Taxpayers' Alliance: Cut pensioners benefits now

[taxman]

The Taxpayers' Alliance says the government should cut pensioners benefits immediately as many of them will die before they get a chance to vote against them in the next election, whilst others will have forgotten which party cut them.

 

"Mr Wild said the Tories could not wait until a year before the next election to make the necessary cuts to the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, the Christmas bonus and other pensioner benefits.

 

Mr Wild, who is research director of the think tank which campaigns for lower taxes and highlights examples of Government waste, said the cuts should be made "as soon as possible after an election for two reasons".

 

"The first of which will sound a little bit morbid - some of the people... won't be around to vote against you in the next election. So that's just a practical point, and the other point is they might have forgotten by then."

 

What a lovely chap.

[Vague_Boy]

What a lovely chap.

 

The whole thing reads like a Daily Mash spoof.

 

Unfortunately it's all too real.

[Bob Arctor]

Is this the same Taxpayer's Alliance that set up a 'charitable' arm so that they could funnel funds to the Taxpayer's Alliance without... paying tax?

[chem1st]

Probably put out to stifle any debate around pensioner benefits, so that anyone raising the injustice of increasing pensioner 'grey vote' benefits, whilst vastly reducing and completely removing benefits for working age people and the youth in particular can be labelled as a *insert nasty name here*.

 

To think when NI first came in, unemployment benefit was higher than the pension. Now workers pay triple the NI, and unemployment benefit is far less than the state pension and less than half the means tested pension.

 

Unemployment benefit is again cut in real terms and additional taxes upon unemployment benefit are levied, whilst state pension is increased above inflation.

 

And you have this mad situation where the likes of wetherspoons is full of home-owning and council tenant pensioners with smartphones lamenting lazy yute for being unable to buy/rent a house/flat/room, due to drinking too much and owning expensive phones.

 

You couldn't make it up.

[El Cid]

You couldn't make it up.

 

Our whole system seems to reward people not putting money into the system.

 

Dont most other countries have contribution based systems? We should move towards that.

All pensioners are different, very few do not qualify for a pension.

[drummonds]

Our whole system seems to reward people not putting money into the system.

 

Dont most other countries have contribution based systems? We should move towards that.

All pensioners are different, very few do not qualify for a pension.

 

haven't pensioners been putting into the system all their lives? surely the folk who haven't put anything in are the unemployed youth and schoolkids.

 

---------- Post added 06-10-2015 at 11:42 ----------

 

The Taxpayers' Alliance says the government should cut pensioners benefits immediately as many of them will die before they get a chance to vote against them in the next election, whilst others will have forgotten which party cut them.

 

"Mr Wild said the Tories could not wait until a year before the next election to make the necessary cuts to the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, the Christmas bonus and other pensioner benefits.

 

Mr Wild, who is research director of the think tank which campaigns for lower taxes and highlights examples of Government waste, said the cuts should be made "as soon as possible after an election for two reasons".

 

"The first of which will sound a little bit morbid - some of the people... won't be around to vote against you in the next election. So that's just a practical point, and the other point is they might have forgotten by then."

 

What a lovely chap.

 

fortunately for pensioners they form a sizeable voting mass and they tend to vote tory. so whilst the tories remain in power they probably have nothing to fear. it is the corbyns of this world who would take money from pensioners and hand it to his terrorist mates.

[woodmally]

The Taxpayers' Alliance says the government should cut pensioners benefits immediately as many of them will die before they get a chance to vote against them in the next election, whilst others will have forgotten which party cut them.

 

"Mr Wild said the Tories could not wait until a year before the next election to make the necessary cuts to the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, the Christmas bonus and other pensioner benefits.

 

Mr Wild, who is research director of the think tank which campaigns for lower taxes and highlights examples of Government waste, said the cuts should be made "as soon as possible after an election for two reasons".

 

"The first of which will sound a little bit morbid - some of the people... won't be around to vote against you in the next election. So that's just a practical point, and the other point is they might have forgotten by then."

 

What a lovely chap.

 

Yet interesting to note that this particular organisation is quiet on the money spent on our royal family or the money spent on Thatchers funeral. Its ok to cut spending just not on their friends.

[LeMaquis]

"The first of which will sound a little bit morbid - some of the people... won't be around to vote against you in the next election.

 

He's clearly not realised that as some pensioners die others come of pensionable age. In fact more come of pensionable age than die, hence the increased number of pensioners. These new pensioners will know they're worse off and would vote accordingly. The bloke is obviously thick as well as cynical.

[gomgeg]

Probably put out to stifle any debate around pensioner benefits, so that anyone raising the injustice of increasing pensioner 'grey vote' benefits, whilst vastly reducing and completely removing benefits for working age people and the youth in particular can be labelled as a *insert nasty name here*.

 

To think when NI first came in, unemployment benefit was higher than the pension. Now workers pay triple the NI, and unemployment benefit is far less than the state pension and less than half the means tested pension.

 

Unemployment benefit is again cut in real terms and additional taxes upon unemployment benefit are levied, whilst state pension is increased above inflation.

 

And you have this mad situation where the likes of wetherspoons is full of home-owning and council tenant pensioners with smartphones lamenting lazy yute for being unable to buy/rent a house/flat/room, due to drinking too much and owning expensive phones.

 

You couldn't make it up.

No you're right, you couldn't make it up. Me and my missus are two of these home owning pensioners, getting a pension below the poverty level after working for fifty years. We also bought it without housing benefit, tax credits or other benefits. And yes we vote and that's why the tories have index linked pensioner benefits, well good on them, if others can't get off their backsides and vote hard luck, probably most of them don't because they can't spell X.

[Ms Macbeth]

No you're right, you couldn't make it up. Me and my missus are two of these home owning pensioners, getting a pension below the poverty level after working for fifty years. We also bought it without housing benefit, tax credits or other benefits. And yes we vote and that's why the tories have index linked pensioner benefits, well good on them, if others can't get off their backsides and vote hard luck, probably most of them don't because they can't spell X.

 

We're another pensioner couple who own our home, also now on small pensions which according to various studies would put us in relative poverty, even though we wouldn't agree. We were far poorer as a young family in the seventies, but we took whatever work we could to improve our lot. As you say there was little help in terms of benefits back then.