LONDON: The BBC revealed last week that at least 37 of its employees earn more than British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The outcry following this announcement is in some respects baffling. It should hardly be shocking, after all, that a senior executive at a large corporation has a bigger pay cheque than a public servant, even if he is the leader of the government. (Mr Brown earns about £197,000 a year).

But then the BBC is no ordinary corporation. The broadcaster is funded by what is effectively a tax: the £142.50 annual licence fee coughed up by every British household with a television set. The BBC has sole rights to the fee, which is worth a total of £3.6 billion a year.

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