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"Should the state top up the wages of low-paid workers?
"For many office cleaners and check-out assistants, tax credits can more than double their hourly wage and take their total income far beyond the living wage — £8.55/hour in London, which is itself a couple of quid higher than the statutory minimum wage of £6.19.
"Even if the state could afford to go on topping up wages, is it economically or morally desirable? Are we shielding the 'Workers on Benefits' (Wobs) against the harsher winds of capitalism, or are we turning them into demoralised dependants of the state? Are we 'pauperising' them?
"... Already we have seen public pressure nudge the multinationals to change their ways: to source their wood from sustainable forests and their coffee beans from Fairtrade plantations, perhaps even to pay a little corporation tax. It is not inconceivable that in future we might prefer to shop at stores that are well known for paying living wages.
"It can only be a gradual cultural shift. But if it takes hold, then it will become possible to wind down tax credits so that they are restricted to the poorest families. In the long run, we might even see the Wob become as extinct as the dodo."
Ferdinand Mount is the author of The New Few: A Very British Oligarchy (Simon and Schuster)
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