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Ah well, seems the Pensioners are being slowly but surely criticised for taking too much of the pie chart on welfare spending. Every TV program talk show someone comes up with a similar comment. They seem to forget that we have paid in under contract for the past 50 years, let alone the minimum requirement, and our employers paid a similar amount. Amounting to something like 20% of a salary in a combined total. Then we have been constantly stitched up by the two main political parties on incremental increases and a bit of occasional sleight of hand over decades, too numerous to mention or calculate. Then we are disproportionately taxed on our total income whilst the well-off nobs are given a tax break of thousands of pounds. Then they decide those on benefits should have no more that the average wage to support themselves, something like £26,000. Apart from making an absolute mess of the usual one rule fits all, it seems to be logical that is what the state pension should be now for the existing and future pensioners.
If the Tory Party want to spend £10 million pounds on a funeral to honour one of their own, perhaps it should come out of their own funds, it would solve some of the issues.
Nothing is resolved about the austerity of the United Kingdom. Those in power chose to deregulate the financial services, the city whiz kids and financial mandarins manipulated a set of products, made a fortune and consequently bankrupted the world. Why on earth do politicians, the law makers, think that laws, rules, regulations, etc were introduced in the first place.? It was to safeguard all that has now occurred without those regulations. Self interest, too busy fiddling their expenses and completely taking their eyes off the ball.
Has anyone in the financial sector been bought to justice for at least negligence, let alone fraud. No, not a single person. So we end up with austerity cuts and supposedly as we are "all in this together" we all have to share paying off the nations overdraft. Except some of them are not exactly in this party of togetherness. They just reduce the higher rate of tax and not increase it as they should, allow bankers to go on drawing huge salaries and bonuses and still continue fiddling the system [libor] to make more money and increase the costs to their customers.
Now they have decided to go back to imposing controls and regulation on the Financial Services in particular the Banks, prevention is better than cure.
How do politicians solve the austerity, they attack pensioners and the less well off to pay off the debt. Erode our pensions, force people to sell their houses when we need to go into care, total reduction in home help and then we can keep repeatedly hear about means testing, removal of free prescriptions, heating allowance, bus passes and tv licences. We feel the politicians pick on sections of the communities who cannot defend themselves, cannot go on strike, have no representation and in the large are beyond voicing any objections due to their frail health.
It is odd that the majority of pensioners have gone through life, many working for the same company paying tax and NI contributions, saved for a rainy day as was expected, bought their own houses using up a major slice of their wages to pay off 30+ year mortgages, not claimed benefits, put up with strikes, three day weeks, kept their heads down and soldiered on. There is also a section that risked their lives in the war, losing many loved ones and did more than anyone else could possibly do for their country.
What do they get, successive kicks in the teeth. No interest on their savings, reductions in services, no care, the expectation to sell their houses, no backup of any kind, just take away all that they have frugally built up over the years, just let the weak go to the wall.
What do the governments say in opposition after being in power. The latest one was on immigration when they declared they might have got that wrong. Now we face the prospect of immigrants from Roumania and Bulgaria perhaps coming here in large numbers forcing pressure on jobs, housing and benefits on a country that has sufficient means to deal with the influx.
The cost of living has become staggeringly high with inflation affecting essentials such as utility bills, food and other necessities of life. The hardest hit are always going to be the pensioners, low earners and those incapable of work. Safety nets must be in place to stop any suffering of the vulnerable.
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Want to see another piece of age related anomaly - Allowances cap reduction for over 65's. For example, year 2011 to 2012, the personal allowance
for ages 65 to 74 is £9940. Over £24,000 income, the age related allowance is reduced by £1 for £2 of income above that limit. Whereas if you are under 65 although the allowance is £7475, you are allowed to earn £100,000 before a similar reduction takes place. So for 65 to 74 years of age, if you earn say £2930 over the £24,000 then your allowance is reduced to £7475. Someone please explain the logic?.
The Pensioners Party is registered in England (RRP 4301204) and is independent of all other parties. It has no affiliations or support for any other political party whatsoever. All informaion can be found on the Electoral Commission web site at www.electoralcommission.org.uk
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