A New Front in the Income Inequality Wars?

from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:



A New Front in the Income Inequality Wars?
June 6, 2010 ⋅

Britain’s new Conservative Party prime minister has an idea for ending pay excess in the public sector. Should overpaid execs in the private sector — in the United States — now be starting to shudder?

By Sam Pizzigati


Britain’s new Conservative Party prime minister has an idea for ending pay excess in the public sector. Should overpaid execs in the private sector — in the United States — be starting to shudder?

Conservatives politicians have always enjoyed bashing public employees and their paychecks. So no one should be particularly surprised that David Cameron, Britain’s new prime minister, has just launched a major media offensive against the UK’s highest-paid government officials.

But this new offensive may end up as much more than just another cynical political maneuver to exploit taxpayer frustrations.

Indeed, Cameron’s charge might even trigger — quite unintentionally — a major breakthrough in the struggle against income inequality, in Britain and everyplace else where corporate executives are walking off with outrageously high multiples of the pay that goes to their workers.

A conservative politico triggering a breakthrough against inequality? In the United States, that notion sounds simply preposterous. But the UK’s David Cameron styles himself a different sort of conservative. He’s actually framing his less-government-spending conservatism as an antidote to the UK’s growing gaps in income and wealth. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/a-new-front-in-the-income-inequality-wars/

There is a Burkean streak to his conservatism. And a liberal-democrat coalition partner in his government.