"Poor" SBY...

The President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or "SBY" to those in the know, has gone on the record (Kompas) intimating to high-ranking police and military officers that he understands their suffering on the salary front because he has not had a salary rise in more than seven years.

However, this is the kicker, what the president did not say is that his salary is already twenty-eight times the GDP per Indonesian. 

One of the fundamental questions with respect to eradicating corruption in Indonesia is whether or not a significant rise in the level of salaries of police and other officials of state will reduce the reliance on illegal fees to supplement those meager salaries, and thereby reduce corruption. It was within this framework that the president was promising to reinvigorate the government's commitment to improving the prosperity of members of the Armed Forces and Police.

Now, most people would not begrudge a salary increase to those who have earned one. Simply, where performance justifies a salary increase then it is fair that an increase occur. Yet, in situations where performance is poor or promises have been broken, then it is not only hard to justify a pay rise but it is the height of arrogance to be suddenly crying poor, particularly when it would seem that one's workload is not so extreme that there is no time to put out an album of favourite songs to entertain the masses rather than feed them.

A survey by The Economist highlighted that SBY was enjoying a salary that ranked him third highest from twenty two countries surveyed. So, what is this in dollar terms? The president enjoys a salary of more than USD 124,000 per year. Interestingly the two leaders in front of him were Kenya (240 times GDP) and Singapore (42 times GDP). It is worth noting that this is the basic salary of the president, according to The Economist. Therefore, it does not include all the fringe benefits that the Head of State enjoys.

The sad truth of the matter is, Mr President, that you have not earned a pay rise. Even more telling in your attempt at empathy is that you really have lost touch with what it is like to be poor in Indonesia and living on or below the poverty line in a nation with vast national wealth and huge potential for growth but with a leadership that has no commitment to anything other than preserving itself. Mr President, perhaps it is time to worry about doing your job, the one you were elected to do and the one that has nothing to do with singing, rather than how long it has been since you have had a pay rise!

Ho hum...

Oprah and a USD 68 Million Home in New Jersey...

I must confess, I have watched the Oprah Winfrey show more than a few times. I will probably continue to watch it every now and then, particularly now that she is honouring me by coming to my country, Australia, to do a few "live" shows. So, perhaps, I am guilty of contributing to her billion-dollar fortune and the possibility that she is going to buy a USD 68 million home in the Alpine Estates in New Jersey.

Oprah Winfrey has worked hard and she has worked hard for a long time to develop Harpo Productions and to make the money she has. I do not begrudge her her wealth, her fame or anything else that she has. I am wondering though, "why does she need to spend 68 million on a house with 19 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms spread out over 30,300 sq. ft of home?" After all, she has a partner, Stedman Graham, no kids and a few dogs, if I recall correctly. So, why does she need quite so much space? Is it just because it is there?

Even if her really, really, really good friend Gayle King was to move in and share some housing space, there are still more bedrooms than there are people.

Oh, if you are wondering the house also includes a carriage house, a library, a ballroom, a movie theater, sprawling English gardens, a salt-water pool, and a tennis court. As I said, a lot of space for a small family.

But, when it is all said and done, to each their own. Perhaps, if I had USD 68 million spare then I might be tempted to buy a little bigger than we probably need. And. let's face it, it is a pretty awesome looking spread that she is thinking of purchasing.

How Rich are the Candidates -- Indonesia's Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates

Wealth reports always make for an interesting read and is the little person's chance for a little bit of voyeurism into the financial lives of the famous (or infamous). The Corruption Eradication Commission or the KPK is set to start verifying the wealth of the prospective candidates for both the presidency and the vice-presidency.

All of the prospective presidential candidates have submitted their reports. Only one vice-presidential candidate has submitted his wealth report. This happens to be, Boediono, the running mate of the current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). May be this is indicative of the fact that SBY considers himself to be a shoe-in for the presidential election and so long as he turns up he will be a winner. It also fits the image of a man who likes to appear to be above the fray.

Prabowo and Wiranto have yet to submit their wealth reports (at least this was the case this morning). Both of these reports should make for interesting reading, particularly Prabowo's as he has supposedly generated considerable wealth since his honorable discharge from the military. Wiranto's will also be an interesting read because it will be interesting to see how a general, whose military salary was comparatively small, finds the funds to establish a political party.

What the wealth reports will highlight though is that personal wealth is not necessarily a guarantee of political success, particularly if one's goal is the big chair in the palace.

Ten Reasons Why You Are Not Rich

Someone asked me whether I considered myself rich the other day, I don't. I had never really thought about why. Although last year I was in Jogja and the people I was staying with knew this fella who was a paranormal and a bit of a legend when it came to reading palms.

I am always open to new things and so I had my palm read. This explained my lack of financial savviness and the reasons why I am not as rich as I should be. The essence of the reading with regards to money was; easy come, easy go. Come to think of it, that sounds pretty much the crux of it.

Nevertheless, as I was checking out financial news stuff and trying to get a better handle on the financial crises the globe finds itself in, I cam across these pearls of wisdom and thought I would share them as they are.

Hopefully, they enlighten you as they have enlightened me.

"... Here are 10 more possible reasons you aren't rich:

1. You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don't view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved.

2. You feel entitlement: If you believe you deserve to live a certain lifestyle, have certain things and spend a certain amount before you have earned to live that way, you will have to borrow money. That large chunk of debt will keep you from building wealth.

3. You lack diversification: There is a reason one of the oldest pieces of financial advice is to not keep all your eggs in a single basket. Having a diversified investment portfolio makes it much less likely that wealth will suddenly disappear.

4. You started too late: The magic of compound interest works best over long periods of time. If you find you're always saying there will be time to save and invest in a couple more years, you'll wake up one day to find retirement is just around the corner and there is still nothing in your retirement account.

5. You don't do what you enjoy: While your job doesn't necessarily need to be your dream job, you need to enjoy it. If you choose a job you don't like just for the money, you'll likely spend all that extra cash trying to relieve the stress of doing work you hate.

6. You don't like to learn: You may have assumed that once you graduated from college, there was no need to study or learn. That attitude might be enough to get you your first job or keep you employed, but it will never make you rich. A willingness to learn to improve your career and finances are essential if you want to eventually become wealthy.

7. You buy things you don't use: Take a look around your house, in the closets, basement, attic and garage and see if there are a lot of things you haven't used in the past year. If there are, chances are that all those things you purchased were wasted money that could have been used to increase your net worth.

8. You don't understand value: You buy things for any number of reasons besides the value that the purchase brings to you. This is not limited to those who feel the need to buy the most expensive items, but can also apply to those who always purchase the cheapest goods. Rarely are either the best value, and it's only when you learn to purchase good value that you have money left over to invest for your future.

9. Your house is too big: When you buy a house that is bigger than you can afford or need, you end up spending extra money on longer debt payments, increased taxes, higher upkeep and more things to fill it. Some people will try to argue that the increased value of the house makes it a good investment, but the truth is that unless you are willing to downgrade your living standards, which most people are not, it will never be a liquid asset or money that you can ever use and enjoy.

10. You fail to take advantage of opportunities: There has probably been more than one occasion where you heard about someone who has made it big and thought to yourself, "I could have thought of that." There are plenty of opportunities if you have the will and determination to keep your eyes open."