, according to new research by the Fraser Institute. Canadians working in the private sector are not seeing their incomes keep pace. By some measures, their wages have fallen 30 per cent. The result is an unprecedented shift among those who earn the most money in Canada, where the average income is $38,000, and a $100,000 income puts you in the richest six per cent of the population.
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Even the most cursory analysis of B.C.’s recently released data on government employees earning more than $75,000 illustrates the growth both in incomes and the size of the government workforce. Four years ago, Abbotsford listed 69 employees (including police and school officials) with incomes topping $100,000. The number has since grown to 306. Some city workers have also seen huge pay hikes in that period. In 2008, Abbotsford’s chief constable, Bob Rich, earned $156,000. Last year, he took home $206,000. At this point, landing one of these jobs is “like winning a lottery,” says Jason Clemens, executive vice-president of the Fraser Institute. The role of government, he adds, is providing services, not comfortable jobs with high pay. The gap between public and private sector wages may be even higher than the 12 per cent cited by the institute. When pensions are considered, it could be 20 per cent, says Bill Robson, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute. Government workers, he adds, are accumulating “eye-popping wealth” through pension plans alone.
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The view of many labour experts that taxpayers can cover any budget shortfalls is muting the urgency of the problem. Across the country, payroll and pension obligations are set to continue rising at a stunning clip. The unfunded liability of the federal public service pension plan alone is slated to hit $300 billion this budget year. Eventually, something will have to give: either it’s the relentless demands of government workers, or the solvency of many Canadian jurisdictions.