The Times can’t see the dead wood for the trees.
A fine example of media manipulation. Worthy of the BBC in fact.
THE BBC will have to divert licence-fee money into its pension fund after it discovered a £1billion “black hole”, worsened by gold-plated payouts to staff.
It may need to pour in extra “deficit payments” of as much as £100m a year – nearly equivalent to the annual budget of Radio 4 – to meet the shortfall.
N-ooo, not plugging a ‘black hole’ with licence money! It attracted predictable comments.
Julian Randall wrote: So can someone explain why my license fee, my hard earned money, is being used to bail out someone else’s gold plated pension when I cannot afford my own.
This is legalized theft. It sounds more like Greece by the day.
You see, because the article failed to point out the obvious, that the pension fund was already funded by licence money – where else would it come from? – and equally failed to point out that the fund currently stands at around £8 billion – all of which has been leached from the licence payers – otherwise known as anybody who owns a television in the UK, the knee jerk reaction was delivered in precisely the right place.
Why the outrage that another £1 billion was being paid in, when there has been no comment regarding the original £8 billion – it all came from the same place.
There is equally no comment at the reason the fund is currently short of its ‘expectations’.
The BBC Pension Scheme is one of the biggest occupational pension schemes in the UK, providing benefits for over 58,000 people. It is managed by a truly multi-cultural and political correct group of trustees. Only two of whom have directly relevant financial experience. Jeremy Peat – as the chief economist for the Royal Bank of Scotland….enough said.
Then we have Caroline Thompson who joined the Beeb as a trainee journalist 30 years ago – and has been climbing the corporate greasy pole ever since, rather than studying economics.
To keep the trade unions quiet we have Dan Cooke who is a full time paid union official for BECTU – paid for by the licence fee holders, that is.
A sop to the pensioners – Geoff Jones, a retired head of personnel.
The Patel quota is filled by Zarin Patel, who has at least worked for a firm of accountants for 15 years, though in what capacity we don’t know.
Did I hear ‘what about the Welsh’ – fear not, we have Rhodri Lewis from the BBC Wales newsroom. Knows diddly squat about investment, but you can’t have everything.
Helen Boaden from Women’s Hour speaks for yummy mummies everywhere, and finally Andy Griffee with bags of experience on regional newspapers.
These are the people in charge of the £8 billion that the licence fee holders have unwillingly contributed to the pension pot.
Whether because none of them know the first thing about being in charge of a massive investment fund or because they are just too busy with their day jobs, they hand over day to day control of which shares to buy to one Peter Dunscombe.
Peter Dunscombe isn’t exactly concentrating full time on the BBC pensions since he is also the chairman of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change which manages not only the BBC fund, but another 50 funds as well.
Yup, I did say the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change – which makes a profit on its investments so long as climate change is a political reality.
Helen Boaden, from Woman’s Hour is now head of current affairs. So the woman who tells environment reporters such as Roger Harrabin and Richard Black that the climate change science is settled also works to maximise the returns of the pension fund with Peter Dunscombe.
Everyone who owns a television in the UK is contributing to an investment which demands that we have higher fuel taxes and the sort of caps on carbon emissions that saw Corus Teeside mothballed for the sake of £90 million pounds worth of ‘carbon credits’.
The BBC has a vested interest in climate change, which means that everyone who legally sits in front of a television is investing in higher fuel taxes and lost jobs in Redcar. The only check on Peter Dusncombe is a collection of unqualified and politically correct appointees.
The £1 billion shortfall is chicken feed next to that.
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May 2, 2010 at 14:36 -
good article anna.this really needs mainstream attention………
we have the public paying higher council tax to top up govt. worker pensions….yet the sheep say nothing.we have the bbc fund paid for under threat of prosecution for not having a license!!!!!!!!!
how many more scams are going on in the uk?
still i suppose the majority of the population have the iq of a pork pie-
so the criminals will keep getting away with it? -
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May 2, 2010 at 14:46 -
Anna,
It may be of interest to know that the TV licencing authorities have already accepted that if a television set is not connected to the mains nor aerial system, even though it is in your premises, then no licence fee is payable.
I speak as one supposedly liable for the fee but who does not pay one for reasons as outlined above – not that I ever watch the damn thing anyway, coupled with the fact that living in a small one-bedroom flat, I have no storage capability for it.
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May 2, 2010 at 15:16 -
The corruption and corporatism is nothing short of mind blowing.
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May 2, 2010 at 15:53 -
The link between the BBC and the Green God has come up a couple of times recently…and has been studiously ignored by the MSM despite the fact that they too have been forced to contribute to the unjustified high salaries, expenses and pensions of the BBC. The vested interest of the BBC concerning all matters “green” would be considered an outrage in any other industry, imagine the outcry if a senior member of the NHS was on the committee of a drugs company. Why is it ignored here?
You have to wonder what is needed to get these “investigative journalists” to actually do some investigating?
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May 2, 2010 at 17:06 -
JohnRS said: The vested interest of the BBC concerning all matters
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May 2, 2010 at 17:41 -
It’s not just the BBC that fleece tax payers money to fund union activity.
http://rantinrab.blogspot.com/2010/04/exclusive-tax-payer-funded-union_20.html
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May 2, 2010 at 17:44 -
Oh, just for your info, the BBC have five full time union reps in their employ. Paid for by us.
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May 2, 2010 at 19:00 -
So pushing climate change is good for business then?
That explains a lot!
Bastards.
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May 2, 2010 at 22:09 -
I love reading your blog every day because it is exquisitely worded and beautifuly argued. To read such venom drip from this page in such a crafted way is wonderous. Please feel free to continue to put the boot, small leaded weight, micro nuke or a good kick up the arse to those that deserve it.
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May 2, 2010 at 23:38 -
Just read Montfords book ‘ the hockey stick illusion’ and you will never believe anything the global warming hoaxers say ever again. Michael Mann should be in prison.
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