At best, the comparison is akin to comparing the market premium of a medical officer in a hospital with that of the hospital administrator. The fact that earlier arrangements produced a uniform 114 per cent market premium does not transform that historical compromise into an immutable principle. *The full compensation picture includes the duration of office allowances*The article’s focus on the market premium also understates an important structural difference. Most academics spend most of their careers without such an allowance while continuing the full load of teaching, research and community outreach. On that central claim, the case against the approved market premium has no leg to stand on.