The thing is - people tried saying this before the election and were called Tory hots, abused and called loads of names. How the tables have turned.
I have never voted Tory but I also couldn’t vote Labour this time. For those of us paying attention - we knew it was all lies. Uncomfortable truths people just didn’t want to hear hence why they were whispering in the background. Yet people were so deluded that Labour would offer workers money for free.
We now have a MAJORITY who are dependent on the state. That’s unsustainable. No matter how you spin it. Too many people are taking out and not enough paying in. It doesn’t add up. We borrow every month to pay the welfare bill. Multiple reasons for that. Ageing population, huge percentage sick (compared to other countries), a punitive tax system (relying on a small minority of PAYE is now backfiring) and of course the tax credits brought in by Gordon Brown totally fucked this economy. Low wage and low productivity is traceable to the start of those.
Labour don’t have the money to go on a 1997 spending spree. They just don’t. No parties do. We borrow every single month to pay the bills. That’s because: although the deficit was reduced - it wasn’t wiped completely. That would be impossible to do over night without abolishing the welfare state. Hence, why the debt is still increasing. Saving a few billion here and there from dodgy contacts won’t solve the issue. Neither will taxing higher earners out of productivity. Neither will wealth taxes so all the job makers leave. A few European countries tried this recently and lowered their tax receipts. Our highest PAYE earners pay more than most counterparts and receive less for it.
Pointing out the fact that those who paid their “stamp” didn’t pay enough to cover what they are taking out isn’t horrible - it’s fact. Having a go at millennials is hilarious, it’s those people being taxed to death to pay for pensions all the while - they will probably never get a state pension themselves. The contract had been broken.
If you think it is just pensioners facing this you haven’t been listening. RR has made many comments about the long term sick, sickness benefits, child DLA. That will all be next. When people pointed this out pre-election they were called Tory bots. Hilarious. It is why all the DWP statistics are being leaked to the broadsheets.
This was obvious to anyone paying attention and were not sticking their head in the sand about IMF/ONS reports on the state of our economy. The stats do not add up. KS knows you do need productive workers to pay for all of this. Tax them out of productivity bang goes the budget. This is already happening before Labour got in and it is getting worse. Hence why he is reluctant to raise working taxes and despite what the press say - he won’t touch tax relief on pensions for workers. IMF have already warned of disastrous consequences if he does.
Pensioners have been protected for a long time and got a much better deal from the treasury than workers have. The triple lock is also unaffordable. The workers paying for it are angry with good reason - they will never see the pension themselves. It will almost certainly be means tested by then. The majority of pensioners are not in poverty. Where this policy is wrong - is those with PC and in poverty are actually financially better off than those £2 above the cut off. That is appalling that these people will be without. However, these unfair and nonsensical cliff edges are all over the economy. From UC, to CHB taper and loss of personal allowance taper. There are huge issues when you a take home less and be better off than those who take home more. No matter what part of the spectrum you are looking at.
Anyone who thought Labour would fix all of this is deluded. They’ve haven’t got money to spend so they have to cut. They prioritise workers as they are needed to pay for it all. If you’re a public sector worker you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t be feeling all that confident about the next few years for anyone on welfare. As much as people hate the Tories - they taxed higher earners more than ever and kept the triple lock. Labour were too busy using the politics of envy - look here: private school fees. Everyone fell for it and will now pay the price. All the while they were clear about their intentions if you were paying attention. Many weren’t and when challenging their proposals were called Tory bots.