People think #welfare should be cut because @Number10gov is misleading them - no appetite for cutting #benefits when people are presented with the IFS data The public’s appetite for benefits cuts collapses when voters are offered a more accurate measure of “welfare”. 10 Downing Street has published #TaxTransparency documents which suggest the government spends 25 per cent of #taxpayer money on “welfare”. When the public are told this, 4 in 10 voters they think #benefits are too high. This could be used to endorse the Conservatives plans to cut welfare if re-elected, but the figures have been criticised as #disingenuous by the Institute for Fiscal Studies IFS – the authority on every attempt by governments to fudge numbers. They suggest only 6 per cent of spending is on the “#unemployed”. This is what we commonly think of as welfare. Indeed, when the public are presented with the #IFS’ more detailed figures on “welfare” spending, public support for cutting benefits collapses. People only think benefits are too high when told a #FalseStory There is no appetite for cutting benefits when people are presented with the IFS data on what welfare is.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 16:53:36 +0000