University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Peter Rathjen received a $250,000 increase in his package, taking it to between $855,000 and $869,000 a year.

That's a 40 to 45 per cent increase. A bit like the 40 per cent pay rise our state MPs granted themselves in 1993 or the 39 per cent increase given to federal politicians in 2011.

Battlers might only dream of earning say 10 per cent of the Rathjen increase, but battlers don't run a $500 million business, with 30,000 clients and $1 billion in assets.

The Marxist idea that the big boss should be treated no better than the unskilled recruit in terms of remuneration is fairyland stuff, and why communism has either failed or only persists under a dictatorship.

Unless the university can attract the right talent with an industry-standard financial lure, we will not attract the likes of vice-chancellor Rathjen, who is clearly an expert manager of a growth industry, in a highly competitive market.

On the other hand, his pay increase is a rare phenomenon, at a time when everyone else is working in a climate of restraint.

The yardstick ought to be the growth of the organisation. The nation's top bankers earn squillions, but they do so because their banks earn billions. The base line of remuneration may be pulled into a spiralling orbit at times, that outrages the rest of us, but that's the nature of corporate competition.

If you are a market leader you can charge a premium for your product and you can afford to reward your manager.

A good corporate citizen also rewards its workforce, with a lift in their perks or pay packets, commensurate with the success of the company.

That's the beauty of capitalism. A beautiful blend of productivity, opportunity and fairness.