INVOKING the spirit of the Blitz, Britain’s Conservative-led government says that, when it comes to austerity, Britons are in it together. Yet the group born under the shadow of the country’s wartime trials is largely exempt. Since 2010 the basic state pension has risen by 16%—5% in real terms—under a formula that guarantees generous increases whatever the economic weather. Pensioners also enjoy free TV licences, free bus passes and a handout to help pay winter fuel bills. The government even subsidises their savings, by offering bonds yielding 4% interest—more than five times its own borrowing cost—exclusively to the over-65s. And if the Tories are returned to power at the general election in May, oldies can expect more of this largesse. On February 23rd David Cameron, the Tory prime minister, promised to protect their handouts on the basis that “these people have fought wars, seen us through recessions—made this the great country it is today” (see article).
That argument is...
from The Economist: Leaders http://ift.tt/1LJvZth
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