Dear Sir,
I was intrigued to read Steve Gandy’s article, ‘A fatal flaw in our democracy’, which appeared in the July EN, on page 18.
Shrink-the-state enthusiasts dream of self-sufficient citizens taking full responsibility for their whole lives: housing, insurance, education, health care, child care and retirement. I guess this would require a household income of about £60,000 a year, maybe more. (See if you can guess better.) Typical adult male income is around £20-25,000, and has been stuck there in real terms since the 1970s. Unskilled labour can be nearer £10,000.