A fascinating little row has kicked off in the blogosphere between right wing commentator Guido Fawkes and freelance journalist, activist and feminist writer Laurie Penny.
Penny is advertising for a researcher to be paid £500 for "about 85 hours work". Fawkes accuses her of "flouting minimum wage legislation", on the basis that this comes to £5.88 an hour rather than the £5.93 an hour that constitutes the UK's minimum wage. Penny says that isn't so, which is why she put the word 'about' in. It all turns into a humdinger pretty quickly (check out the Twitter insults).
So what makes it fascinating, apart from as case study of how very nasty people are to each other on the internet? The fact that the exchange highlights the extent to which everyone wants the burden of paying for everything to fall on other people.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Most people think they are taxed enough but other people should be taxed more. The middle classes think the 'rich' should pay more. The rich think that, as they are pretty much the only net tax payers left in the country, they should be left alone and benefits should be cut. They also think that if they are going to be investigated for tax evasion then so should every painter and decorator in the country. MPs think that benefit fraudsters should go to gaol, but white-collar fraudsters (them for example) should be allowed to carry on as before.
Penny says she is all for not just the minimum wage as it now stands, but for the 'living wage' (£7.85 an hour). But she doesn't think she is the one who should have to pay it. She is "not a huge corporation, but a 24-year old with a salary not much above minimum wage" herself. So she thinks she can't afford it.
But if that's true of her, what of all the others who can't afford it? There is the public sector - which is £1trn in debt. The taxpayer can't really afford for the public sector to pay anyone at all, let alone pay them £7 plus an hour. Then there is every cash-strapped start-up in the land, and every struggling small company. Ask their managers and they'll tell you they can't afford the living wage or the minimum wage either. In fact come to that they can't afford maternity leave, health and safety, or the costs of managing equality legislation either.
This of course is why so many of those on the right argue that so much of our legislation shouldn't apply to small companies or one-man bands. So there we have it - something on which, for once, representatives of both the left and the right appear to agree. Perhaps Fawkes and Penny should stop trading insults and join to get a petition together.
-
Beating inflation takes more luck than skill – but are we about to get lucky?Opinion The US Federal Reserve managed to beat inflation in the 1980s. But much of that was down to pure luck. Thankfully, says Merryn Somerset Webb, the Bank of England may be about to get lucky.
-
Rishi Sunak can’t fix all our problems – so why try?Opinion Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement is an attempt to plaster over problems the chancellor can’t fix. So should he even bother trying, asks Merryn Somerset Webb?
-
Young people are becoming a scarce resource – we should value them more highlyOpinion In the last two years adults have been bizarrely unkind to children and young people. That doesn’t bode well for the future, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
Ask for a pay rise – everyone else isOpinion As inflation bites and the labour market remains tight, many of the nation's employees are asking for a pay rise. Merryn Somerset Webb explains why you should do that too.
-
Why central banks should stick to controlling inflationOpinion The world’s central bankers are stepping out of their traditional roles and becoming much more political. That’s a mistake, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
How St Ives became St Tropez as the recovery drives prices sky highOpinion Merryn Somerset Webb finds herself at the epicentre of Britain’s V-shaped recovery as pent-up demand flows straight into Cornwall’s restaurants and beaches.
-
The real problem of Universal Basic Income (UBI)Merryn's Blog April employment numbers showed 75 per cent fewer people in the US returned to employment compared to expectations. Merryn Somerset-Webb explains how excessive government support is causing a shortage of labour.
-
Why an ageing population is not necessarily the disaster many people think it isOpinion We’ve got used to the idea that an ageing population is a bad thing. But that’s not necessarily true, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
