We've all done it, opened
our mouths before putting our brain into gear. I've done it plenty of times
myself, both vocally and online, it's very easy to do. The big thing is, I'm
not a minister in the Government, and they should know better than to spurt out
idiotic comments anywhere near journalists or in the house where it is
reported.
What has Iain Duncan Smith
gone and done now? The minister for the Department of Work and Pensions has
only gone and said that ...
"Figures
... show jobless benefits rose 20% in the last five years, compared with an
average 12% rise in private sector pay."
So, here comes the
mathematics lesson.
Your basic pay (using the minimum wage and a working week of 35 hours) is £216.65
So 12% raise on this is £26 per week.
Personal Allowance rate is £71
And 20% of £71 is £14.20 pw;
Who has the bigger rise?
OK, I will allow that full rate High Care and Mobility components give you £131.50 and a 20% rise of that is £26.30 but this is a 20% average rise.
As Leonard H. Courtney, (1832-1918), later Lord Courtney, said in a speech in
After all, facts are facts, and although we may quote one to another with a chuckle the words of the Wise Statesman, "Lies - damn lies - and statistics," still there are some easy figures the simplest must understand, and the astutest cannot wriggle out of.
So let's look at the real figures. I got so locked in to all the Minister's 8%s
(the difference between Wages and Benefits, the 8% Working Tax increase that he quoted as 58% and the 8% of Foreign Claimants that were fraudulent) that I used 8 years not 5.
I looked around the net for
four sets of figures, and rather than using percentages alone, I thought I'd
add in the ACTUAL cash difference in each case.
The results are amazing and
do, sort of, bear out his figures, the average wage rose by 13% and benefit
rose by 28% (politicians always round up anything over 0.5 and down if it's under). However, and here's the big shock, the Pound In Your Pocket change was five and a half times MORE for the worker than the "Scrounger". In fact, their money went up by the total of what the benefit claimant gets a year.
| 2004 | 2012 | £ Change | % Change | |||
| Average Wage | £25,780.00 | £ 29,157.00 | £ 3,377.00 | 13.10% | (a) | |
| Benefit | £ 2,299.41 | £ 2,936.25 | £ 636.84 | 27.70% | (b) |
(a) Figures from www.ons.gov.uk
|
(b) Figures from www.ifs.org.uk
So then we look at the other BIG winners over the past eight years, the Members of Parliament themselves. I know "Call Me Dave" has made them take an actual pay cut this year, but I have this strange feeling they can afford it!
For, in the past eight years the basic backbencher has had their income from the House raised by £8,273, two and a half times that of the average worker! Even the percentage is higher at 14%.
The thing you really need to sit down for is ... the honourable(?) member for Woodford Green and Chingford, Mr. Iain Duncan Smith has had a pay rise of ... wait for it ... ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR PERCENT!!!!!!
| 2004 | 2012 | £ Change | % Change | |||
| MP | £57,485.00 | £ 65,758.00 | £ 8,273.00 | 14.39% | (c) | |
| Iain Duncan Smith | £57,485.00 | £134,565.00 | £ 77,080.00 | 134.09% | (c) |
(c) Figures from www.parliament.uk
Seventy Seven Thousand pounds per year increase! That's two and a half times the average workers gross pay in a rise! Kettles being called black by certain pots methinks!
Now I know we are struggling for money in the country, but hang on a minute Mr George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave "strivers" a tax cut (before capping their Working Tax Credit), I thought the idea was to make money, not throw it out?
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