| Brown's legacy |
 |
 |
| Written by Dr Madsen Pirie | |
| Sunday, 25 February 2007 | |
|
Whatever else he will be remembered for, pensions are certainly
included. He took over Europe's best pension regime and ruined it
spectacularly. The final salary schemes were the best-funded in Europe.
Brown hit them as an easy tax target, and has taken over £100bn from
them, and continues to deplete them every year. His complex regulations
have hit equities as an investment, further lowering the value of
pension funds. The result is that those employer-provided final salary
schemes are closing fast, as employers see no prospect of being able to
fund them. There is one privileged group, as Jill Kirby points out . The public sector pension schemes now totally outclass anything that business and industry can afford. Generous final salary schemes plus early retirement create a new divide between those who sup at the public trough and the poor souls who labour to fill it. Meanwhile, Through a lethal cocktail of tax-grabbing and overregulating, the government has destroyed faith in private schemes yet tried to wash its hands of all responsibility.But it won't wash. Brown will be remembered, all right. He'll be cursed by those whose hope of a decent retirement he ruined.
Bookmark
Comments (0)
 Write comment
This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
About the ASI
The Adam Smith Institute is the UK's leading innovator of free-market economic and social policies. Politically independent and non-profit, the Institute promotes its ideas through reports, briefings, events, media appearances, and its website and blog. For further information, click here.Join our email list
Keep up-to-date with the latest events, reports and information from the Adam Smith Institute by joining our fortnightly email list. It's free and you can unsubscribe at any point. Just enter your email address here:
