Pensions, the Looming Crisis and Who is to Blame?

Damien Green announced he will curb pensions to be fair to the young. Isn't it time that MPs and British people woke up to the fact that it's successive governments' handling of finances that has caused the financial crisis. Stop blaming others! Government has created its own financial crisis and doesn't plan.

For example, Margaret Hodge has featured everyday n the Press last week (September 12-15), promoting her new book (Called to Account) and how she identified massive government waste of money across all sectors. Did Hodge actually do anything to curb the massive waste of money? It seems not, otherwise it wouldn't still be an issue. Across all sectors of government there seems to be a financial crisis and by her own admission it's due to incompetence. So what did Hodge achieve in her time as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee? Did she reign in spending? It seems not. And yet she has a cheek to write a book and crow about it.

Why then, with all this government waste, is Damien Green blaming financial problems on pensioners? When pensioners were young, their earnings paid for pensions at the time, so shouldn't they expect the same in return? If there is anything at blame it is that the government's inability to plan ahead and financial ineptitude. Surely they should have planned for pensions rather than relying on the current generation. Surely that is what the National Insurance is for, except we all know that NI has been spent on whatever the government at the time wants to shore up rather than actually saving it towards pensions.

As further evidence of lack of government planning, look at the crisis in the NHS and Energy. Government simply fails to plan. If you need further convincing, look at BREXIT and the Scottish Independence vote. No one in government had actually considered what might happen should the vote be a surprise. Government doesn't think and that needs to change.

Back to pensions -- wasn't it Gordon Brown who raided pensions? Hasn't that contributed to this mess? I don't remember Brown even getting the blame at the time. So how can Damien Green blame financial problems on pensioners. It is government ineptitude. And if you think this is Tory bashing, think again. Labour are just as much to blame. The NHS, as an example, was just as much in crisis under them as it is with the Tories. 

In summary, the looming crisis in pensions is due to:

1. A government created crisis in finance due to wasting money (see earlier articles on a failure to collect business taxes)

2. Government inability to plan 

3. Gordon Brown's raid on pensions

Government needs to change.