What are you worth?

The BBC has been forced by the government to hand Twitter trolls a big stick. The government decided that as a public service the BBC should publish the names and amounts earned by anyone earning over  £150,000 per annum.  I believe it was a strategy to undermine the public broadcasting service and make people question whether it was worth our tax payers money. As a strategy, they miscalculated. People like the BBC. Most people like the names on the list but those who don't were given jealousy as justification for their hatred.

The list was rubbish. It didn't show what people are doing for their money. I fell into the trap of thinking that Claudia (with the too long fringe) Winkleman was paid more than Tess (I put up with Bruce) Daley for Strictly but the fringe lady has a radio show and is the new Barry Norman. The list didn't tell you that most people in the BBC (the journalists, the local radio presenters, the weather announcers) are actually quite poorly paid and are on stupid 3 month contacts. It didn't mention that to get some of these already big stars they would have had to match what they were already earning. Very few people would take a wage cut so footballers and people who were running multi million pound media enterprises are going to be expensive. The list didn't say how long someone had been doing the job. It didn't tell you how much Sky or ITV offered them to defect.

Anyway, the Twitter trolls had a field day.

The question they asked amongst the abuse was, "Do you think you are worth that much?"

It was a question that got me thinking. How can they answer that question? If they say yes they will be accused of gloating but a negative answer leaves everyone confused.  Ask yourself the same question. My first answer was that I'm worth more than I'm paid. This is actually true because I do too much work for free and am too lazy to apply for jobs where I would be paid more. But if I had applied for the job that was suggested to me last summer would I have been worth more than double what I'm getting now?

The problem is that money isn't a good indicator of a person's value and that worth can be subjective.
Is it fair that Chris Evans is paid millions while a nurse gets about £25,000 a year? Of course not but the people shouting the loudest are also those who would be most upset by a communist system where everyone is paid the same.

 I found myself worrying about Clare Balding. I thought she wasn't being paid enough because apart from her excellent sport work you can barely turn on radio 4 without hearing her talking about horses, dogs or walking and she has a popular radio 2 show.  I wondered if Gary Lineker was worth eight Clare Baldings and then I wondered if she was worth eight of me.

Yesterday a parent came to see me with her child. They gave me a pot plant and a hand written card. She told me how grateful she was for everything I had done and the opportunities I had given her child in the last seven years of teaching them music. I joked, "Seven years! You've had to put up with me for seven years. I think it's you that deserves the present." The child smiled and rolled their eyes. The parent continued, listing concerts and trips and how my encouragement had increased their confidence. Her words came to an abrupt halt but before I could say how much I appreciated it her mood changed and she quietly and sombrely said, "It's not enough.... just a little token..."
Of course it was enough. It was more than enough. It made me feel valued more than my monthly salary does. Luckily, I'm not like one of those BBC stars who not only get comments from the people that like them but also from the haters. I can't imagine how awful it would be to get cards from the children who hated my subject and suffered though each lesson.

Oh, wait. Maybe I can.

Maybe 2012 wasn't my best year.