Reflections on writing about welfare

Earlier this week I made my first foray into writing for Coffee House about the interactions between the tax and welfare systems in the UK. Engaging with some of the respondents on Twitter and in the comments section gave me cause to reflect.

First, language matters. At one point, I highlighted that ‘increasing gross earnings from £20k to £60k only increases net income by £7k – only £130 extra per week despite trebling your gross salary.’ A quite common response was to criticise the use of ‘only’ in that sentence. Many people (rightly) pointed out that £130pw is a lot of money to some and that ‘only a Tory would think that it wasn’t’.

Maybe they have a point – £130 in gross earnings would be another 18 hours’ work at minimum wage. However, if the earner on £20k did work those extra hours and raised their annual salary to £27k then they would have just £700 to show for it per year; 18 hours more to see an additional £14 per week.