TOUGH AT THE TOP?

"A study by the Bow Group, a centre-right think-tank, found that 27 per cent of FTSE 100 chief executives have contracts that continue to pay bonuses if profits rise by as little as 1 per cent above inflation. Nearly one in ten firms will still pay bonuses if profits fail to beat inflation." (Times, 4 February) RD

NO PROBLEM FOR YOUR KIDS

Last week, cupcake mogul Nigella Lawson, daughter of former chancellor Lord Lawson and heir to the Lyons Corner House fortune, said she had no intention of leaving her £15 million to her two children. "I am determined that my children should have no financial security. It ruins people not having to earn money," she said. ...Certainly, the tales of wayward heirs are legion. The 7th Marquess of Bristol blew £30 million of his family's money on drugs before dying at 44 of organ failure. Shipping heiress Christina Onassis had four unhappy marriages before dying of a suspected overdose of slimming pills aged 37. Edoardo Agnelli, son of Fiat's Gianni, converted to Islam, was arrested for drug possession in Kenya, and killed himself by jumping off a bridge at the age of 46. (Sunday Telegraph, 3 February) RD

one law for the rich , another law for the poor

From the Sunday Herald columnist Tom Shields and we have to agree much of what he wrote


A TORY MP is caught paying £82,000 from public funds in wages to his Hooray Henry sons; money for which they had done little or no work. The MP is suspended for 10 days on full pay. He is ordered to repay £13,000, leaving a nice little profit of £69,000 from this creative accountancy.
But he did say sorry to the House of Commons. He said: "The committee the committee on standards and privileges; that's as in many privileges and few standards was entitled to reach the conclusions that it did and I have accepted its criticisms in full. I unreservedly apologise to the House for my administrative shortcomings and the misjudgements I made."
The MP will be allowed to sit out the remaining time (potentially until May 2010) of this parliament, receiving £120,000 in wages and God knows how much extra in expenses.

Meanwhile, not so long ago, a Glasgow single mother appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court after claiming £18,000 in housing benefits to which she was not entitled. She admitted making the false applications after her husband left her. She used the money to pay her mortgage so that she would not have to leave the area and move her autistic son from his special-needs school.
She was jailed for a year. Sheriff Charles McFarlane QC opined: "This is a serious matter which resulted in collecting a significant amount of money for a considerable time. A custodial sentence is the only one for what was a blatant crime on your part."
The woman collapsed as she was led down to the cells.

Derek Conway MP did so to fund a champagne lifestyle for his sons Freddie and Henry. The woman took the money to make life a little more bearable for her son.

Another typical case: a woman was hauled before Chester crown court accused of making fraudulent claims. She had received £74,000 in benefits over 11 years. This is almost as much as the Conway family coined in, but the circumstances were somewhat different. The woman had brought up seven children, five of her own plus two of her late sister's. Her crime was that she did not declare that for one of those 11 years she had a job as a cleaner.
The judge, obviously a perspicacious kind of fellow, said in handing out a nine-month suspended jail sentence: "I take into account the fact your life wasn't easy and you were trying to care for your family. This was not a lavish lifestyle funded by fraud."
He also said: "This is a very serious offence." Obviously, society cannot tolerate a woman taking a wee cleaning job on the side to feed her seven weans.

The honourable gentleman should face criminal charges for misuse of public funds. Henry and Freddie should be in the dock for knowingly accepting money under false pretences. Mrs Colette Conway is also in the frame. As her husband's secretary (on £40,000 a year) she must have been aware of what was going on.

FAT CHANCE

"They fought and nearly died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once discharged from the army, these men face huge personal problems - homelessness, unemployment and depression - without adequate support. But after doing their bit for their country, shouldn't their country do its bit for them?" (Observer, 3 February) RD

MONEY GRUBBERS

"Senior MPs are demanding an Office of Fair Trading investigation into greedy banks after Egg's decision to ban 160,000 customers from using their credit cards dramatically backfired. Egg's move was initially interpreted as a prudent decision to curb overspending in the light of worsening economic conditions. But hundreds of customers have bombarded internet message boards complaining that they are not 'high risk' but settle their debts every month and incur no banking charges. They claim they are being axed because they do not make any money for Egg, recently taken over by US giant Citigroup." (Observer, 3 February) RD

Fuel Poverty Again

Another contribution to the exposure of the problem of fuel poverty facing workers .

Nearly one in five families with children cannot afford to heat their homes because of rising energy bills, research has shown.

Around 19% of people with children under 17 admitted they were unable to keep their homes warm because of the cost of gas and electricity, according to Save the Children UK.

The group found that a further 15% of households had been forced to cut back on food, while the same proportion spent less on essential clothing in order to be able to pay their fuel bills.

The problem was twice as acute among the UK's poorest families, with 44% of households living off less than £15,000 a year saying they could not afford to heat their homes.

It found that paying for gas and electricity in this way was on average 26% more expensive than paying by direct debit, leaving the country's poorest families paying an extra £215 a year on average.It said British Gas had the biggest price difference, charging 58% more for electricity to pre-pay customers and 47% more for gas than those who paid by direct debit.

UK poverty spokeswoman at Save the Children, said: "Fuel poverty is an outrage, particularly for children. It means that they are experiencing the effects of cold on a daily basis. Children find it more difficult to do their homework in a cold home, and are more likely to suffer ill-health."

Another Failed Target

Further to the previous posting , the target to end fuel poverty in England by 2010 will be missed, according to Government's advisers .
The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group says more than a million vulnerable households will spend more than a tenth of their income on fuel by 2010.
"The Government's policies and lack of action have now made it impossible to meet the target" said the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group

Customers using prepayment meters for gas and electricity paid £140 a year more than those paying by direct debit or online. Those paying by cash or cheque faced bills of about £70 more than those on direct debit, said the group.

TOOTHLESS WATCHDOG

"The government will be publicly castigated this week over its failure to help poor people - by the watchdog that ministers set up to monitor fuel poverty. Ofgem, the energy regulator, will also be criticised for not stopping energy companies from making excessive profits at the expense of consumers. Peter Lehmann, chairman of the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, will criticise the government over its record on fuel poverty, which he labelled 'incomprehensible, unjustifiable and shocking'. Consumers now pay more than 50 per cent more on utility bills compared with five years ago, yet energy companies' costs have risen by only a fraction of this. In the past month, four of the biggest suppliers have announced substantial rises in the price of gas and electricity." (Observer, 3 February) RD

SOCIALISM? WHAT'S THAT?

"Tony Blair has taken a second big job with a leading financial player, attracted by the prospect of working on its climate-change initiative. The former Prime Minister has joined Zurich, the Swiss company, as an adviser. The appointment, thought to be worth at least £500,000 a year, comes less than three weeks after he took a similar role with J P Morgan Chase, one of the biggest investment banks on Wall Street. That was believed to be a package worth about £2 million a year." (Times, 29 January) RD

SOME DEMOCRACY

When she was in power Mrs Thatcher called capitalism in Britain a "property owning democracy" as she introduced legislation to sell council housing. Her supporters must now be wondering what kind of "democracy" it turned out to be. "More than a million homeowners could be at risk of serious financial difficulty and possibly losing their homes in an economic slowdown, the City regulator warned yesterday. The Financial Services Authority is preparing for a tougher climate of rising inflation and a slower economy. It fears that many homeowners with large mortgages who have borrowed three and a half times their salaries or more could be at risk. The warning comes as surveyors predict today those 123 homes a day will be repossessed this year." (Guardian, 30 January) RD

The real leisure class

An article in The Times reveals the clubbing and pubbing of the wealthy but also exposes the true class nature of to-days society

“Mahiki aims to be egalitarian,” says Conway, an Old Harrovian promoter and fashion journalist . Conway organises the guest list. “If you can get on with anyone, no matter what walk of life you come from, you’re welcome.” But Mahiki excludes on the grounds of money. The drinks bills can be ruinous. The princes’ favourite tipple, the Treasure Chest – half a bottle of vodka, a bottle of champagne, fruit, ice, and eight straws – comes in at £112.50 [ Prince William once paid an £11,000 bar bill here.] “It’s true, money is the big equalising factor. It’s not about where you went to school...Money speaks.” says Conway.

Why is it Tuesday that is the most popular night out for the Sloanes and the rich and thier hangers-on and flunkeys ?

Luke Blackhall, a journalist explains why Tuesday has come to be the most popular night. “It’s the old thing of growing your fingernails to show you don’t do manual labour,” he says. “There is a kind of showing-off involved in going out really hard on a Tuesday night.”

AN UNCARING SOCIETY (2)

If you are old and poor inside capitalism then you are a very low priority to the owning class. "Just 358,000 households received home care in 2006 compared with 479,000 a decade earlier, while nearly three quarters of local authorities now refuse help to anyone whose needs are not considered "substantial" or "critical". Most of those with "moderate" needs, who can not carry out routine daily tasks such as getting out of bed, bathing and doing the washing up, are excluded, along with 275,000 pensioners with less intensive requirements - such as needing help to go to the shop. Another 6,000 elderly people with "high support needs", means they can not bathe or eat without assistance, receive no services and no informal care. Altogether, the CSCI (Commission for Social Care Inspection) estimates 450,000 older people rely on friends and family to get by, even though they have been assessed as needing more help." (Daily Telegraph, 30 January) RD

AN UNCARING SOCIETY

Capitalism's priorities are to make profits and cut costs, so it is no surprise that the poorest, the sick and the mentally ill are treated in such a shabby fashion. "Mental health wards have become "tougher and scarier" places under the Labour government and many are so overcrowded that it is difficult for staff to deliver good care, the official watchdog for detained patients reports today. As an urgent priority, ministers must honour previous commitments that women patients should be safe from sexual harassment, abuse and assault and those children as young as 12 are no longer placed on adult wards, the Mental Health Act Commission's biennial report says." (Guardian, 30 January) RD

Bankrupt Scotland

From an editorial in The Herald

Although it is traditionally people on the lowest incomes who get into debt they cannot repay, the boom in consumer credit, fuelled by rising house prices, has brought many middle-class families to the point where they are only a couple of pay packets away from not being able to meet their repayments. It only takes one setback, such as their marriage ending or losing their job, to plunge them into unmanageable debt.

The 14.5% increase in the number of Scots being declared bankrupt between 2006 and 2007, however, is likely to be a harbinger of worse to come. The scale of the situation is brought home by the fact that the 1563 Scots declared bankrupt in the last quarter of 2007 amounted to nearly twice the average number for any three-month period three or four years ago.
This is a reflection of the record levels of personal debt (one estimate of Britain's debt from credit cards, loans, overdrafts and mortgages is £1.35 trillion) but when that level of borrowing collides with the current credit crunch, these personal disasters will be multiplied. That is expected to happen later this year as fixed-rate mortgages reach the end of their term and require to be renewed, with lenders imposing higher rates to reflect the overall increase in interest rates since August 2006.

There can be no doubt that the tide of debt is rising alarmingly. Home repossessions leaped by 30% in the first six months of last year and householders in Scotland cannot necessarily rely on the relative stability of the housing market north of the border to protect them from the perils of negative equity. Both Motherwell and central Glasgow have been pinpointed as high-risk areas on the latest map produced by the credit reference agency Experian.

With Scottish companies failing at a rate of approximately 55 per month and the Financial Services Authority describing 840,000 mortgages as a cause for concern, the outlook is particularly grim.

A GRIM FUTURE, GRANMA

"Increasing numbers of frail or infirm elderly people are struggling to cope after being unfairly denied social care as councils ration help, the care inspectorate revealed today. Many local authorities are using strict criteria to deny care even to those who cannot wash or dress unaided, according to the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Varying rules on who qualifies mean a postcode lottery applies, says the commission's third annual report. Fewer people qualify for social services care than three years ago, despite a 3% rise in the number of people over 75. And care rationing is expected to get worse: the number of councils funding only those needing "substantial" care increased from 53% to 62% in 2006-07 and is expected to rise to 73% of councils next year. (Guardian, 29 January) RD

WOW, REALLY PROGRESSIVE

After the removal of the Taliban in Afghanistan we were told that there was now a more progressive government under President Hamid Karzan, but what is the reality? "An Afghan court in northern Afghanistan sentenced a journalism student to death for blasphemy for distributing an article from the Internet that was considered an insult to the Prophet Muhammad, the judge in charge of the court said Wednesday. The student, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, 23, who also works for a local newspaper, was charged with insulting Muhammad by calling the prophet “a killer and adulterer,” the judge, Shamsurahman Muhmand, said in a telephone interview." (New York Times, 24 January) RD

CAPITALISM LOVES CHEAPNESS

"The tiny village of Jucu in north-western Romania, which will host a new factory making Nokia mobile phones, currently, earns its livelihood from farming vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. It doesn't have a full-time doctor, a school-house or indoor toilets. Some 60 houses don't have running water. But it does -- still -- have relatively cheap labour. A decision by the Finnish mobile handset giant to move a major production line to Romania this year sparked rage in Germany over job losses, but in the nearby city of Cluj in Romania it calmed fears foreign investment was drying up." (Yahoo News, 25 January) RD

CAPITALISM KILLS

"A decade of fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo is continuing to kill about 45,000 people each month - half of them small children - in the deadliest conflict since the Second World War, according to a new survey. The International Rescue Committee said preventable diseases and starvation aggravated by conflict have claimed 5.4 million lives since the beginning of the second Congo war in 1998, equivalent to the population of Denmark. Although the war officially ended in 2002, malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition continue to claim thousands of lives. The study of 14,000 households across Congo between January 2006 and April 2007 found that nearly half of all the deaths were of children under the age of five, who make up only 19% of the population." (Guardian, 23 January) RD

DREAM ON

"Tax avoidance by the super-rich costs the British taxpayer £13bn a year - enough money to increase old-age pensions by 20 per cent. The first ever forensic study of Revenue figures to establish the true scale of tax avoidance by some of the wealthiest people in Britain will pile pressure on the government to prevent the tax burden falling disproportionately on ordinary working people." (Observer, 27 January) RD

F1 - EFF THE SYSTEM

"A record price has been set for a British vehicle registration number plate after a businessman paid £375,000 to buy F1. Afzal Kahn, 37, smashed the previous record of £331,000 paid 18 months ago for M1, to purchase the plate from the Essex County Council. The Bradford entrepreneur, who has built a £75 million fortune through Kahn Design, his specialist car design company, plans to display the plate on his £317,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercar." (Times, 26 January) RD