Benefits v Taxes

The Centre for Policy Studies (an independent UK think tank) issued a report in 2015 on the relationship between social welfare benefits and taxation.

The study showed that over half of British households receive more from cash benefits and so-called benefits in-kind than they pay in taxes, and that the 'recycling' of money is hurting the nation.

• 1979: 43.1% of households received more from the State than they paid in direct taxes, such as income tax, and indirect taxes
• 2000/1: this had only increased marginally to 43.8%.
• In 2010/11 it stood at a peak of 53.5%.
• 2013/14: 51.5%. (The average household paid £13,402 in taxes in 2013/14 but received £12,939 in cash benefits and benefits in-kind.)

While the level has been reduced since 2010/11, this ‘net dependency on the State’ remains well above historic levels. CPS Studies warned that such dependency is “an economically destructive phenomenon which tears at Britain’s social fabric”, reducing the incentive to work and trapping people in a “cycle of low aspirations, low productivity and low pay”.

People are taxed, their money goes through the government’s administrative machine, and then it is paid back out to them in benefits. The CPS report concluded that “It is far more efficient to tax less and spend less in order to reduce this unnecessary recycling”.

But more needs to be done to tackle the fact that the poorest households pay very high taxes as a proportion of gross income. The richest fifth of households paid £29,200 in total tax in the last financial year ( = an average tax rate of 34.8% of their gross incomes), while the poorest fifth of households paid just £4,900 in taxes (= 37.8% of their gross incomes).

The think tank wants to see the government cut taxes, which it claims will “significantly improve the living standards of poorer households even without considering the potential dynamic benefits”. It also urged the government to press ahead with “deeper welfare reform” in order to tackle the net dependency on the State, stating: “Simply attempting to alleviate difficult economic conditions with welfare payments can only ever be a short term fix.”

News item BT Internet site on 1 July 2015

UK Honours System

David Cameron's resignation honours list has caused a stir - but this is not new. Such lists cause controversy every time they occur. In Cameron's case the list included numerous advisers, two chauffeurs, four constituency party members, two donors of considerable amounts to the Tory party and the Remain campaign, and four cabinet members.

The underlying problem is the system itself, not merely how it is used or abused. Like so many British institutions, it is a fudge: an odd mix of personal patronage, political expediency and bureaucratic convenience, as well as deserved public recognition. As the public accounts select committee has argued, no one should be rewarded for simply “doing the day job”, be that running a government department or a large company – yet we all know that such nominations remain commonplace. Veteran politicians are recognised not just for their experience and wisdom, but to hasten them out of current roles. Sportspeople and members of showbusiness add a dash of stardust.

Is there still a need for the honours system? If yes, it needs a radical rehaul.

The Guardian view on honours: time to rethink a shabby system. Editorial https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/31/the-guardian-view-on-honours-time-to-rethink-a-shabby-system

The Daily Mail and The Guardian agree: honours system is a disgrace by Roy Greenslade https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/aug/04/the-daily-mail-and-the-guardian-agree-honours-system-is-a-disgrace

Electoral Reform Society on UK-EU Referendum

The Electoral Reform Society says both sides of the referendum campaign left people feeling "ill-informed" by the "dire" debate and that the impact of political leaders had been "minimal".

The ERS has called for a "root and branch" review of the way referendums are run. Their recommendations include having a public body intervene when "misleading" claims are made by campaigns, reviewing broadcasters' role and publishing a "rule book" to govern conduct by campaigns.

BMG Research polled over 1,000 UK-based adults every month from February until the end of the campaign for the Electoral Reform Society's report. This showed that prominent politicians had failed to convince the public, apart from some influence by Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who backed Brexit. ERS said that "Above all, what these numbers tell us is that people had by and large lost faith in established political figures as opinion-leaders - except where those figures might be said to be kicking against the establishment," and that voters had viewed both sides as increasingly negative, and nearing the vote date, nearly half of voters felt they were "mostly telling lies". The government's controversial mail-shot to every household in the UK had "little effect on people's levels of informedness".

ERS said the EU debate was in "stark contrast" to the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, which it said had featured a "vibrant, well-informed, grassroots conversation that left a lasting legacy of on-going public participation in politics and public life".

ERS said there were "serious questions" to be asked about the place of referendums in politics, including how they sit alongside the parliamentary system and how to ensure a "high quality" debate.
ERS chief executive Katie Ghose said: "Now that the dust is starting to settle after the EU referendum, we need a complete rethink about the role of referendums in the UK. They are becoming more common, but the piecemeal nature of the how, when and why they're done means we could simply end up jumping from referendum to referendum at the whim of politicians."

Read in full: Glaring deficiencies in EU debate, Electoral Reform Society says. BBC News website 1st Sept. 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37238641

A New Way to Manage Alcoholism

The recommended treatment for chronic alcoholism is abstinence. But in Ottawa, Canada, a new approach called the Managed Alcohol Program (MAP) aims to change the drinking behaviour of inveterate addicts.

Started in 2001 by a group of health professionals around 15 years ago, it aims to help those who have tried to stop drinking and failed. If their lives could be stabilized, (the day that begins with the search for alcohol and all the complications that occur with that), then better help could be given with their mental health, addiction to alcohol and physical illnesses.

MAP is run by a partnership of two NGOs - the Shepherds of Good Hope, and Ottawa Inner City Health. It began in the Shepherds' homeless hostel downtown, and the Oaks (a hotel converted into a permanent home for those who once lived on the streets) which opened in 2010. But the approach is controversial.

The Oaks has a waiting list. Before being accepted, potential residents must prove they can live within the rules of the Managed Alcohol Program. The Shepherds' hostel downtown is a 12-bed unit, but the atmosphere is far less benign than at the Oaks. 

The residents of the Oaks, a converted hotel, are mostly middle-aged or older, their health fragile due to a lifetime of drinking. Here nearly 50 residents are given a measure of Californian white wine (13% alcohol, made on the premises) at hourly intervals. The first 'pour' of the day at 7.30am is a kickstarter of 7oz (nearly 200ml, a larger-than-average sized glass of wine in Europe). For the rest of the day until 9.30pm, they are given 5oz - just over 140ml. If anyone shows signs of intoxication, they will not be served.

Residents contribute to the cost of their keep - and the wine - through pensions and state benefits. In the common area and the courtyard outside they chat with their friends, play cards and just sit. There is a TV room, a computer, outings and shopping trips, a gentle keep-fit class. This calm, stable environment has enabled some to re-establish contact with families; others are hoping to volunteer or even go back to work. Inuit residents have formed a task force to compile information for homeless people like them.

Lifelong alcoholics are an enormous drain on public resources. Dr Jeff Turnbull, one of those early innovators, and the chief of staff at Ottawa Hospital said "One of our clients was in the emergency department 191 times in the six months preceding coming onto the MAP, and that was just in our hospital. He could've been in other healthcare facilities during that time as well." No one study about the MAP has crunched the numbers fully, but it is not unrealistic to assume that the city of Ottawa has saved millions of dollars. "There's a profound reduction in 911 calls, hospital emergency visits, paramedic and police encounters" says Dr Turnbull.

Source: Treating alcohoics - with wine: by Linda Pressly, BBC News, Ottawa (7 July 2016)

UK Population Facts 2015-2016

Current UK population (June 2016) is 65.1m of which 17.8% (11.6m) are over 65.

Cannot find the 65.1m figure broken down by age bands, but a 2012 report forecast the likely breakdown as follows: age 0-15 = 11,497m, age 15-29 = 12,619m, age 30-44 = 12,545m,  age 45-59 = 13,018m, age 60-74 = 9,709m and age 75 and over = 5,388m.

Scottish mid-2015 estimates were: age 0-15 = 17%, age 16-64 = 65% and aged over 65 = 18%.

In 2010, 65% of benefits (including state pension) went to those over working age. The average NHS spending on the elderly is nearly double that for working people. The most elderly (over 85) cost 3 times the amount that goes to those aged 65-74.

This skewing of the population to the elderly section of the population is due to the baby boom experienced after WW2 and through the 1960s, and the advances in medical care raising their life expectancy.

In addition to the burden of benefit payments and use of the health service, they disproportionately influence politics and voting being traditionally conservative in their views.

Various sources