Now we're going back to the 1970s

[sadkingbilly]

OK, fair enough.

So now we know the state pension is seen as a benefit. Wonder why it's not tax exempt then...

In all civilised countries, pensions and unemployment insurance are NOT 'benefits'. it's a right earned by deductions from income over a working life.
that's one of the main issues in this country.
Some kind of puritan god bothering hangover from the middle ages.

[jamesbrown]

We are not a serious country, we're an old people's home and we've handed the keys and a clown suit to PwC to manage it for us. Until we elect serious politicians that are able to make highly controversial decisions (including during times of extreme crisis, like 2008 and 2020), which mitigate public debt by taxing people on modest/middle incomes to pay for it, rather than pretending that "other people richer than us can pay" and then investing in the basic priorities that have little/no political pay-off, but are integral to non-clownshoe statehood, like defence, transport and social/health care, we are d00med!

Nice graph from twatter earlier today, public debt growth since 2002.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

As usual, The Eye is right on the money