The Sun newspaper have started a good campaign today. They rightly ask why it is that pensioner benefits, such as the cold weather payment, goes to rich pensioners - even those with incomes of £100,000 a year? Why is it too, that these kind of benefits go to wealthier pensioners living overseas - such as those who have bought villas in countries like Spain and France?
Clearly this is absurd. Pensioner benefits for the rich are economically unfeasible (the country can't afford it), unfair (because the burden falls on lower tax payers), and morally wrong (as it means that poorer pensioners don't get enough).
It cannot be right that taxpayers' money - most of it taken from lower earners (who make up the majority), is spent on benefits and handed to those who have plenty of wealth. It is wrong that there are too many pensioners in poverty, who would welcome more in welfare support. Moreover, a country paying out £120 million a day - just to pay off the interest of the national debt, can't afford to give handouts to the rich in this way.
The welfare state was never designed to be universal. It was established to help those in need. Reforming pensioner benefits, would mean more money to poorest pensioners and some savings to hard pressed taxpayers. Fair and socially just.
P.P.S. There are two bear traps to avoid: ensuring that our opponents do not misrepresent the Government as taking away benefits from all pensioners,and; making certain that any means testing to deal with this problem, does not become a bureaucratic minefield - costing more than the savings themselves.
P.S. I was on Radio 4 discussing this, earlier. You can read the transcript here.
by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.
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