During last year, the Panamanian state spent $3.925 million in salaries to public officials, 8% more than what was reported in 2017, a rise that is explained by the year on year increases reported in the first months of 2018.
Figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic detail that between 2017 and 2018, spending on salaries for public employees increased $298 million, going from $3.627 million to $3.925 million.
The Panamanian government has spent $2.580 million in salaries for civil servants from January to August this year, 10% more than had been reported in the first eight months of 2017.
According to figures from the Office of the General Comptroller between January and August 2017 and the same period this year, the expenditure on salaries for civil servants increased by $241 million, from $2,339 million to $2,580 million.
Like lemmings running towards a cliff, Costa Rica repeats the kind of actions that underscore the definition of a society incapable of stopping on the road to a terminal crisis.
Between January and June, the Panamanian State disbursed $1.915 billion in salaries to public officials, 12% more than the $1.708 billion reported in the first semester of 2017.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic reported that the cumulative gross salary of the Public Sector payroll in June 2018 amounted to $333.3 million, of which $312.2 million corresponds to permanent officials and $21.1 million to interim staff.
The Panamanian State spends $321 million a month on salaries paid to public officials, well above the $209 million spent on this expense four years ago.
Monthly expenditure on public salaries has increased, especially during the Varela administration, as according to figures of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from March 2018, every month $113 million more is paid than in 2014.
The total amount disbursed by the government in payment of salaries up until October 2017 was $321 million, 18% more than in the same month in 2016.
According to a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic, a total of 233,111 posts were registered in October of last year, which are divided into 209,173 permanent and 23,938 contingent workers.By sector, 150,414 corresponded to the Central Government and 82,697 to the Decentralized Sector.
The 2017 budget drawn up by the government of Costa Rica is the result of an arithmetic exercise, where the political will of the Solis administration has barely reduced maintenance and has increased privileges in the dominant state corporations.
EDITORIAL
Scandalous could be the best word to describe the magnitude of the increase of 12% which the Solis Rivera administration has made in the 2017 public budget.The 12% increase not only far exceeds the projected inflation for this year, but is disproportionate and far from reality, considering the serious and urgent fiscal problem facing the country.
"In Costa Rica civil servants earn the most out of all Latin American countries, which is disproportionate to the economic and fiscal reality of the country."
An increase in resources for debt repayment, education and pensions account for the 12% increase in the 2017 budget compared to the 2016 budget.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance,"... the Bill for Fiscal Year 2017 is in the amount of ¢8.9 billion and is 12.1% higher than in 2016 ... due mainly to an increase in the debt settlement, resources for education and for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. "
Using its corporate power and taking advantage of the power vacuum that is afflicting the State, a public university in Costa Rica is paying first world salaries, exacerbating the inequality that exists between Costa Ricans and severely distorting the labor market.
EDITORIAL
The degeneration of democracy which is happening in a lot of Latin American countries has Costa Rica as an example, a country which historically used to be a shining example of the best way to live in society.
An announcement has been made that $12 million will be allocated for the reconstruction of the Justo Arosemena legislative building in Panama City.
The chairman of the Legislative Committee on Infrastructure, Deputy Jose Antonio Dominguez, told Prensa.com that "... they will recommend the total renovation of the old building so that they can house there all of the working committees currently operating in the reverted areas. "
It has been pointed out that the solution to the financial debacle of the State of Costa Rica unavoidably involves rethinking the system of incentives and salaries of public officials.
Crhoy.com reports that "... economists and former ministers have said it's good that a containment of public expenditure be made, but if the current government and MPs really want to solve the budget deficit they must not stick only to the administrative unti but must also delve into the issue of public sector salaries."
The academic corporatism which has come to power in Costa Rica brings a "vision of the world of the Social Democrats of the sixties and seventies."
An analysis carried out by Juan Carlos Hidalgo on his blog on Elfinancierocr.com on the proposed Costa Rican state budget points to a decalogue of macroeconomic horrors that besides contradicting election promises on cost containment and austerity, show an outdated vision of the new government regarding the alleged benefits of increased public spending in the functioning of a modern economy.
One in eight economically active Panamanians receives a salary from the State, a growing trend which constitutes a serious risk for the development of the country.
An article on Nacion.com reports that "... The number of staff working for the State in March amounted to 204,904, representing an increase of 7,857 or 4% compared with March 2013, according to the Comptroller General of the Republic. "
Though means of five rounds of talks Costa Rica's government is attempting to build a social pact that will enable solutions to be found to the plight of the state's finances.
An article in Elfinancierocr.com reviews the topics to be discussed dates of the meetings scheduled by the Ministry of Finance:
1 - Administrative and Legal Strengthening of Tax and Customs System, October 24.
The president of Honduras is inviting bids for the administration of a trust for the timely payment of wages of state officials.
Elheraldo.hn reports that President Porfirio Lobo said that "This measure is intended to end the constant strikes by institutions and workers' protests because of non-payment of wages and other benefits enjoyed by government employees. '