So, George Osborne tried out the 'pensioners bribe', saw how effective it was, and decided to extend it. At a time when its hard to get 2% return on your money, George is giving everyone the chance to get 4%, or, sorry, George is giving some of us the chance to get 4%. And who are the people who will get this 'golden hello'. Pensioners. So what's wrong with that, pensioners need love just like everyone else? Well, I'll tell you what's wrong with it. There's an election less than 4 months away and pensioners vote in higher percentages than any other age group. Normally, under a two or two-and-a-half party system, this might not matter so much but with a hung parliament looking quite likely and with minor parties looking like they will exert more influence, grabbing a chunk of voters makes a lot of sense.
But remember just who pays for this 4% beano - its the taxpayer. That 4% will be paid by everyone out of their tax contributions and it will probably be paid for by more cuts in three years time if the Tories succeed. If they don't, they can always blame whoever happens to be in power at the time.
Win - win. Go George!