Last week, critics attacked Los Angeles County officials for allegedly misusing anti-terrorism funds to purchase, among other things, a $4675 teleprompter. Columnists in the UK are now criticizing the National Health Service for posting a recruitment for a “high-priced” speechwriter while the agency deals with a massive budget shortfall.

The Times (UK) reports

“Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, is to hire a personal speechwriter to overhaul the flagging reputation of government health policy as deficits in the NHS continue to soar.

Days after revelations that health service debts have passed £800 million this year, it has emerged that the Department of Health is inviting applications for the new role of speechwriter to help to sell its controversial reforms.

Advertisements for the part-time post, published on Thursday, suggest that the successful applicant can expect up to £56,000 a year for only 18 hours’ work a week — the equivalent of almost £70 an hour. The rate, which would amount to a £120,000 annual salary, is 30 per cent higher than that paid to President Bush’s leading speechwriter.”

The job description confirms that the position is offered with a two-year contract and an 18-hour workweek. The salary ranges from £38,356 (around $66,000) to a high of £56,543 (around $98,000).

That this somehow computes to “£120,000 annual salary” is irrelevant, as additional hours are not on offer. Anyone who has ever worked as a speechwriter knows that you are on call, at the whim of the person you are writing for. The 18 weekly hours will not be at the convenience of the speechwriter, nor is it likely the work will be completed in just 18 hours. Finally, if the secretary’s communications staff currently outsources her speeches to a PR firm, the NHS may be paying £5,000 to £7,500 per speech, so it wouldn’t take long for a fulltime speechwriter to offer a handsome return on investment.

I really don’t think this salary is out of line, though I may not understand UK government pay scales. And to paraphrase an old maxim on how the government does business, I don’t think anyone should have to give a speech that was written by the lowest bidder.