gdavidb76

Paul Nowak, "The national minimum wage is £12.71 an hour" "Nobody on this panel is on £12.71 an hour" "And I think it is right that we are looking to increase people's wages" "Why? When low paid members get a pay rise, what do they do, they go out and spend it in local shops and local restaurants" "They don't squirrel it away in offshore bank accounts" My view: For someone earning the least, a pay rise can mean putting the heating on without worrying, buying fresh food, or getting through the month without borrowing. That matters in its own right. People deserve more than a lifetime of work spent barely scraping by. There is an economic value too. When household budgets have been stretched to breaking point, extra income helps meet needs that have gone unmet. That spending supports other people’s jobs and gives local businesses customers who can afford to walk through the door. We spend so much time asking whether the economy can afford to pay people more. We should also ask what it costs us to keep so many people poor.