They've actually done, the impossible, or at least I thought it was the impossible until today. The moron on the south eastern segment of Sunday Politics made me agree with a Conservative politician (about 55 minutes in). Even if that was only for the briefest of moments it still left me feeling sick, and not just regularly sick but the kind of sickness that made want to vomit continuously for the next 45,000,000,000,000 hours or until I was dead and unable to remember that awful moment, whichever came sooner.
Simon Thomson is the name of the moron I was referring to, who set about defending the minimum wage increases being proposed by the former left wing party Labour and their leader (not so) Red Ed. This defence of the underwhelming and untimely increase in payment to those unable to live, despite working, was labelled 'derisory' by the Conservative politician Sam Giymah, to which I mentally verbalised 'hell yeah it is', whilst the aforementioned gag reflex kicked into overdrive.
That comment alone, about the suitability of this nominal increase in minimum wage to make a real difference now to the lives of working people, would have validated my views that Labour are just Tories in all but name, but once he pointed out something which previously was unknown to me, that it would not come into force until 2020. I was shocked at the brashness of their confidence that old voting habits could continue to be relied upon, the old working class support for those who are supposed to me representatives of them. Veiling their love of unrestrained free market capitalism, and their rich friends in big business, behind their ineffective inequality reduction policies.
Now do not get me wrong Sam Giymah, as a Conservative politician, will not be getting any support from me, pretty much every other comment that came out of his mouth was the usual nonsense that characterises that end of the political spectrum. He is after all a member of the nasty party, the party that is systematically destroying all of the social security nets and required services in this country. However, the enjoyable way in which he corrected a Labour politician on his parties pointless, ineffective, and most of all ridiculous 'socialist' policy is something that will always place him marginally above the rest of the idiots.
So why is a much needed increase in minimum wage so objectionable to myself? Should I not be supporting any measure that increases the living conditions of those who are struggling financially, and barely surviving, under this oh so broken system? Well no, not if the measures that are being touted as solutions to the problem are useless.
If you examine the article titled 'Ed Miliband pledges Labour will raise minimum wage to at least £8 an hour' on the Mirror website clearly supporting this increase in minimum wage, you will see just how ineffective it will be.
Firstly, the article points out that on average minimum wage workers will be earning around £60 per week more than at present. An increase on the 39 hour week wage from £253.50 to £312 per week. So that sounds fine, whatever way you cut it that is a sizeable percentage increase in their wage. But will it make that much difference to the average person?
Luckily the article has provided some examples of people who support this increase and the difference it will make to their lives.
Case number one, Burger King Woman: "It's incredibly hard for me. I live three miles away (from work presumably). I can't afford a car and there aren't many buses. I often have to take a taxi. That's where my wages go"
Lets assume that the taxi and cost of road tax, fuel, and MOT's, are roughly the same across a year. Maybe even throw in some of the insurance, or all of it depending on her age. That is still excluding the fact that she has to purchase this car, this life enhancing vehicle on £60 per week extra. If she was able to do that, conceivably she would have to go second hand, maybe even very old and in a poor state, and then run the risk of constant repair issues. These issues often totalling in the hundreds of pounds, on a tight budget it seems highly unlikely that £60 per week is going to be this miraculous liberator some are believing it will be. Let us not forget that breakdown cover does not come free either, and if you get an older car it WILL be needed.
Surely the issue here in her case, which was mentioned in the article with no real reaction to it, would be the fact that she is on just above minimum wage despite being a manager at this very rich fast food chain? Not how much better her life would be if she got some rather paltry increase in her wage, out of line with the amount of profit generated in store daily for the bosses.
Case number two, Airport Worker Naomi and partner Ellis: "The problem is that due to rising living costs we just can't afford to live. Our rent is £475-a-month and then on top of that we have to pay £100 a month in council tax, £100 for water and around £80 for electricity" "We're both now having to move out and back in with our mums"
On the surface this one seems as though the minimum wage increase would indeed help this couple remain independent. That is until you look at the inconsistency in their working hours, varying by as much as 40 hours per week between them. At which point you realise the actual benefits for the individuals on such wildly varying contracts would be negated somewhat by their bosses reluctance to spend on wages, and the drive from the companies they work for to increase 'profitability'. They would probably find their hours slipping ever closer to the lower portion of the stated working weeks.
Additionally, these rising living costs will continue to be rising living costs. Thus in the mean time making it ever less viable for them to live independent of the family support structures they are going to have to fall back into. This is especially true as this 'above inflation' wage increase date is set only as coming before October 2019, so sometime in 2020 (if at all) it is then. So they will have to suffer five more years of below inflation wage increases before they can begin to claw back (a small proportion of) the real world wage cuts they have suffered at the hands of the neo-liberal economy, loved so wholeheartedly by all of the main parties.
The article also provides more flawed examples of people in similar situations to that of Naomi and Ellis who are labelled as beneficiaries of this much needed wage 'increase'. Crucially, for my point, they are all couples who are able to split the cost between them, and as such negate some of the problems that minimum wage work work throws up. Which gets to the root of my problem with the increase being labelled by many as a living wage.
A single person would have to face these increases in living costs alone, to them £60 per week would be like urinating on a house fire, such is the scorched earth 'austerity' tactics of this current government, and the capitalist love-in many preceding governments have had, they have nothing to fall back upon and no real acceptable wage to start with.
If you cannot afford to live comfortably on the wage as a single person, living alone, and still afford the 'luxuries', such as being able to entertain yourself with a night out here and there, going to a comedy gig, or a sporting event... THEN IT IS NOT A LIVING WAGE! It is, at best, a way to continue breathing on a day to day basis.
That is not nearly enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment