Minister of the Interior and Health Arie Deri.
Does he have a budget?
Why doesn't he spend it all on appointing the CEO? After all, it's from Shilot (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)
This morning, Kalman Libeskind and Assaf Lieberman revealed on their show (Broadcasting Corporation) that the Minister of the Interior and Health, Aryeh Deri, will try to double the salary of the new-old director general of the ministry, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, the man who became a familiar face in every home when the corona epidemic broke out
. To exaggerate words, we will try to explain briefly: there is a salary ceiling for CEOs of government ministries and it is a little over NIS 40,000 per month, but, if it is a senior official in the public system, for example Nachman Ash and Hazi Levy, who served in another position at Bar Siman Tov, both senior doctors, They can be rewarded according to their status, that's why they got the salary that Deri is now asking to pay to Bar Siman Tov, about NIS 90,000 per month.
It is very easy to oppose this intention: both against the background of the dismal budgetary situation of the health care system, go tell a patient who is hospitalized in the corridor due to a lack of hospital beds, that the CEO of the office responsible for this failure earns more than a million shekels a year.
It is also very easy to oppose this intention also from the direction of the public interest, because today it is "Barsi" - and tomorrow it will be those who hold other positions, especially CEOs of other government ministries, who will demand a similar reward, which will burden the public system even more.
And the easiest He is to strike down the expected appointment, if and when it happens, because this is Aryeh Deri, who, in the eyes of many, his mere presence in any minister's office is obscene and dangerous. What's more: decades of career as an elected official have made Deri someone whose sincerity of intentions can always be doubted - perhaps he is known Are you a good sign for us, the well-known and talented, to promote another invalid appointment?
Remember Lieberman's insistence in the negotiations with the teachers on the possibility of rewarding excellence? Uniformity means mediocrity (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)
Enough with the socialism that encourages mediocrity
But when parting with the populism accepted in such cases, the question arises - why not actually?
Let's assume for a moment that Deri is right and of good character can easily be appointed to a similar position in the civilian market and earn much more.
Where would we like to see him?
Doing for a tycoon in "citizenship", or doing for the public as CEO of an important government ministry?
And this question takes us further - to other critical systems such as the defense system and the education system.
Remember the debate between the previous Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman and the Secretary General of the Histadrut The teachers Yaffe Ben-David?
A large part of the controversy was over the transition from uniform compensation to performance-based compensation, one designed to promote excellence.
The workers' organization objected - and the reason is clear, but this is exactly what keeps mediocre people in the system, this is exactly what prevents a school principal from bringing in "stars" and appointing them to several key positions, even knowing that in the free market they could earn a handsome salary, much higher than the salary of an average teacher.
Wouldn't you like to assume that the principal of the school where your children attend is endowed with skills that are far above average?
More in Walla!
Shachel's TripleSafe - 3 devices that can save lives, and now - one as a gift
Served on behalf of Shachel
Training in an elite unit of the IDF. We all have an interest in having the best people guard our lives, but why should all those wearing the uniform earn the same? (Photo: IDF spokesperson)
Let the IDF win, even in terms of pay - but not everyone's
And from the school, to the army: every time the salary (and conditions, including pension) of the permanent staff comes up for discussion, the debate is diverted to a channel on one side of which the security establishment presents the general who sacrifices his family's life on the altar of defending the homeland, while the critics remind that behind each individual- Such a virtue, for example, are dozens of car officers or paratroopers (not that I am disparaging, God forbid, these are important positions, but they are usually staffed by people who would not be hired in the private market at huge salaries - and they must be preserved with all the might in the military system).
The solution is clear: increased compensation for the array of field forces as well as for those in special positions, in accordance with what they could earn in citizenship.
After all, we all have a tremendous, life-and-death interest, that the cyber experts (for example) in the army, will be the most talented people, the ones who are waiting for huge salaries outside.
Rather - compete not only for their hearts but also for their pockets - and give them more, as long as you don't ask for unity, because uniformity means mediocrity - whether it's a jobber in the permanent army or the education system, or in general, in the public service.
Moshe Bar Siman Tov, Director General of the Ministry of Health who may return to his position. If he is worth the money, why not earn it? It is in the interest of all of us (Photo: Shlomi Gabai)
The art of governance
Governance is another word that recently stars in the public discourse - and this is the place to show at least one important facet of it.
Why should a minister limit the salary of the CEO he seeks to appoint? After all, he has at his disposal a budget set by the government and approved by the Knesset - why not let him distribute it as he wishes?
If the Minister of Health, whether it is Derai or someone else, thinks that it is a good sign that he is the CEO who will his office for fantastic achievements - rather: on my part that he will earn a million shekels per month - and not just per year.
After all, if the calculation is correct (and I accept in advance that the appointed minister is the sole decision-maker regarding any legal appointment), public health will benefit - and if not, we will always remember Derai for deciding to invest a huge sum in a failed appointment.
The last point, with a hand on the heart, is the Achilles heel of the thesis: in a reformed country, Deri would bet on his CEO in his career: the success of the office was his success - perhaps even giving him public support that would have made him prime minister in the future (theoretically of course). The best example of this is the work of Moshe Kahlon as Minister of Communications, the highlight of which was his war with the cellular giants, which turned him from a primary star in the Likud to the Minister of Finance.
The problem is that in Israel, elected officials are not always evaluated according to success or failure, to say the least. Successful political maneuvering is sometimes worth a lot More than the kosher performance.
And yet: a successful political maneuver brought Deri to serve at the same time as the head of two important systems as the interior and health?
Give him all the tools to succeed - a salary cap that will limit the appointment of the most talented people to key positions, may prevent the designated CEO from earning NIS 90,000 per month, but almost at the same time it will lead to the fact that whoever is appointed for NIS 40,000 per month, will be a person whose skills do not even deserve half of the amount.
Of money
opinions
Tags
Moshe Bar is a good sign
Aryeh Deri
Ministry of Health