The problem here is that politicians spend all their time hobnobbing with millionaires. It warps their idea of what rich and poor is - when their mates live in multi-million mansions, they end up thinking £66,396 and two houses is being hard up.
Now, you'd think that if they think £66k is bad, they'd be shocked into action by people below the living wage, and do something about it.
Unfortunately a life of going to public schools and dinner parties means they've never known normal people. To them we're just numbers on a spreadsheet, not real. And why lose a wink of sleep over stuff written down? We're as mythical as king Arthur to them.