dimanche, février 16, 2020

16.02.20, contribution 40, compensation 38, income, former presidents of the republic

blog: madic50.blogspot.com / Book: The Two Forms, ed. Amazon

Paris, Sunday February 16, 2020

CONTRIBUTION (40) TO THE NATIONAL DEBATE WANTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC IN 2020.

REFLECTION ON COMPENSATION (38) AND INCOHERENCES IN THE LOGIC OF REMUNERATION OF FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLIC AND ON THE POSSIBILITY OF REMEDYING IT.
(Continuation of reflection n ° 37 of January 29, 2020 and previous ones. Cf.: madic50.blogspot.com)


PROPOSAL FOR A RESETTING OF THE REMUNERATION OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS (1) INCLUDING FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLIC.

1. Preamble
On Sunday February 16, 2020, a television channel released a documentary on the role of Nicolas Sarkozy after he left the office of President of the Republic.

Three aspects of this documentary concern my reflection on the compensation of French executives.

1- Financing the administrative train
Regardless of salary pensions; the Republic pays an average of 800,000 euros to each of the retired Presidents to maintain their standard of living as a manager (security police, driver, car, local, secretary, etc.).

2- The rods
a- Mr. Sarkozy freelances for 100,000 euros the speech.
b- On January 11, 2019, François Hollande created a company to charge for his conferences, when he criticized Nicolas Sarkozy on this point and that he had promised to carry out these exercises on a voluntary basis after his departure from the Élysée Palace.

3- The Boards of Directors (CA)
The law provides that former presidents may be members of five CAs.
Mr. Sarkozy is a member of three CAs.

Mr. Hollande must consider this participation incompatible with his political aspirations as a Socialist.
Be that as it may, his reversal in the remuneration of conferences and the creation of a company for the purpose of organizing their payment indicates that it is not a question of opposition in principle to participation in the capital of a capitalist enterprise.

2) - Reflection
1- The cost
The Presidents therefore establish that the exercise of their level of function cannot be organized below a certain cost.

They make up for this cost
a- In the form of benefits in kind provided by the State,
b- By financial services resulting from the profitability of the knowledge of Power,
c- By putting the Presidential level Address Book at the service of private management networks,

2- Network requirements
a- This cost is not fixed by the sole will of the beneficiaries. It is much more so because of the representation requirements of networks of executives of international level.
Wealth or at least financial affluence have become the discriminating criteria in networks of international managers.
If only by the availability of people.
b- These paid services therefore do not only finance their lifestyle. They allow them to have an international activity and to stay in the circuits of relations of world leaders.
c- Even partially, this cost is recognized by the State. It would not finance such an administrative framework if it was not aware of its usefulness.

3) - The current logic
The current logic of remuneration of retired Presidents of the Republic creates an unbalanced situation and transforms the beneficiaries into capitalist rentier officials.
What may seem strange from people who declare themselves all liberal.

The growing public incomprehension with regard to this confusion is marked by an increasingly open criticism of the assumption by the Budget of the cost of the maintenance of the administrative train of the former Presidents.

Indeed, they affect both the Budget and the private sector; hence the discomfort.

Interested parties and the state would benefit from clarifying this status.

4) - Clarification

1- The requirements
To clarify this, certain requirements must be noted:
a- It is not in the interest of the State that the former Presidents can no longer maintain a public role; national and international.
b- This role has a cost.
c- The incomes of former Presidents must be completely independent of the State Budget. They must no longer burden the latter.
d- The formation of these revenues must not be a spoiler of the state budget.

2- Freedom
Thus, whether they enrich themselves or remain in the public service, the former Presidents:
a- They would not need to freeze and compromise or use their authority for the sole purpose of having the financial capacity to move in the world of executives of international level which is theirs; one where they can be useful.
b- They would benefit from a sufficient financial situation for this purpose.
c- They would have their hands free vis-à-vis a State of which they would no longer be the civil servants by an annuity now disputed.
d- The State would also be independent of them and the services rendered.

In the words of Mr. Sarkozy, they could "be reborn".

5) - Conclusion
This reconfiguration of the remuneration of former Presidents also concerns the financial status of senior executives in the public sector in a globalized world, as well as that of salaried CEOs of multinational companies; as the adventure of Mr. Ghosn gives the example.

Whether these multiple issues are dealt with together or separately is not the main issue of the debate.

The priority is that these questions are discussed and their solutions implemented.

It is indeed certain that the current confusion participates in the division of the French and the disqualification of the executives executives.


Marc SALOMONE

Aucun commentaire: