How are you protesting?
We are giving our November basic salary to charities.
We are doing this because we are unhappy with the way in which the government is spending our money. Currently, if we give money to a charity, it can reclaim the tax that we would have paid on that money. So the tax the government would have collected through PAYE from us in November will instead go to those charities.
The charities we have chosen are schools, hospitals, food banks and international relief charities. These represent social care, education, health and foreign aid expenditure.
You’re giving money to social, education and health charities. Isn’t it more efficient to give it as tax? Isn’t tax a good thing?
The problem with the government is not simply where it spends money, but how it spends it. For example, £37 billion of government expenditure was labelled NHS Test & Trace, but it actually went to private companies. It was accepted by the Public Accounts Committee that this money was not effectively spent. Money was given to companies to supply the NHS with PPE. These companies were frequently no more than
That’s increasingly the pattern with health expenditure, as it is with other sectors of the economy. The Department of Work and Pensions pays money to companies to process benefit applications, some of which have been caught manipulating the applications. Money goes to these companies rather than the people who need it.
This isn’t really going to hurt you, is it?
People who can afford to take part in this protest are amongst the lucky ones. They have disposable income – unlike many of the people who have had £20 per week taken away from their Universal Credit – or growing families who have faced public sector pay freezes for most of the last ten years.
But there are many who are in a better position to pay more. We don’t have a VIP contracts from the government. We aren’t billionaires who have seen our wealth increase by 20% since the start of the Covid pandemic. We aren’t landlords.
Steinbeck said: “If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need – go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.” We definitely aren’t the poor. But if we can show up the rich and selfish who ought to be more socially responsible, then that’s a good thing.
Why November?
Some charities come under more pressure over the Christmas period.
Also, more selfishly, this does have an impact on how we can spend money. We are generally paid earlier in December than most months, so the wait until next payday is shorter.
