How much do you earn？ There are few questions that British people find so excruciating1—or rude. Walking around Bristol on a heaven-scented spring day， buttonholing random strangers about their personal finances， I sense most would prefer it if I were asking when they last passed stool， or voted Conservative.2
　　“I’d say that’s a cheek3！” says a gentleman in his 80s. But why？“I’m British， that’s why. My business is my business.”
　　I try a younger guy in athletic gear， performing stretches by a park bench.4 “If you ain’t paying me， I ain’t interested，” he says. A model neoliberal5 citizen.
　　I approach a couple of mothers in the park and cast a shadow over their picnic rug6. One is a stay-at-home mum； the other is not. “It’s not something you want to talk about in front of your friends， is it， what you earn？” the latter says. “Some people are underpaid， some people are overpaid， life isn’t fair.” Her friend pointedly attends to her child.7 I apologise for ruining their lunch.
　　It’s awkward， isn’t it？ The median annual income in the UK， according to the most recent Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings，8 is￡28，677 for full-time employees. Jeremy Corbyn’s last published tax return puts his income at￡136，762； Theresa May’s was￡117，350 but she hasn’t published one since she became prime minister； David Cameron never published a tax return， but he did publish his earnings in light of the Panama Papers scandal：￡200，307 from salary and rent in 2014/15.9 José Mourinho10 is on a reported￡15m at Manchester United and is apparently unhappy. Chris Evans11 makes more than￡2.2m at the BBC. A nurse starts at￡22，128. It ought to be one of the least personal things about us—a simple data point， one that’s not so hard to estimate， surely—and yet clearly it’s emotive. “I don’t think that’s a very nice conversation to have publicly at all，” as Kate Winslet told the BBC when pressed on the issue of gender pay disparities in Hollywood a couple of years ago.12 “It seems quite a strange thing to be discussing out in the open like that. I am a very lucky woman and I’m quite happy with how things are ticking along13.”
　　The squeamishness is not limited to Britain—Donald Trump is in no rush to publish his tax returns—but it is acute here，14 and only made more so by the recent revelations about the gender pay gap. In Sweden， Norway and Finland， you can look up anyone’s salary online—a practice dating back to the 18th century. （Well， not the online bit.） And even with much more equal parental rights， they still have gender pay gaps similar to ours， about 15%—18%. In Massachusetts and other US states， less transparency is touted as the answer；15 employers aren’t allowed to ask what your previous salary was when you apply for a new job， to stop low pay following women and minorities throughout their career. And perhaps there’s something to be said for not knowing. A recently qualified teacher I know—whose salary I might estimate at about￡24，000—defended our reticence：“It’s a British thing which I am proud of—it seems crassly materialistic to discuss money in detail with acquaintances， or even friends.”16 　　Still， we are increasingly being encouraged to drop our financial pants—at least in front of our immediate colleagues—as a means not only of addressing pay inequality，17 but also of changing the balance of power between employers and employees. I’ve been noticing friends open up a lot more about their finances， admitting they， too， spend an inordinate amount of time on moneysavingexpert.com， wondering： “How on earth does anyone else do it？”18 No wonder： the LSE recently calculated that British workers have seen the second worst wage growth in the OECD （after Greece）， with wages falling 5% between 2007 and 2015 once adjusted for inflation.19 Income inequality is widening； society is fragmenting across class， age， gender and racial faultlines； envious， curious glances are cast.20
　　And since April， when 10，000 or so British companies were obliged to publish data on gender pay gaps under the Equalities Act， we’ve had even more numbers to pore over.21 About 78% of British companies pay men more than women. Men earn on average 18.4% more than women， or 9.7% if you go by the median hourly rate. The Guardian’s 22 own gender pay gap is 12.1% in favour of men. I am freelance， so have been spared the tortured intra-office conversations， but when I last worked full-time （at the Evening Standard 23， which has a 5.8% pay gap in favour of women， to my surprise）， it was a constant source of tension. Everyone knew that pay levels varied unpredictably and unfairly—and that the people who were good at getting raises were almost never the people who were good at their jobs. Still， while there was a bit of income solidarity among the younger （ie lower-paid） members of staff， hardly anyone else was willing to enter into an “I’ll show you mine” pact.24 It’s true there’s sometimes an advantage in being paid less—you’re less likely to be made redundant25. But I couldn’t help noticing that when I eventually revealed my final salary to a female colleague after I’d left， she promptly26 left， too.
　　“How much do you earn then？” David asks me.
　　None of your… oh， OK. My gross income27 was ￡70，242 on my last tax return， which would put me in the top 5% of British earners. I find that at once reassuring and awkward. Once I lopped off28 expenses， my income was￡49，250. And once I’d done my bit， chipping in for the NHS， a few military operations， pensions， etc， I was left with￡32，165.29 Which makes me think， hmm， maybe I should start a craft cider30 business.
　　“That’s such a boring question！” says Jahnava， 45. “I thought it was going to be something juicy31.” She works for a charity called Coracle， which provides her a salary of about ￡5，000. Woah， that’s not much， I say. “I rely on the Lord.” You would say that. What about food， shelter？ “It’s provided by the charity.” 　　“Maybe British people are too much in their minds？” Jahnava says. “At the end of the day， it doesn’t matter how much money you have to live. If you have food， shelter and your health， there’s nothing to stop you from being completely content. I was watching this video of a famous person being followed around by the paparazzi32， and I realised how these people have sacrificed all of their privacy and freedom for their fame and wealth. I wouldn’t give that up for any price.”

　　1. excruciating：法忍受的。
　　2. 在一个鸟语花香的春日，我漫步在布里斯托尔街头，随便抓住一位陌生人询问他们的个人财务状况，我感觉大部分人宁愿告诉我他们最后一次如厕是什么时候，或者最后一次投票给保守党是什么时候。Bristol：布里斯托尔，英国英格兰西南部城市；buttonhole： 抓住别人的衣纽，指勉强别人倾听或交谈；pass： 排泄；stool： 大便；Conservative： 保守党。
　　3. cheek： 没有礼貌、冒失的言语或行为。
　　4. athletic gear： 运动服；stretch： 伸展运动。
　　5. neoliberal： 新自由主义的。
　　6. rug： 小地毯。
　　7. pointedly： 直截了当地，批评性地；attend to： 照料。
　　8. median： 在中间的，中位数的；Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings：《工时和薪酬年度调查》。
　　9. Jeremy Corbyn： 杰里米·科尔宾，英国工党领袖；tax return： 纳税申报单；Theresa May： 特雷莎·玛丽·梅，英国保守党政治家，2016年7月起出任英国首相和保守党党魁；David Cameron： 戴维·卡梅伦，英国前首相；in light of： 考虑到，由于……的结果；Panama Papers scandal： 巴拿马文件丑闻，巴拿马文件是国际调查记者同盟（ICIJ）于2016年披露的一批机密文件，揭露了各国政治人物与精英们未曝光的海外资产。
　　10. José Mourinho： 何塞·穆里尼奥，英国足球超级联赛曼联队（Manchester United）主教练。
　　11. Chris Evans： 克里斯·埃文斯，美国著名演员、导演，“美国队长”的扮演者。
　　12. Kate Winslet： 凯特·温斯莱特，英国著名演员；disparity： 差异，不平等。
　　13. tick along：（事情）进展。
　　14. squeamishness： 神经质，过分拘谨；Donald Trump： 唐纳德·特朗普，美国现任总统。
　　15. transparency： 透明（度）；be touted as： 被认为。
　　16. 我认识的一位新晋教师为我们就薪资的沉默辩护，他/她的薪水我估计在24，000英镑左右。这位老师说：“这是英国人的一个特质，我引以为豪，因为与熟人甚至朋友详细讨论钱的事，会给人感觉很粗俗很拜金。”reticence： 沉默；crassly：粗俗地；materialistic： 唯物主义的，物质至上的。
　　17. pants： 裤子，这里指所隐瞒的事物；address： 处理，解决。
　　18. inordinate： 过度的； moneysavingexpert.com： 理财网站，提供日常生活中减少花费的技巧和方法。
　　19. LSE： 全称London School of Economics and Political Science，伦敦政治经济学院；OECD： 全称Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development，经济合作与发展组织；inflation： 通货膨胀。
　　20. 收入不平等在扩大，社会在阶层、年龄、性别和种族间分化，嫉妒和疑窦滋生。faultline： 断裂带，断层线。
　　21. Equalities Act： 英国《平等法》，新《平等法》于2010年开始生效，为了确保男女同工同酬，要求雇主公开男女员工的薪资差别；pore over： 研究。
　　22. The Guardian：《卫报》，英国的全国性综合内容日报。
　　23. Evening Standard ：《伦敦标准晚报》，伦敦当地的一份免费日报，周一至周五以小报的形式出版。
　　24. solidarity： 团结，一致；pact： 契约，协定。
　　25. redundant： 失业的，下岗的。
　　26. promptly： 立刻，马上。
　　27. gross income： 毛收入，总收益。
　　28. lop off： 砍掉，切掉。
　　29. 而當我尽点儿英国公民的义务，比如为公费医疗体系、国家的军事行动和退休金计划等缴纳完资金之后，我就只剩下32，165英镑了。chip in： 捐助；NHS： National Health Service，英国国家医疗服务体系；pension： 养老金，退休金。
　　30. cider： 用作饮料或制醋用的苹果汁、苹果酒。
　　31. juicy： 生动有趣的，妙趣横生的。
　　32. paparazzi： 狗仔队。