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By Jason Moore WHILE the Gordon Brown administration appears unbothered by the nosedive in the value of the pound those people who are living out the dream of Europe that Lord Mandelson advocates are certainly suffering. In many cases incomes have fallen by between 25 and 30 percent. My suggestion would be for the government to peg the value of sterling against the euro at a certain level so that hard-earned pensions are not at the mercy of changes in foreign exchange rates.

Say for instance that the British government decided to peg sterling for pensions and benefits at 1.20 euros. Granted that this is far higher than its present value against sterling but if the government is to be believed then sterling will soon recover and it will be back to the 1.30 euro mark in no time at all. In otherwords there would be winners and losers but at least pensioners would know what they would be getting every month and therefore can plan their budget around it. A city trader and investor or even a tourist can probably overcome being at the mercy of the foreign exchange markets but a pensioner? Surely they deserve a better deal. Surely now is the time for a fairer system which benefits those who need it most. Afterall, we are dealing with people who have contributed much.