In 2016 I wrote to a UK government committee which was revising the way benefits were paid to unemployed people in the UK. Heidi Allen (who was an MP) and previously an astrophysicist said that Universal Credit would help improve the UK's productivity problem. I wrote to the committee explaining that working more hours would reduce the UKs productivity where it was measured with P= GDP Output /hours worked. In EVERY equation when the number on the bottom gets bigger it makes the answer (e.g. P) smaller.

But this year they persist with it thinking that people need to work more hours to be entitled to government support. Mathematically the space where working more hours gets you government support is so narrow it is almost non-existent. By increasing hours worked to 20 would mean the unemployed person would likely lose all support. It would plunge them into having to pay full local taxes called council tax and also for medical prescriptions etc. Gaining something like £/$ 20/week could make them £/$ 30 worse off. But also the loss of status with debt companies/other. They would stop being kind to them.

My response to the W&P committee will remain on Hansard for 100s of years. One day a sensible person (or even AI) will read it.