Just Stop Their Pensions

Boomer criminals and entitlement culture

Just Stop Oil’s latest attention seeking stunt saw them deface the grave of Charles Darwin in Westminster Abbey. The offenders, as they so often are when it comes to Just Stop Oil, are pensioners. Therefore, not only are these people disrupting the lives of ordinary people and increasing the burden on cleaners all while undermining the case for environmentalism, they are being paid by working people to do it.

If you commit a crime then there should be consequences. It is unlikely that these most recent offenders will be sent to prison as there isn’t actually enough space. What is more it probably would be inappropriate to lock them up with violent offenders and there is also the risk that they would be viewed as martyrs to their cause and receive even more attention.

Instead they should have their State Pension stopped for at least a year. They would then sign an agreement where they apologise for their actions and agree to not carry out similar actions again. They can then start to receive their State Pension again. If they refuse these terms then no State Pension for them.

It is highly unlikely that the State Pension is their only source of income as many of them will have savings and private pensions. Given that many of them do appear to be fit and healthy then they can supplement their income by working part time in coffee shops or bars. They could also consider selling their homes and downsizing. For those who would face genuine destitution then they should be able to claim other benefits such as Universal Credit.

Not only would this serve as a deterrent to others and stop hard working taxpayers being forced to subsidise the lifestyles of criminals, it will help to tackle the entitlement mindset of so many older people when it comes to the State Pension. They often think that they are entitled to it because they ‘paid in all their lives’ through their National Insurance Contributions into a future pot for themselves. This is not the case. The State Pension is a benefit just like Universal Credit (albeit far more generous) funded by current taxpayers.

This could help to raise the issue of intergenerational inequality. I’ve written about this many times before but politicians and the media spend far too much time pandering to pensioners rather than doing anything for young people. Younger people are saddled with student debt, are paying a significant proportion of their income in tax (to pay for older people), and have no chance of being able to afford a home of their own.

No young person should begrudge providing support for those who cannot work and it is important that older people can live their final years with dignity, but it is unfair to place too much of a burden on young people. Rather than tinkering with benefits such as the Winter Fuel Payment (which the government was wrong to means test) we need fundamental reform of the pension system including scrapping the Triple Lock and means testing the State Pension. This will reduce the burden on younger people while ensuring that no pensioner will live in poverty.

The State Pension is a benefit just like any other and so it should be treated as such.

Other stuff

There was very little chance of escaping my hot takes on Monday if you’re as terminally online as myself. I wrote an article for Conservative Home where I reflected on my time as an unpaid carer and why Wes Streeting is wrong to waste more time waiting for the recommendations of a commission to fix social care. You can read it here.

I also wrote a piece for CapX. It was on why there is nothing wrong with a tourist tax in principle, but the hotel tax proposed by Rachel Reeves would be a mistake. You can read it here.

Thanks as ever for reading.