I was amazed how one sided the Channel 4 News "Granny Tax" discussion
was last Thursday. There was also a great lack of impartiality from
the discussion chairman Jon Snow. The Pensioners perspective was not at
all well presented by the two ladies and they seemed to be out numbered
by no less than four protagonists.
The healthy and wealthy group of Pensioners interviewed did no
favours to the elderly persons who are suffering poverty and are
having to deal with age related illness's such as Alzheimers, cancer,
partial blindness, and joint/limb problems in a society that cares
very little for its elderly members. It would have been good if the
Channel 4 news researchers had taken time to visit some of the Elderly
Persons Homes in Bootle which I visited over a lengthy period of time.
There you will find some of the immense problems that Pensioners face
these days and they would be humbled by the way they try to carry on
despite the odds. These are a far cry from the high kicking, well heeled
Pensioners that were portrayed as being the "norm" in the program.
Jon Snow said that all the Baby Boomer's had access to free University
tuition. I was born in 1949 and like a majority of youngsters at that
time I was educated in Secondary Modern School. I did not have a single
school friend who went to University because none of our families could
afford to send us, or be in a position to lose a potential income. I
left school at 15 years of age and started work. I attended night school
four evenings a week to help me get started on my National Certificate
Engineering Qualification. I gave half of my £3 15 shillings pay to
my mother to help with the family budget and this was common place. The
only ones that made it to University where those from grammar Schools
and those from middle class backgrounds. Going to University
may have been free but to youngsters from my school it was something
that we were excluded from.
I worked for 47 years paying NI and PAYE on every penny that I earned.
In the 70@s I was working 60 hours a week on a two shift system in a car
plant and it was the money that I paid in my early working career that
helped pay the University fees / Grant allowances for the privileged
middle class children. When my children came to go to University we had
to pay for everything.
My wife and I have survived some very serious recessions and during the
70's recession I was made redundant at a time when my wife was pregnant with our first child. In the 80's recession when mortgage
interest rates shot up to 17% many many people our age lost their homes,
but we hung on with two children and £20 left over at the end of the
month. High interests rates in the past, low interest rates of today,
quantitative easing and poor annuity rates have all damaged the
pensioners of today and we seem to be vilified for not borrowing large
amounts of money and for trying to save / prepare for our old age.
Like those forward looking people after the First World War who fought
for pensioners life style improvements, I too believed that this was
both a moral and self sustaining thing to do, because like the youth of
today I knew that one day I too would become elderly. The benefits
allocated to the Pensioners of today should be supported by the young
people of today because they too will grow old and will suffer the
consequences of the lack of support they gave to pensioners their youth.
The Baby Boomer's have been fortunate and if it had not be for the poor
Governance of this country and for the greed of the Bankers and big
business, we would have paid in enough to sustain a good standard of
life for the Pensioners of today, and the Pensioners of tomorrow.
Pensioners are as much a victim of the mismanagement of the country as
are the working people.
Jon Snow is a man I have the greatest respect for, but after seeing his
performance on Thursday I can only advise that he retires and gives a
young person a chance of getting his job. The only way to improve the
employment chances of the young is for the elderly to relinquish their
jobs in favour of a young person. When I retired my job was taken over
by a 23 years old who otherwise may not have found employment.
Shame on you Jon Snow, and shame on you Channel 4 for presenting such a
biased view of Pensioners lives to the general public.
