Delicious LiveJournal Links for 10-15-2010

[andrewducker]

• Former boss of Warner Music says that album prices should drop to £1.
  (tags: music marketing)
• Fascinating interview on Steve Jobs and his method of working and approach to design.
  (tags: apple interview stevejobs mac design inspiration)
• The problem with schools - not dumbing down but something more subtle
  (tags: education uk school exams)
• The best statement so far on the Chilean miners rescue
  (tags: startrek funny ChileanMiners)
• World's longest tunnel, joining Italy to Switzerland, is completed.
  (tags: switzerland italy construction transport)
• Rape 'impossible' in marriage, says British Muslim cleric. Of course, UK only changed away from this in 1991.
  (tags: law rape islam uk)
• Scottish male domestic abuse victims rise to 8,600. Female domestic abuse victims fall to 42,800
  (tags: abuse crime scotland uk)
• xkcd on tech support. Oh, how I wish this were true.
  (tags: xkcd funny)
• 10 Great Rock and Roll bloopers that you may not realise that you've heard.
  (tags: music funny)
• Humans completely destroy another life form, purely because it's not cute and fluffy. And it's a virus. And it's really nasty.
  (tags: virus genocide EpicWin)
• Netbooks still selling well, despite predictions of imminent demise.
  (tags: computers laptop)
• On reaching out to bullied kids
  (tags: bullying children)
• Firefox now as fast as Safari, very nearly as fast as Chrome.
  (tags: browser benchmark Firefox chrome safari)
• Pension tax benefits slashed for wealthy. Yaaaaaay!
  (tags: pension tax government uk)

Comments

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

At no point did I say that that people on 100k have it nearly as hard as people on a quarter of that. I thought I was really quite careful all along to clearly indicate that I do *not* think this. I find it interesting that someone has somehow managed to read that rather stereotypical statement into what I actually wrote. Such a statement would indeed get people's backs up - but I never said it! I'll say again, I do NOT think that. I *DO* think that the quality of life change that many people imagine for such an income level does not exist in any real way. I couldn't see that/didn't know that before I got there. I'm just trying to show/tell how it is, what it feels like, from a point of view of the actual experience, not some distant one.

I don't think not having a mortgage is nothing. It just makes surprisingly little difference to my daily life as compared to when I did have. *I* was surprised (and to be totally honest, somewhat disappointed) how little. I have generally always saved (or invested) about half my income, no matter what that was, maybe that's why. People on housing benefit don't have a mortgage either... not saying their situation is *in general* anything like mine, but in that specific respect, it's identical.

My parents, who have never earned any significant amount, have twice paid out a mortgage in full, well before term, less than 10 years (can't recall exactly). Once on their ex-council house and once, later, on the house they now live in. It's not the preserve of the well-off. My mum has never worked full time, was a part-time cleaner or factory worker. Dad works in engineering, probably makes about median wage but I can't be sure.

I could be genetically and environmentally ill-disposed to paying interest :-) [none of my family have loans of any type for anything so far as I know]. To me, "no debt" is an intensely desirable state and on to which I have/will go to much effort and heavily prioritise. It is the 'normal' and certainly the desired state of affairs. I have never run an overdraft, didn't have a student loan (I was lucky in that we didn't have to pay tuition back then), never had any credit card debt, took one 4 year loan back in 1994 just to get a credit rating, and resisted buying property so long because I hated the thought of a mortgage. When I decided to buy a flat I used my savings to make a big deposit and went into overdrive to pay it off, going for the highest paying contracts and spending as little as I could get in order to pay it off as soon as possible. I suspect most people are not like that? I am always looking at ways to spend less! For me, if my spending 'has' to increase, I'll find ways of earning/making more. It drives me that way. Which means the govt benefits in the increased tax revenue. Which, hopefully, they then use some of to help balance things out for people in trouble. Yeah it is LOTS better than private charity, have to agree.

On the boat front, I'll reiterate the comparison I made at the time - how much money have people with children spent on them over, say, 10 years? Just feeding/clothing etc, nothing fancy or extra. More or less? Would you be taking me to task over that spending in the same way? Kids and boats are both pricey - but optional :-).

I am not boasting or flaunting or defending my financial situation, Nor am I downplaying it. I am trying to give an insight into the life and mind of ordinary person without any advantageous background who has ended up north of a much touted imaginary earnings line.