But you can’t take it with you…
As we sweat ourselves through what is promised to be the most painful UK budget in thirty years, there is a salutary tale from far afield.
Ken Talbot and the entire Board of the Australian Sundance Resources company has been wiped out in an air crash in the Congo. Their plane, piloted by a French British pilots was flying from Cameroon into the Congo to visit a mine.
Ken Talbot was worth a billion Australian dollars. In flying in the same plane he and his board broke corporate protocol.
Talbot had also been mired in a corruption scandal, and was due to appear in court in August. He was the CEO of Macarthur Coal, but had stood down after being charged with bribery in his home state of Queensland. He had pleaded not guilty to all alleged charges.
At one level it is of course the most terrible tragedy. But on another it may say something about finance, politics, wealth and the frailty of human life.
Talbot faced some thirty five charges of paying ‘commissions’ to the disgraced Australian Labour MP Gordon Nuttal, jailed last year in Queenland for corruption. Named in his trial was one Ken Talbot.
Mr Talbot now only has to make his reckoning with the grim reaper, the charges against him are wiped from the slate.
But how fickle life is. By all accounts Talbot had everything. But there it is, it’s all over. He leaves an awful lot of money, a lot grief, a company with no Board, and criminal charges the outcome of which we shall never know.
Why do I blog about it?
Because on Budget day it tells us something about our transitory lives. Perhaps too that money isn’t everything – whatever the Chancellor may do about it – and that we are all well advised to play it straight.
Oh, and if we care about those we leave behind, we shouldn’t all be found aboard the same plane when flying in inhospitable conditions on a twin turboprop a long way from home.
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There are 32 comments on this post
Tragedy? Not really. Just an accident.
Tragedy is the suffering that is inflicted. Like the suffering inflicted by corporations. I’ll reserve my tears for their victims.
You are right, money isn’t everything. And as I see my income slashed to way below the poverty limit, because I dared to leave my husband, and have a career in public sector and a child- I will remember that. Am sure it will be very comorting to know that rich criminals die, with absolutely no come back for the harm they cause to others.
Lisa, you have my sympathy. I did exactly the same as you, in the 1960s. It probably won’t give you much comfort to know that I made it on my own against the odds (single parents were treated as pariahs back then), but more importantly so did my child. Don’t despair. There always have been, always will be, criminal b******s, some of them, dare I say, even in Government or closely associated. Hang in there & channel your anger into making a career for yourself. Good luck, and best wishes.
Thanks, Jon. This might be the one bit of comfort we get today.
Perhaps it’s time to give you a Thought For The Day slot on C4N…
Doesn’t this also highlight another important issue concerning the super-rich? When they pass on to the luxury yacht in the sky, who gets the money? Who is going to get all Mr Talbot’s billions for example? No doubt he will have seen to it that the state gets as little as possible and the rest will probably go to his family. Nothing wrong with that you might say, but there are now thousands of people across the world who are so ludicrously wealthy – not through their own efforts, but through inheriting vast sums from the likes of the Mr Talbots of this world – that they now pose a serious threat to ‘democracy’. Why? because their financial clout means they are able to influence and distort the democratic process. We allow this to happen because all our political parties rely on external funding to survive. Until we have the state funding of political parties, in whatever form, our democracy will remain a ‘sham’.
What is in their best interests of the super-rich you can bet your bottom dollar is not in ours. We need to wake up to this threat and take decisive action to protect our institutions and our democracy before it is too late.
When we discuss our wills at the time of writing with the solicitor, this is the time he/she brings these thoughts to our attention. What would we do if the whole family were to be killed in a flying accident.? We think it is as unlikely as winning the lottery, but some become multi- milionaires overnight , just as some will all be wiped out in earthquakes or other disasters.
We can’t take it with us , but we also may die in an impoverished position without sufficient prudency.
Have just read Lisa’s comment .. Lisa I have had much more to deal with as a single parent,have been wiped out , paid debts for another and criminals off , ‘ have been unable to get justice, had to deal with the stigma and categorisation of single parents when it was at its height ,worked in public and private sectors as a nurse and practitioner , in an unstable negative competitive environment, paid a mortgage, avoided the ‘uncle in the house’ position, paid for my own degrees and childrens degrees and worried about money for ,as long as I can remember. 28 years of worrying about money.. 28 years gone. I am not speaking from a vacant position when I say, find Love it at all possible.
Hi
The chancellor stated
“Today there are some families receiving £104,000 a year in housing benefit.
The cost of that single award is equivalent to the total income tax and national insurance paid by 16 working people on median incomes.”
This is disgusting. Put these families in council housing.
There’s something in this Steve. Housing benefit is stuffing the pockets of private landlords at the expense of the taxpayer. It is sustaining the property market – which needed realignment with reality – propping it up with Buy To Let mortgages which the taxpayer is effectively funding.
Lucky me got on the property ladder years ago, so I can afford a house (just). Anyone ten years younger hasn’t a prayer. And its horribly wrong.
Houses are for living in, not for private profit. Its brutal medicine, but reducing housing benefit will force rental costs down across the board. Everyone wins except landlords.
What council housing? Wasn’t a lot of it sold off to existing tenants under Thatcher’s Right to Buy? Which councils are building new homes, or taking over empty properties from absent landlords? Where I live, there is a 15 year waiting list for a Housing Association property, & they had to close the list last year. All the other houses are now owner-occupied thanks to Thatcher. No-one on the list can affordto buy on the open market thanks to the credit crunch.
Council housing? You cannot be serious!
As recently as 12 years ago in Manchester the local Council couldn’t give away flats right in the city centre. There was no waiting list and they were advertising them. Now things are very different.
The majority of people who live in council housing are decent. Many work. There is community spirit and not every area is a drug-riddled sink estate. The snobbery about council housing is one of the factors that has been talked up in various quarters to drive the property boom.
I don’t know which area Margaret is talking about, but currently the rent on a one-bedroom council flat in Manchester city centre is around £55pw. Or about one third of the equivalent private rent.
The people who talk down council housing constantly seem to be the same ones who now complain about high levels of housing benefit being paid to private landlords. Well you can’t have it both ways…
Would you prefer council housing with low rents and therefore low housing benefit that goes to the local council? Or would you prefer rents to be three times higher and go in the pocket of some parasitic buy-to-let landlord? It’s a bit late now though when so much council housing has been sold off.
P.S Lisa , don’t believe them when they say a two parent family rears more responsible children..rubbish and not being rude when I say find a partner if possible. It is absoloutely wearing doing it all on your own. I am still alone and my standards have changed , too much time alone to accept others.
A reply to above.. You are very lucky.., but alas there are not many like that. It isn’t snobbery anything but, it is centered upon my belief that people should be able to live equally in areas where crime , drugs and aggression isn’t the flavour of the day.
My grandparents house , on one side was in a council estate, beautiful tidy decent post war people.Today , broken windows, 3-4 bashed out cars outside, kids throwing stones at everyone and most going to the local pub getting drunk and popping pills.
My grandmother and people alike should not be subject to that.
Call me a cynic, or even a conspiracy theorist, but this crash is a little too convenient for some very nasty people. I suspect foul play, and frankly, missiles.
crumbs. where’s Konolsky/Alex when you need him ? At least he’d give us something to laugh about.
Enough of the life stories please. This isn’t the place for that.
Didn’t realise you were the moderator for this blog, the-Richard-of-Nottingham. Apologies for any irrelevant material I may have submitted, though I had thought it was Jon who sets the tone: ISTR stories of cufflinks, weekend breaks, other “life” stories.
BTW, what sort of humour were you hoping for? Can we oblige at all?
Apology accepted :0)
Much obliged.:)
Gents spare a thought for those ladies who have been deserted and don’t want to bring their children up in a crime and drugs ridden area with Council house rent more expensive than private landlords.
A let flat in outer london costs as much in a week as it does in a month in the north, wher we combine self initiated socialism with actions in our lives.
No – you cant take it with you – or anything else for that matter – but it is vital to have some while one is on this world – and its the likes of Talbot and Co who rob us . The pity is he will be replaced all too soon . They have no mercy on us – why should we –the victims of their actions– care about them . He and his like are no loss .
Just reminded me of what an old Donegal friend said -’Money’s not everything but very useful when you’re going for the messages!’
Just a thought on the budget, Jon – I’ve vented my vitriol on Gary’s blog – if my pension is going to be fixed to wage rises (thank you Labour) can mine be in line with the executives of footsie companies rather than public sector workers?
Loved the interview with Vince Cable. If he had a modicum of deceny he would resign from the cabinet. It was painful seeing him trying to defend everything he stood against two months ago. And not to have eve read the graph that shows the poorest are among the hardest hit, is outrageous.
And to think I nearly voted for them.
OH you mean Mr tight mouth, sway with the wind ,Cable TV , Vince out- priced now got a good job blood -sucker. VINCE THE VAMPIRE.
But oh !the snowy white knight had him against the wall, his polished blade twinkling in the evening studio light, making his last attack with truth.
Yes, I too enjoyed (in a masochistic way) your grilling of the now decidedly non-avuncular Vince Cable.
I say “masochistic” as it was also painful to see that he too has sold his soul to the devil – he was my last hope.
The Lib Dems are the best thing to have happened to the Tories in this election. Cameron, Osborne etc still get their own way and the sops are sent out to field the flak! It’s perfect!
Dear Kate, how could you put your hopes on Cable… Have you forgotten he was chief economist for Shell in the 90s. For Shell! with all the pain that corporation has inflicted… He may have a soft face, but he is no lamb. Yes, this coalition is the death of the LibDems. They’ve wasted their biggest chance ever of being a respected opposition.
You dont believe in anecdotal eveidence then.? Remember all anecdotes make up research as a whole, from the analysed particular to the general.All news items affect and are usually centred upon humanity.
Experience is how we relate to others.
“Perhaps too that money isn’t everything – whatever the Chancellor may do about it – and that we are all well advised to play it straight.”
Hmm – I’d fully endorse this sentiment, had I not lived here for the last thirty years. Over that time, I’ve seen my profession (research scientist) turn from well-enough paid career with long term prospects, into a succession of short contracts with no progression and 6-12 month periods of joblessness between them. I’ve seen starting in home ownership change from something people could take on as a rational plan into a desperate gamble which could ruin them if their employer (or partner) decided to walk away. And I’ve seen pretty much any form of education or training change from a shared committment in which the student supplied the ability and effort while the state or employer funded it, into a system where people go into debt to buy access to some part of the job market.
Money may not be everything, but it certainly gives a big advantage in access to life chances now, much more so than in the 60′s or 70′s when so many rose from humble origins, but by the 80′s, apparently forgot that others helped them rise.
Paul, You are dead right. A talented friend of mine packed in research because she was so disillusioned with spending three months of every 12 writing proposals to try and get funding for the following year. Crazy system.
The same applies to many local government posts – short term contracts that will no doubt now be slashed.
The government keeps on about wanting everyone to work rather than be a drain on welfare but where are the jobs? Already there are fewer vacancies than people needing work and it’s about to get a lot worse.
The 1930s depression was ended by governments investing in major projects, creating work and an infrastructure that supported industry. I see no such similar ‘big idea’ in this budget
I can’t remember who said this but we are each just a brief spark of light between two very long periods of darkness. I suppose that would be an aetheist view . For the believers, the dark bits will be replaced by heavenly light.
What kind of houses are they living in? Must be a poxy mansion. Why should the state pay for the workshy to lie back and procreate ad nauseam? I have no problem with state assistance to the needy, but for every needy one there’s one taking the michael.
I’m not sure why public sector worker Lisa sees her income as being “slashed below the poverty line”. Many of us, Lisa, have lowered our incomes by leaving our husbands and then faught through on our own. It’s a modern story, as much as an individual struggle. People with jobs are up in arms, but it is actually possible to make adjustments in spending, if your pay is frozen. There is no VAT on food and children’s clothing and in my view, it is the mark up on food and children’s clothing that makes it expensive. There is no reason why the manufacturers and sellers, attending so diligently to their share-holders needs, should not lower many of the costs, thus balancing out the extra VAT. We have allowed ourselves to be exploited through costs for too long in this country, which is more expensive to live in than anywhere else in the world.
“…which is more expensive to live in than anywhere else in the world.”
Oh so true, right on the money.
“Perhaps too that money isn’t everything ”
Try telling that to the soon to be made redundant, Jon.