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No Free Speech: What The BBC Pays For Labour MPs' Interviews
Ever wondered what the BBC pays for those interviews with politicians?
Like you, we thought they were free, a chance for the great and good to bang on about their pet campaign. But it turns out that John Prescott and John Reid, both former cabinet ministers, were paid about £250 for their views on the Labour Party conference.
A spokesman for the BBC tells the Mail: “They were given a facility fee to cover the inconvenience and disturbance of being available to BBC News for the whole day, and that is not in breach of our editorial guidelines.”
Hard work, if you can get it.
Get Rich Quick: British Gold Panning In Scotland
If we have learnt anything from George W. Bush it is that being rich does not mean being clever. Money comes to anyone - dumb, smart, tall or short. It is matter of being born into money, working hard or getting lucky.
And the if you feel as though your luck is in, you should get along to Wanlockhead - the highest village in Scotland - for the British Gold Panning Championships. The event takes place in May .
Those of you who think you’re unlikely to strike it rich obviously have not heard the tale of Angus McTangus. And since we haven’t either, the odds are indeed remarkably slim that you will find a nugget among so many rocks and pebbles.
Trustafarians: Trust Funds & How To Get One
Many of us when we hit eighteen look forward to drinking inordinate amounts of alcohol - legally – going to an 18-rated movie and legally do all those things that have been denied us for so long.
A few - let’s call them Paris and Tara – will have the added bonus of a call from their bank manager. “Hello,” he’ll say. “Since you are now of age, I am required by law to hand you the contents of an account set up in trust for you. You, my dear, are sticking rich. You lucky s**.”
Being the recipient of a trust-fund windfall, is something we cannot all be - but we can tell you what they are and why they are.
Let's Link: How To Get Rich By Not Earning Money
John fancies a cake, but he has no money. Poor John. What he does have is a bag of cherries. And he finds that the baker will trade one of his cakes for John’s cherries. The deal is done and both sides are happy. This is known as bartering.
Years ago, John and the baker would have pooled their goods in a tithe barn, a repository for local goods. Nowadays, swappers can stand in the street with their goods in one hand and a sign in the other or opt into something like a Local Exchange Trading System (Lets).
Let’s say that John’s cherries are worth 100 Lets. He can input his details into www.Letslinkuk.net and find that the baker has done the same with his cake. Swap done. It is that simple.
There are about 30 such schemes in London and about 450 nationwide.
Patent Pending: Why Your Ideas Might Only Make Your Boss Rich
You work hard for your boss in the research and development department. Your input was pivotal in the creation of the new drug. Your vast knowledge of grass, gleaned from cutting the lawn for many years, helped your firm invent the latest word in mowing.
But while your employer is happy with the work - and went on to make millions of pounds from – your are still in the same job, on the same pay. Your lot has not changed, and though the kudos in doing you job well is dandy it will not buy a yacht, like the own owned by the chairman of the board.
But rumours are that employees who invent lucrative new produces could soon be entitled to a share of the profits made.
Fashion Victims: Why Poor People In Poor Countries Get Less Wages
A Tim note: War on Want is making noises again about how little sweatshop workers are paid in factories overseas.
Simon McRae, senior campaigns officer for War on Want, said: "This report exposes retailers' empty rhetoric on ethical treatment for workers who make their clothes but remain trapped in poverty." Staff in Bangladesh earn 7% of a UK living wage - even taking into account the cheaper cost of living. This compares with 9% of a UK living wage earned by the average garment worker in India, 11% in China and Vietnam, 14% in Thailand and 25% in Morocco.
Lessee, Bangladesh is poorer than India, which is poorer than China and Vietnam, which is poorer than Thailand which is poorer than Morocco which is poorer than the UK. Amazing how this works, isn't it? People in poor countries get lower wages. Almost as if there's some sort of connection between people getting low wages and a country being poor or something.
Why not do something about it then? Like, ooooh, maybe pay people in Bangladesh a UK style living wage? The obvious answer then being that we'd use Bangladeshis living in England to do the work, leaving those in Bangladesh without any wages at all.
Cash Versus Credit: Working Out How Much Cash You Should Carry In Your Pocket
The Economist looks at how much cash you should have in your pocket.
The textbook economic model says you should keep your pockets bulging with cash. According to Harvard's Greg Mankiw, given a few reasonable assumptions about how much an imaginary professor spends each day in cash, the time it takes to visit an ATM, the value of his time, and the interest rate in his account.
The Baumol-Tobin model yields a very specific prediction: The prof should take out $1200 from his bank three times a year and hold an average of $600 in his wallet.
But almost nobody does this, which poses a puzzle. According to Mr Mankiw, the fear of losing one's wallet or of getting mugged doesn't get you far. He says his students are attracted to the idea that cash "burns a hole in your pocket" while a check card doesn't. True for some people, perhaps.
Work it out. Work out what you are worth an hour and how long it takes you to get cash out of an ATM.
Then work out how often you don't have cash and a friend pays...
Get Rich Quick At The World Series Of Poker Europe
Want to be rich? Want to be rich in only six days?
Betfair.com is presenting sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe. And the winners will share a pot of £3,626,000 Main Event.
And the winner gets £1million.
"Top prize in our European Main Event is now a cool 1 million pounds sterling," says WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. "We have Betfair to thank for that."
The TUC Has Ten Key Inequality ''Facts' About Tax And Disposable Income
Tim has some 'Fun With Statistics; at the TUC.
Via Richard Murphy we get this, a fun filled list of ten things you didn't know about inequality. Number nine is especially interesting.
The richest fifth pay £18 tax on every £100 of disposable income, while the poorest fifth pay £30. (HMRC direct and indirect tax).
How can that be? We know that income taxes are higher for the richest than the poorest, so how can this be?
Aaah. The secret is in the word "disposable". Disposable income means what you can spend after income taxes, NI (and yes it does include any benefits you might get, either directly or via the tax system) and housing costs have been deducted.
Starting Your Own Business: The Dragons' Den And The Apprentice Boost Britain's Entrepreneurial Spirit
Reality business TV shows such as Dragon's Den and The Apprentice have helped give rise to a further surge in Britain's entrepreneurial spirit, so says new research from small business insurer, MORE TH>N BUSINESS.
Almost a fifth (17 percent) of 18-44 year old1 Brits questioned claimed that watching such shows has led to an increased interest in starting their own businesses, or working towards developing an existing business idea. One in ten 18-24 year olds said that though they had always wanted be their own boss, reality TV shows had inspired them to do so.
Almost half a million people across Britain2 have been so impressed by the successes of contestants on the shows that they had actually taken positive steps towards setting up a business, such as writing a business plan, applying for a bank loan or registering at Companies House. A further small, but significant, four per cent of Brits said that while they didn't want to start their own business, a friend or family member harboured new business ambitions thanks to the Dragons.
Doing Your Home Working: Should The Government Tax You For Working At Home?
Followers of government policy will remember talk of the information superhighway. At the very apogee of the Internet dotcom boom, the likes of Tony Blair were fond of telling us how important computers were.
These unlovely lumps of electronic plastic would free up a service-biased workforce, and make Britain happening, brash and, how can we ever forget, cool.
And computers have changed the way we work. Aside from talking to our mates over instant messaging systems and peering at naked flesh when we should be studying an altogether different kind of figures, the working environment has altered.
Sean Connery Gives Cabbie A Tip On How To be Rich
After our advice to keep James Bond merchandise for auctions, we learn via the Sun of Sean Connery’s big giveaway.
The paper sees Connery hail a taxi at London’s City Airport. He asks to be taken to The Scotch House, the shop that sells all manner of tartan.
The Cab is invited to wait.
Connery then heads to his tailor on Savile row.
Again the cabbie waits.
Connery then heads to his home in Chelsea.
The bill is £49.60. Connery hands the Cabbie £50. “Are you sure, mate,” asks the driver.
Indeed.
Having paid for the trip, why tip at all?
Our driver may care to get the note autographed and sell it on eBay…