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MLAs should think of elderly
Thursday, 12 November 2009
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Would our MLAs take a few minutes to extract their snouts from the money trough in the 'bank' at Stormont and put in their hands 25p and ponder what they could purchase with that amount?
On my wife's 80th birthday that is exactly her pension increase - an amount that was granted in 1971 by the then Prime Minister Edward Heath and since then has never been increased.
Roughly, it would buy four slices of bread or one biscuit in a tearoom.
On the other hand, if she wanted to buy something, say around £300, she would have to live to the grand old age of 343 to buy it.
So come on, our impotent MLAs: stop the incessant squabbling and give these elderly citizens who have nobody to fight their corner some serious thought.
PANORAMA
Belfast
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Every one knows the Stormont Mafia think only of their bank balances! Unionist/republicans can only offer money to help their own situations out of the taxpayers pot of gold! Whats the difference between a unemployed person and a hard up pensioner? These MP's would answer: We only deal with past deaths, banners, flags and marches! Vote for a party that states clearly it is going to address the concerns of the ordinary man/woman in the street regarding health and work issues. That is my advice.
Posted by Mike Monahan | 13.11.09, 18:12 GMT
One huge problem in our society, Panorama, is that those who work and save hard get little to nothing with the government emphasis on the layabouts.
Posted by Ed | 12.11.09, 18:50 GMT
"On the other hand, if she wanted to buy something, say around £300, she would have to live to the grand old age of 343 to buy it."
Erm...no. Just, no. The basic state pension in 2009/10 for a single person is £95.25 per week. The married couples pension for this financial year is £152.30 per week.
You don't need a degree in Maths to work out that it would take less than a month to save up your pension to buy something costing £300.
I suspect PANORAMA meant something entirely different from what he actually wrote, but I'll blame that on his English teacher!
Posted by Maths teacher | 12.11.09, 11:55 GMT