IN his piece on the distribution of wealth in society ("“Stop favouring pensioners. Let’s invest in our young”, The Herald, July 23), Dr Rashaad Shabab talks absolute nonsense. He maintains that the elderly are disproportionately wealthy but then destroys his own argument by acknowledging that 12% of pensioners live in absolute poverty.
He appears to think that those in receipt of a state pension live a life of luxury. Has he forgotten that the current state pension is a meagre £221 a week compared to the average wage of £689? Does he not know that the UK ranks 15th in the list of European nations regarding the relative value of state pensions? He neglects to mention that the state pension is not a benefit but something we all paid for. Had the compulsory contributions taken from our earnings been handled properly and been invested rather than being used to cover current government spending, we would be receiving significantly larger dividends from that investment fund than the pittance we get currently.
Is he aware that individuals in my circumstances who also have an occupational pension may find themselves paying more income tax than they receive as a state pension, so effectively don’t get one? As regards pensioners owning property, where does he think we got it? By being home owners we have supported the construction industry, the mortgage blood-suckers, we have reduced the pressure on social housing and have contributed substantially to the coffers of local go.