Robbing the poor to pay the rich

Tuesday 25th June 2019 17:47 EDT
 

BBC’s decision to withdraw free licence to over 75 has come as a great surprise, as practically every political party promised in their manifesto to maintain certain privileges enjoyed by pensioners who worked hard during their working life, paid taxes so that they could enjoy their retirement in peace and free of financial worries. 

These benefits include besides free TV licence, Freedom Pass which provides free travel, exempt from prescription charges, pension credit, 25% Council tax discount for those pensioners living on their own, Christmas bonus, heating allowance during winter months when temperature falls below specified degree and few more benefits, although all these benefits are not universal. 

No wonder some pensioners are determined to fight tooth and nail, willing to go to jail, as they feel this is betrayal of the worse kind, picking the most venerable people who are in their twilight years. There is also a misconception, fiduciary belief that pensioners are loaded, capable of paying any tax government can impose on them, forgetting that these politicians have robbed pensioners of their main side income, interest on savings, as at one time they could easily earn up to 10% interest but today it is just 1%, even less, that benefits young and spendthrift, with borrowing.       

I understand it takes more than ten thousand pensioners to pay their licence fees to cover wages, salaries and other benefits of just one top BBC earner and there are several hundred such employees who fall in this category, that include news-casters, sports presenters, documentary producers, actors working in BBC serials and many more.

Then BBC is not the only culprit, as at one time government used to bear the cost of free licence. But now government has passed the buck to BBC who may lose some 25% of the income, even more, at a time when producing highly rated programmes cost more.

Why our politicians always plead poverty when it comes to supporting our own while “Overseas Aid Budget” keep on bloating to the extent that government finds it difficult to spend it wisely. I hope the petition to protect free TV licence will cross a million mark and put pressure on the government. If Labour comes out in open and promise to reinstate it, it will enhance their chances to form the next government.

Bhupendra M. Gandhi

By email


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