Poverty In Britain

2

221bar1

At the Start
Joined
May 31, 2004
Messages
284
I read a letter lambasting Tony Blair who was reported as wanting to reduce poverty in Africa.
The writer ended his letter by saying that Mr Blair should tackle the poverty in his own country first.

I have travelled a great deal throughout many third world countries and have seen what I recognise as poverty.

To what degree does poverty exist here ?
 
I think the minimum standard of living in this country - i.e. that of an unemployed and unemployable person, or someone on permanent disability benefit - while something I wouldn't envy, is just about of sufficient standard nowadays to justify the assertion that poverty no longer exists in the UK.

Poverty once meant not having a roof over your head, warmth, or food - nowadays I suspect it means not being able to afford Sky Plus. :lol:
 
I am wondering if the letter writer was thinking of the older generation who are prominent in protesting that their pensions are not enough or could it have been the homeless beggars ?

Maybe poverty is relative to the countries wealth so if you haven't got the basic mobile and a motor of some kind..
 
Yes I believe that its rife and would agree with the writer that charity begins at home not in Africa or anywhere else for that matter.

But I must also point out that a lot of the poverty in this country is man made i.e. people not being educated enough to manage their own finances.......

The huge influx of drugs into this country which obviously counts for a lot of peoples earned income/state handouts,(robbery too to sustain these habits) that are being used to finance these habits, and also drink takes a huge part of their income which then brings these people into the poverty league so yes it’s a problem but part man made in this country.......

Rather than sustaining a decent living and diet they take the easy option out and feed their habits in preference to a basic set of values i.e. food in their mouths and a roof over their heads..............................

There will always be the element through not being capable of sustaining their own lives through disability both psychological problems and physical problem too and I feel that some of these people come into the category of being in the poverty league because again their finances are ill managed................

This applies to the ones I have highlighted here but there is also a large proportion of people living below the breadline!! Yes I believe that its rife and would agree with the writer that charity begins at home not in Africa or anywhere else for that matter.
..

So summing up yes charity begins at home Mr BLAIR get this sorted here then worry about others abroad.....................
 
I don't believe it exists in Ireland, although there is an industry formed to tell us it does.

Apparently it is defined as living on 50% of the average industrial wage. I think it should be described as 'relatively badly off', but I toured som townships in Capetown last year and that seems like poverty to me.
 
The average industrial wage has got to be on a regional basis and I think in the North of England it is £350 per week.

I'd better join the protesters !
 
Merlin, whilst you can argue quite rightly that mis management of funds is a problem due to peoples' different priorities, if they get enough to live on before they squander it then it cannot be classed as being in poverty.

We have a welfare state whereby people do find it more beneficial to claim whatever is available and with all fringe benefits, can amount to a good nett income.

This is a trap that each government seems to be aware of but only make it worse by appeasing the voters who benefit.

I don't know your age but do you qualify for the heating allowance of £200 ?

I do and certainly don't need it.
I think it has gone up to £300 for people age 70 or 75 (not sure)
 
Ho yes agree that the poverty is man made/created as I stated but this is due to peoples circumstances /education and not lack of funds (in some instances) as I stated they squander their cash on things they have become hooked on...........

But yes I am also very aware of poverty in the inner cities obviously helped a little by what I am trying to get over to you (as above)...............

I have travelled a lot through out Brittain and seen these inner city ghetto's/slums with poverty very rife indeed, but who does one blame for this the local athorities? the goverment? or the people themselves?

There were families (not many years ago) not far from where I live who took off their doors (council houses) and burnt them on the fire, to keep warm... how does one cater for these type of people?

And yes I also agree with your synopsis to an extent on media coverage, I remember a few years back when Sky t/v was the in thing, and the ones that actually had it were the unemployed the sick etc as the normal wage earner could not afford it and obviously they were in work for at least 8 hrs of every day, so monies was diverted to this medium rather than possibly clothing/feeding their kids etc............

So yes its has I stated people unable to cope through lack of basic education or feeding their habits which take precedence over a basic standard living.....

This again can be an emotive subject and views differ and to be quite candid I do not know the answer to the problem and there are again obviously various degrees of poverty throughout the world .....................
 
Poverty still exists, well relative poverty does. When taken in the context of how most people in the UK live there are still a large number of people living in poverty, not sure of exact stats but the ODPM should have them.

On a lighter note, we can cut poverty the political way - pre 1997 it was less than £20k PA earnings for a household to live in poverty, now it's only £15k. Labour have cut poverty rates.

Martin
 
I am not sure. I, like many I suspect, (nearly) always run out of money before the end of the month. However, I am certainly not poor and only run out of money as I olive to (and beyond) my means. I would imagine that some who class themselves as poor merely mean that, as Ian says, they cannot afford all that the want/enjoy. I am planning on learning to drive after Christmas but that is expensive and may prove beyond me at the moment. I am not poor by any stretch of the imagination though.
 
There are people in the UK who are poverty srticken.

What bothers me.is that there is a very high percentage (around 40% so i've been told)of people in full time employment, and have to claim benefits to get up to the minimum standards.

The fact that the UK is a low wage country(only a small percentage earn most of the money)does not help.

If a better level of wage was paid at the lower end,the Government would increase it's Tax take and the resulting excess could be ploughed into a pension for the less well off, comensurate to the number of years worked.
 
perhaps the elderley whom freeze their balls of in the winter becuase they cant afford any heating should be shot so they dont become a blip on blairs media image

perhaps workers on low wages of which there are plenty that rely on the state pension to get by then find it falls someway short of what a human being should be entitled to should also be shot then blair wouldnt have to worry about a pensions crisis

and perhaps executives in charge of peoples pension funds that grow by 1% a year like alba pensions and then write to you telling you how frugal they are with your savings but omit to tell you that they charge 4% management fees each year leaving you 3% short a year were shot then perhaps people with private pension funds would have something to fall back on in old age.


there may not be poverty in britain such as seen in capetown or africa in general but there is deprivation and poverty is relative.

and as for comments about drugs many start on drugs to escape the deprivation and poverty they face every day in their lives

perhaps if englands wealth was not based on being a low wage economy things may be different for some people
 
It is all relative and no doubt politicians, sociologists and economists will always come up with a definition but I believe poverty most certainly exists but a vast majority of poeple prefer to turn a blind eye to it.

Poverty is more than just finance-related. Poverty of experience, of guidance, of education, of emotion, of opportunity - I could go on - all impact upon people and people respond to their circumstances in different ways.

I say we all have a duty to work at eradicating it.

Amen.
 
My father fosters children with his partner. Having seen and heard the background of many of the kids they have taken in long term and short term I am convinced poverty still exists in this country. You can watch the TV and see the programmes about famine in what we may classify as Third World countries but this is happening in this country too. Luckily, Social Services are normally around to help pick up the pieces, but while I am sitting in a nice warm office, there is definitely another world out there where very young children are forced to beg on the streets to survive. Being involved in fostering from an observers point of view, has really opened my eyes to the way other people are sometimes forced to live - and it can be absolutely heartbreaking at times.
 
Does the list of The National Lottery's good causes include any that address poverty?
I've long thought that there should be a tick box somewhere on the entry form so that people who actually put money on it can have a say in where it goes. Someone will no doubt prove me wrong but I venture to suggest that the group who decide such things doesn't contain many(if any) who have encountered poverty first hand.
 

Does the list of The National Lottery's good causes include any that address poverty
Click to expand...

nope it would deprive the opera house of much needed funds



but I venture to suggest that the group who decide such things doesn't contain many(if any) who have encountered poverty first hand.
Click to expand...

there was a case i believe where one member was unable to trade his merc s380 for a bentley whether that counts as poverty or not


as much money is diverted to the lottery from charity (many can only afford to donate to one regularly) i think it would be a good idea if u could indicate on lottery forms which charity (charities) should benifit
 
Agreed about the choice for allocation of lottery funds. It may be easier if you could say where the money was NOT to go! I stopped doing the lottery regularly when I realised exactly who may be benefitting.
 
I stopped doing the lottery because of the odds of winning but I have wondered what it would have been like had R Branson run it.

I saw this morning that a new computer system being installed by the NHS is to cost 15 billion over the next ten years, then another where the figure could go to 30 billion, all in the pursuit of patient choice.

It would be cheaper to give many a holiday/ medical voucher where not only could the patient recuperate but would help other countries coffers as well.

Off on a tangent I know but, it is obvious that poverty exists in just about every country and yet we employ nurses who are from the very poor countries who need their expertise the most.
 
Speaking from a purely personal point of view:

Why should anyone in the UK have to rely on charitable organsations to elevate themselves from a state of poverty to something only slightly better.

Basic economics suggest that the majority of Employers do not pay their employees enough money to live,and sell their products at a price,out of reach of those same employees.

It was once said that allowing a low minimum wage would provide work for lots more people,What happened in fact,was that the Emplyers downsized and then re-employed at the lower rate,therefore saving themselves millions and,at the same time,providing no extra jobs.
 
Originally posted by Derek.Burgess@Oct 12 2004, 09:50 AM
What happened in fact,was that the Emplyers downsized and then re-employed at the lower rate
Click to expand...
Which organisations did this, so that I can add them to my list of companies I will never purchase anything from?
 
Simmo,
look at the job offers in your local paper.How many companies offer a job for a few hours a week or, a as and when (type of on call) just on the minimum wage.
Then ask around and find out how many people that you know have to take multiple jobs,just to make ends meet.

A few examples.

The catering Industry.

Hotels

The cleaning Industry

Agriculture (covers a wide area,including Supermarkets)
 
Back
Top