by BENJAMIN WITTE-LEBHAR
Chile’s billion dollar man, Sebastian Piñera, has a US$30 billion dollar problem on his hands. That’s the estimated price tag of damage caused by the monster 8.8-magnitude earthquake that wreaked havoc on Chile Feb. 27, less than two weeks before Piñera was inaugurated president.
The new conservative government, Chile’s first since Augusto Pinochet, has already said it will modify the 2010 budget, making whatever cuts it deems necessary to come up with cash to fund the reconstruction. Fortunately for Piñera, those cuts won’t affect his own salary, which is approximately US$800 more per month than what his predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, earned.
According to a government Web site, the new president – who was sworn in March 11 – will earn just under US$15,000 per month (US$178,000 per year), a 5.7 percent increase over Bachelet’s 2009 paycheck. Don’t blame inflation. Chile’s price index actually dipped last year, down 1.7 percent.
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