The Mayor of London spoke to an audience of Londoners through a column in The Daily Telegraph suggesting they show gratitude to the rich for the tax-paying contribution to the economy.
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Many were outraged at this claim, particularly as so many families in London are having trouble making ends meet.
Outspoken Johnson said, “It is my duty to stick up for every put-upon minority in the city – from the homeless to Irish travellers to ex-gang members to disgraced former MPs, but there is one minority that I still behold with a benign bewilderment, and that is the very, very rich. These are the people who put bread on the tables of families who – if the rich didn’t invest in supercars and employ eau de cologne-dabbers – might otherwise find themselves without a breadwinner.”
While it is possible the Mayor’s intentions were noble, defending a group of individuals who are under constant attack from the general population, many believe he has approached the matter at a terrible time.
The Income Data Service, a research organization studying employment, reported that the rich are getting richer and everyone else has remained the same. The report showed that UK executives received an average of a 14% total pay increase due to an increase in share prices and other incentives.
However, the Office for National Statistics reported that overall pay increase for other employees was only 0.7%.
In the midst of the struggles numerous families are facing, due to an increase in the overall cost of living, the mayor’s article stirred nothing more than controversy.
However, recent reports suggest that, at the moment, close to 30% of all income tax is being paid by the wealthy that everyone seems to be bashing on.
Mr Johnson continues by suggesting that rather than being resentful towards these rich members of society, they should be thanked for the support that they are providing to the economy. In addition, he went even further and suggested that the top 10 taxpayers should be knighted for their “heroic” assistance.
He writes, “There is no point in wasting any more moral or mental energy in being jealous of the very rich. They are no happier than anyone else; they just have more money.”
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