Britain is supposedly facing a welfare spending crisis. Politicians, newspapers and television commentators are demanding cuts to benefits because they claim that the country can no longer afford its social security system.<\/p>\n
But what if the crisis they describe does not actually exist?<\/p>\n
In this video, I examine the UK government\u2019s own figures for social security spending since World War II. They tell a very different story from the one we are being sold.<\/p>\n
Yes, spending has increased in cash terms. But inflation explains much of that apparent increase. And, when we compare social security spending with GDP and total government expenditure, the supposed crisis largely disappears. Nothing justifies the claims that spending is now heading out of control.<\/p>\n
The biggest long-term increase has been in state pensions, but that simply reflects a growing and ageing population. We always knew that would happen.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, support for unemployed people, children and low-income families has been squeezed. And whilst disability and sickness payments have increased, the figures need to be understood in their historical and economic context.<\/p>\n
So why are politicians demanding further cuts?<\/p>\n
I argue that this is not really about controlling spending. It is about scapegoating people who need support, while refusing to acknowledge the failures of an economy that increasingly excludes those who cannot fit its demands.<\/p>\n
This is an economic argument by those who make it, but it is also a profoundly moral one.<\/p>\n
My argumemnt is that we should be asking how to provide everyone with dignity and security, and not how to make vulnerable people poorer. If we have a crisis, it is because too many people just do not care. That is the issue we really need to face.<\/p>\n