Chief execs vs centre forwards 2

I blogged previously a while back about what I think is a false comparison between the pay of company directors and that of professional footballers. I'm not defending the pay of the latter (how can you, really?) rather that I don't like seeing it be used as a justification of the pay of the former.

I just spotted the recent research done for the Fabian Society on public attitudes to pay and it turns out (surprise) that the punters think both groups are paid far too much:

A new Fabian poll shows the British public's appetite for fairness and equality: they believe public sector workers should earn more, and are unhappy with the high salaries of those at the top end.

The report from the Fabian Society/YouGov which forms part of a new Fabian publication called The Equality Challenge, due out in September, found that although the British public thought the PM should earn more than top managing directors and footballers, he should earn less than he does currently. They felt £135,000 was a reasonable rate for the PM's job. However, they would slash salaries for professional Premiership footballers to around £62,000 a year closely to their currently monthly salary.

The Fabian Report on equality in Britain found the public felt the following were reasonable salaries:

• Prime minister - £135,000
• MD of a top company - £120,000
• A best-selling author - £80,000
• A GP - £70,000
• A leading Premiership footballer - £62,000
• A state secondary school headteacher - £52,000
• An experienced hospital nurse - £33,000
• A local beat police officer - £29,500
• A good local plumber - £28,500
• A bus driver - £22,500
• A supermarket check-out worker - £15,000
• A fast-food restaurant worker - £14,000.