Because your pay comes from government subsidies

Politicians have decided that they want to encourage the kind of work you do.

It seems sexy. It seems cutting-edge. It seems like the work of the future.

So they take money from people who earn far less than you and they give it to you.

Naturally, they need to check that the work you do really is as sexy and cutting-edge as it seems.

So they take more money from people who earn far less than bureaucrats and they give it to bureaucrats to check what you do.

And, of course, there needs to be whole system of accounting to make sure that the taxes are collected correctly and the subsidies are paid out correctly.

So they take even more money from people who earn far less than accountants and they give it to accountants to make sure that the money flows they way it should.

It’s a pretty good deal for the accountants, for the bureaucrats and for you.

Sometimes, though, you wonder whether it’s right to make people who earn far less than you pay your inflated salary.