With unemployment climbing, Mr Sarkozy has launched a scheme of state subsidies to supplement low pay, paid for by an extra 1.1% tax on capital income that dismayed his own party's deputies.
Or perhaps some governments deliberately keep wages low because they take it for granted that customs inspectors and driving-licence clerks will supplement their official pay.
These reforms are intended to encourage private pensions (by offering public subsidies and tax exemptions) to supplement the state's pay-as-you-go scheme.
Today, Produits du Sud has created an entirely new stream of income for rural Malians to supplement subsistence millet farming and pay for school fees, medical needs, and food in the lean months between harvests.