Liebrary: Is affordable housing in London intended for people on modest incomes? Actually the eligibility limit for this subsidy is a household income of £80,000!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Romeo & Juliet, Act2 Scene2).Juliet's assertion applies both ways. A rip-off by any other name still stinks. You might think the 'affordable housing' policy is aimed at those who find it hard to afford their housing. There you would be right. You might think that the policy is aimed at people on low and modest incomes (e.g. nurses on £25k, firemen on £23k). There you would be wrong. After all, however much money you have there is always...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 27th June)

Payday loans market faces competition inquiryOffice of Fair Trading suspects payday lenders of preventing, restricting or distorting competition. Payday lenders charge annual interest rates of more than 4,000% in a £2bn market, making up to 50% of their money from customers who extended or rolled over loans or incurred late payment charges. Lenders are using practices which make it difficult for consumers to identify and compare costs, and create barriers to switching when loans are rolled over. The regulator said variable levels of compliance...

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Graphs at a glance - banker remuneration per head is now even higher than before the banker induced Credit Crisis

We are told again and again by our most respected people and organisations that their criminality, scandals, cock-ups and other miscellaneous failures were due to a previous group of people under a previous system and a previous bad old culture. We have been told this by:Grasping bankers ripping off everybodyVenal newspapers bugging the innocent (as well as the guilty)Brutish policemen being racistIncompetent regulators failing to regulate hospitals and banksMinisters pressing regulators to not regulate (pardon the split infinitive, but it is clearer....

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Doctors pile on the pressure against NHS reforms

Cameron and Osborne can see the bright side...SOURCE GUARDIAN: Doctors pass motion of no confidence in health secretary Jeremy HuntBritish Medical Association delegates retaliate after minister's series of attacks on NHS staff and standards of care.OUR RELATED ARTICLES:NHS forced to tender services to all comers, including dodgy providers. See how it worksHistory shows left/right policies grow the economic cake equally. The difference is only in how the cake is dividedWhat happened to all the Compassi...

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How the rich and their servants in government blamed every body else for the excesses of the rich

It is not just a recent event, but events over the centuries. Politicians are bought by people with money.This brilliant animated fairy tale is narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki. Written and directed by Fred Glass for the California Federation of Teachers. An 8 minute video about how we arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. For...

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Graphs at a glance: Are swingeing cuts to legal aid needed because the cost is ballooning out of control? Actually the Legal Aid bill has been falling for years.

The wealthy live more opulently than the poor. But generally speaking the expensively dressed wealthy don't themselves benefit from the tatty outfits of their less well heeled fellow citizens. Indeed, when they are able the wealthy take the trouble to dress their servants very well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amesservants.jpgOld bangers breaking down on the road don't really make the man in his £50k motor car feel better. Broken down crocks just cause traffic jams to infuriate rich and poor alike. Few people take active pleasure...

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Junior Barristers ‘on £14 a day’ after proposed legal aid cuts

Fee and KJ are losing faith in British justice. Are you?...SOURCE LAW GAZETTE: Junior Barristers ‘on £14 a day’ after proposed legal aid cuts£14 a day is well below the minimum wage. Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff branded the government’s current plans ‘bonkers’. The House of Commons justice committee, taking evidence from bodies representing the legal community, were told that the reforms should be put on hold to enable a full review of the criminal justice system. The reforms include the introduction of “lowest bidder wins”...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 20th June)

Banking commission: Bankers should be jailed for 'reckless misconduct'The Parliamentary Commission recommends jailing reckless bankers and enforcing a wait of up to 10 years for bonuses. The chancellor must restore confidence in the financial system by making top bankers more accountable following the 2008 bank bailouts, as well as a list of other offences including the Libor rigging scandal, and the shoddy treatment of customers mis-sold payment protection insurance. The commission also described UK Financial Investments, the body set up to look...

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Will the G8 crackdown on global tax evasion ever happen?

Cameron and Obama hope nobody notices if it all just fades away...SOURCE GUARDIAN: Vodafone paid no corporation tax in Britain last yearGenerous tax breaks mean the UK’s second largest mobile phone company reduced its tax bill to zero for the second consecutive year. The blue chip company has distributed £4.8bn in cash dividends to shareholders in the last 12 months – more than any other British business. CEO, Vittorio Colao, collected £11m in pay last financial year, down from the £15.7m he earned the year before. The drop in his pay...

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Graphs at a glance: Are MPs underpaid? Actually their basic pay puts them above 95% of Britons

It is suggested that paying MPs more would get a better calibre of people into the Houses of Parliament. The reality is an MP’s basic pay puts him or her above the wages of more than 95% of Britons. The graph below uses HMRC figures for 2010-11 and an MP's basic salary that year of £65,738.This does not include the other income MPs can derive directly from Parliament:Ministerial salaries (from an extra £26k for a whip, to £79k for a cabinet minister)Salaries for chairing select committees (Nearly £15k extra)Salaries ...

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The nation's wage bill falls £52bn in five years while top exec pay keeps rising

Fee, Chris and KJ - if not the mainstream political parties - see the problem...SOURCE MIRROR: Nation's wage bill falls £52bn to £638bn in five years with North West suffering sharpest cutsFalling real wages, reduced hours and changes in the kind jobs people are doing has reduced the nation’s total pay, said a TUC report. This means a 7.5% drop on average since the eve of the recession in 2007. The North West suffered the sharpest cut of 10.6%. The South West, West Midlands and Scottish economies have also seen pay packets shrink by around...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 13th June)

Nation's wage bill falls £52bn to £638bn in five years with North West suffering sharpest cutsFalling real wages, reduced hours and changes in the kind jobs people are doing has reduced the nation’s total pay, said a TUC report. This means a 7.5% drop on average since the eve of the recession in 2007. The North West suffered the sharpest cut of 10.6%. The South West, West Midlands and Scottish economies have also seen pay packets shrink by around 10%. Despite a small rise in the number of people in work since 2007, it has failed to offset the sharp...

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Top business leaders' pay packets up by 10% to £4.3m on average, while rest of UK gets 1%

Can Ed Milliband and Cameron agree on something?...SOURCE MIRROR: Nation's pay falls £52bn to £638bn in five years with North West suffering sharpest cutsFalling real wages, reduced hours and changes in the kind jobs people are doing has reduced the nation’s total pay, said a TUC report. This means a 7.5% drop on average since the eve of the recession in 2007. The North West suffered the sharpest cut of 10.6%. The South West, West Midlands and Scottish economies have also seen pay packets shrink by around 10%. Despite a small rise in...

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Graphs at a glance: With yet more reports of MPs misbehaving and enriching themselves, we look to see who actually selects these people.

The fact is a man or woman does not get into parliament by winning their seat in a General Election nor in a Bye Election. They don’t have to persuade the majority of all voters in their constituency that they are fit and proper to be their ward’s representative. Prospective MPs merely have to persuade their local constituency party activists – comprising about one in a hundred of the electorate. It is by persuading these local activists, allegedly regarded by some top politicians as ‘swivel-eyed loons’, that our MPs actually get themselves...

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Graphs at a glance: MPs just do as they are told by their party bosses

MPs bleat that they are very clever, work very hard, and therefore should be paid more.The reality is that the vast majority of them just follow party orders. This data from The Public Whip, taken by us in June 2013, shows the number of times an MP voted against the majority in his own party.A senior MP was reported saying "‘Voters may not like it but if you pay peanuts you get monkeys." The graphs below show that inspite of their basic £65k salaries, not including all the perks and privileges and being allowed to have multiple other paid jobs,...

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