Susie Squire: The rich get richer in the public sector

Susie Squire is Campaign Manager of The TaxPayers' Alliance.

Against the backdrop of recession and job losses, lower incomes, higher outgoings and lack of credit, it would be easy to think that everyone is feeling the pinch in these tough economic times. But not everyone is suffering, some people are doing rather well. Better than ever, in fact.

Today the TaxPayers’ Alliance releases our Public Sector Rich List. This report details everyone in the public sector on over £150,000 per year. It is notable that, against the current trend in every other area of employment, there are more people on more money than ever before. Astoundingly, there are even a few people on the list who receive over £1 million a year.

As a report in the Telegraph showed on Friday, the public sector will have recruited an extra 50,000 workers in the six months to the end of the year.  While other areas of the economy shrink and companies work hard to become leaner and meaner than ever, the public sector continues to bloat ad infinitum. As it has become harder to gain employment in the private sector, the public sector has grown and grown, and these are not just ordinary jobs. Many public sector jobs come with massive perks: there are, for example, more public sector pensioners than ever with million pound pension pots, while private investors have seen their pension contributions reduced out of recognition. The natural consequence of this is that you’ve got less and less people (in the private sector) paying for more and more people (with hefty salary raises and perks to maintain) in the public sector. This is unsustainable, but no one is addressing it.