Bankers take the biscuit - the poor get the blame

An investment banker, a Daily Wail reader and a benefit recipient are sitting round a plate with 12 biscuits on it. The banker takes 11 biscuits, then turns to the Daily Wail reader and says, “Watch out, that scrounger is after your biscuit.”

All the fuss about benefit caps should be seen in the light of this little joke going the rounds. Most of the biggest payments go to claimants in London for their rent. The system is unfair because it transfers money from the taxpayer to landlords who can set the level of rent at a price that suits them. In many major cities in the world there is rent control. It could be re-introduced to London.

Do not hold your breath. As Mark Blackman, writing in the Independent put it, “It won’t happen, because at least one section of the Coalition Government is funded by the likes of wealthy landlords and many MPs earn a tidy sum by renting out properties themselves.”

So MPs blame the poor while pocketing the cash and the Daily Wail looks the other way.