All I’ve heard over the past few days is the people complaining that they are going to have their benefits capped to 1%. Having never received as much of 1p in benefit in my lifetime I am one of many people who have not had a pay rise for several years and would be quite happy to have a guaranteed 1% increase in their income. It is the likes of those that have had no pay rise that are having to pay for the 1% rise in Welfare for those receiving benefit. Yes I know it is more complex and those in employment receive benefits too, like Child Allowance, but I was just making a point, which rankles with many. However, all this tinkering with figures to save what is equivalent to £2Bn a year, is less than the rise in UK Foreign Aid for this governments term in office. In political terms, peanuts. Politicians on the left and right of the fence, and those that sit on it too have all said that there needs to be welfare reform, the problem is that you will not get any of them agree on what the correct level of reform is, or who should pay for it, yet the pile of money is sitting there as big as the Elephant in the room. Between 20-10/11 and 2014/15, the UK foreign Aid Budget will increase by £3bn to £10.5bn, at the very least the government could have reduced the increase in Foreign Aid, or better still scrapped it all together. Why is foreign Aid a protected and ring fenced pot of money especially when it brings little to no benefit to the UK as a whole. Why has no politician in Parliament stood up and said enough is enough, it is time to put our own people first? Labour politicians have said the capping of benefits is not fair and that the most vulnerable in society are going to suffer, but fail miserably to see the pot of money sitting in the corner. Labour may have said they have changed to a one Britain Labour, but their actions show that they are still the same tired old party putting others before their own. A person that earns an income of £25k pays £5,465 in Tax, of that £52 pounds goes to the overseas aid budget. I would rather that £52 went to help the needy and suffering in this country rather than helping to prop up corrupt 3rd world dictatorships. The government says in times of austerity that cuts and sacrifices are needed, after all we’re all in this together! Well it might help if they started cutting the right bloody things!
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Handing our other peoples money on such a ludicrous scale allows our pathetic excuses for leaders to pose on the international stage as world leaders. It is clear to many of us now that they don’t give a dam about their own people and anyway they are so rich themselves its all just a big game to them. Having seen yesterdays mid term review I think most older people could have been forgiven for mistaking it for a remake of the Morecambe and Wise show. Small wonder only 13% of the people believe our politicians anymore. Oh well as long as life is good in the Westminster bubble why care about the Plebs anyway.
I think welfare should be slashed, but public services enhanced. I pay my taxes for public services not to pay for people sitting on their bums. Public services are what benefits society as a whole, not handouts and giveaways.