It would have been a safe bet that last week’s budget would include further cuts to welfare. Many people assume that the grand tradition of the British welfare state has a distinguished past, but no future. The demographic time-bomb means that we can’t sustain decent pensions and health and social care. Benefits for the poor and low-waged are unpopular with tax payers and sap work incentives.<\/p>\n
Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby’s new book The Double Crisis of the Welfare State and What We Can do About It<\/em>, Palgrave<\/a> suggests that these assumptions are misleading. Using Office of Budgetary, Institute of Fiscal Studies and EU projections, Professor Tayor-Gooby shows that a high-quality welfare state is affordable, with only minor adjustments. The target of ending child poverty is attainable within a decade, but needs political commitment and determination to increase wages at the bottom, improve benefits and cut the cost of child care so more mothers can work<\/p>\n The full article ‘Britain can still afford the welfare state’ <\/em><\/a>can be found on the Prospect Magazine website.<\/p>\n Peter Taylor-Gooby<\/a> FBA, AcSS, FRSA, OBE is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"