children in poverty

[wellquickwoody]

Of course those in poverty could sell their possessions - and often they do exactly that out of desperation - but what then? It is a short-term solution which will not pull them out of poverty, it will only reduce their quality of lives even further.

Also remember that modern consumer items are very affordable - those items you mentioned can all be purchased for less than the cost of a weekly shop - but that's not to say those who possess them earn enough to pay their bills and put the food on the table every month. I would like you to imagine what it's like to have just £10 a day disposable income, then you have the misfortune of an unexpected bill you cannot afford. Sorry kids, Dad can't afford dinner tonight.

Poverty is of course relative - but why is it useful, considering the wealth in the world (and particularly in Britain), to lower the poverty line to 18th century standards? ALL working people in Britain could and should be living comfortably in the 21st century.

A flat screen TV or games console for less than the price of a weekly shop? You shop in the wrong places me thinks, Waitrose prices tripled have they? Less mobiles means less ongoing bills. And you need to work on your budgeting expectations, £10 per day DISPOSABLE income is not poverty.

 

[BLOCK F]

I have just given you a thumbs-up to bring you back to zero.

Having read through the thread to date, I doubt whether you are ever going to get a sensible answer out of any right leaning person on here through their prejudice and ignorance.

If it is any consolation, I was involved in a sensible conversation the other day with a Conservative, whose husband has actually stood as a parliamentary candidate in the past, and who was doing all she could to support the local food bank. I had a conversation with her husband shortly after the election who said he had vowed to get back involved in politics to counter the UKIP thing.

That is not about child poverty, but I just hope it comes back to bite the Chancellor at the next election when so many people who voted for them turn out to be worse off.

Oh dear.
Saint Dave, even from you, that was a rather pompous statement.
As I understand it, you won't get a sensible answer out of any right leaning person on NSC because of their prejudice and ignorance. However, in your next paragraph you go on to say that you had a sensible conversation with a Conservative etc.etc.
Well I never, wonders will never cease; you are actually admitting that perhaps all Tories don't eat babies and hate the poor. Well, except us Tory voters on NSC that is, we all eat babies and hate the poor, don't we!

 

[Diablo]

I'm afraid enough people in this country have stopped caring about other people less fortunate than themselves, the last election results showed that. People can try and justify a Tory vote all they like but they all know they only voted for their own interests. The Conservative plan of making it a one issue election (master minded by Lynton Crosby) worked a treat on the intellectually disadvantaged.

You are either very stupid or seriously misguided................

 

[glasfryn]

But what are you defining poverty as?

poor is mum and dad going without so their child can have what your does
have you tried sending your boy/girl to school with cheap trainers or no uniform or no money to buy school diners like other children have
I have only been in that position once (when I was on my own with both children) and I went out and found a job from 9-3 with no breaks, but I was fortunate to have a trade, but for a few months I relied on handouts from friends( while my ex-wife pissed it up with the childrens allowance with her new mates) thats the days when the social did'nt give a **** Oh no hang on a minute things have not changed that much.
If I had not had a trade and been untrained in anything god knows what would have happened, two school uniforms cost me a fortune.
Once things settled my second wife bless her paid for my childrens school trips, while I struggled to pay the mortgage, we would never have got a new mortgage with what we earned.
not exactly poverty but just a flavour there were are are people far worse off that me, and I fell for them and their children

 

[BLOCK F]

poor is mum and dad going without so their child can have what your does
have you tried sending your boy/girl to school with cheap trainers or no uniform or no money to buy school diners like other children have
I have only been in that position once (when I was on my own with both children) and I went out and found a job from 9-3 with no breaks, but I was fortunate to have a trade, but for a few months I relied on handouts from friends( while my ex-wife pissed it up with the childrens allowance with her new mates) thats the days when the social did'nt give a **** Oh no hang on a minute things have not changed that much.
If I had not had a trade and been untrained in anything god knows what would have happened, two school uniforms cost me a fortune.
Once things settled my second wife bless her paid for my childrens school trips, while I struggled to pay the mortgage, we would never have got a new mortgage with what we earned.
not exactly poverty but just a flavour there were are are people far worse off that me, and I fell for them and their children

Unfortunate to find yourself in that position, but it was not exactly the Government of the day's fault that your ex pissed up her childrens' benefits, was it?

 

[glasfryn]

You just wait and see what the filthy Tory's have in store for us all. Fascism doesn't always march down the street in jackboots my friend.

It is possible to live in a more equal society where hard work is fairly rewarded. There is more than enough wealth for all workers to live comfortably, it's just in the wrong places. The trickle down theory of economics is a myth, it evidently only greatly rewards society's most wealthy while straining the middle classes and depriving those at the bottom.

Fairness and equality can be achieved by taxing those who have too much and helping those who have too little. A lot more needs to be done to return the wealth accumulated by the corporations and the super rich to the workers of this country - if we did this, poverty could be eradicated and ALL of our lives would see improvements (and arguably so would the economy).

you are getting there I will make good socialists out of you yet

 

[glasfryn]

Unfortunate to find yourself in that position, but it was not exactly the Government of the day's fault that your ex pissed up her childrens' benefits, was it?

fraid it was they ommitted to take the book off her for nearly a year, and in the end had to go and physically take them off her, and my children never got a penny of it back

 

[Nibble]

The only time I have ever experienced poverty was, surprise, surprise under Thatcher's government. I remember my Mum working night shifts and still having to ask our neighbours for food, all sleeping in one room because the heating was cut off. The Tory's are driving the country this way again. Especially now they are out of the coalition their campaign against the poorest in society can proceed unfettered.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

fraid it was they ommitted to take the book off her for nearly a year, and in the end had to go and physically take them off her, and my children never got a penny of it back

You are confusing the government with the civil service. There will always be problems with bureaucracy no matter who is in power. The whole system is confusing and each piece of legislation that goes through makes it even more confusing, until it's almost impossible to reform it.

 

[glasfryn]

You are confusing the government with the civil service. There will always be problems with bureaucracy no matter who is in power. The whole system is confusing and each piece of legislation that goes through makes it even more confusing, until it's almost impossible to reform it.

they apparently lost the court result that gave me care and conrol and it was'nt until I took them(with their knowedge)to the social and left them there to go into care, suddenly they took some action and when they threatened her with court to recover the money she had spent she told them to **** off ..........it would have been interesting had the boot been on the other foot.
relations between my children and their mother are still somewhat strained, she is now on her 4th partner and he is running out of money and I would imagine she is now looking for a 5th criteria is you have to be a piss artist and have plenty of money



any takers

 

[El Presidente]

And it should be paid for by ?

1. Them bettering themselves...Surely the correct option.

2. More Benefits...probably the option prefered by you.

I believe our national debt is approx 5% of GDP ..would you wish to increase that...I believe debt interest at moment 35ish billion....Yes I`d like another £100 week but am realistic enough to realize that borrowing more/increasing benefits is not the way to go.

1: How can you 'better yourself' when born into a family with no ambition, no education, no books, no employment and no future?
2: National debt is currently 90% of GDP, not 5%.
3: If you believe that borrowing more is inappropriate, which is fair enough, do you therefore support the tax cuts for the very rich in the form of the recent Inheritance Tax changes in the budget.

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

When someone as universally well-respected as Frank Field acknowledges that immigration into the UK will increase poverty then I suggest that even you would need to sit up and listen:

"In a BBC Radio 4 interview, Mr Field said: “If this Government had, as the last Government had, an emphasis that work is the way out of poverty, you cannot go on having an immigration policy that was, to all intents and purposes, an open-door policy. Now we know the Government says it’s going to tighten up on this front, but we still have five times the net figures coming in than going out.”
Mr Field called for immigration to be brought into balance with the number of people emigrating abroad to create a stable population. He warned that immigration had “huge effects” on the employment market because if most new jobs “go to people new to this country it doesn’t help the poor very much”.

Are you calling Frank Field a bigot too?

Blaming immigration is cheap, easy and is exactly the diversionary tactic those in power want to employ to ensure people are too busy blaming those less fortunate than themselves instead of blaming those at the top. Whilst an increase in population obviously has repercussions, to blame the housing/ rent crisis or poverty on immigration alone is misguided. If you choose to blame poverty on a group of peoples, immigrants and British citizens alike, who have next to nothing whilst ignoring the people who implement cuts and oversee the failing of the welfare state you are truly blinded by your blue tinted specs.

 

[El Presidente]

any takers

After about seven pints I might.........

 

[Buzzer]

If you choose to blame poverty on a group of peoples, immigrants and British citizens alike, who have next to nothing whilst ignoring the people who implement cuts and oversee the failing of the welfare state you are truly blinded by your blue tinted specs.

I'm not blaming anyone, I happen to agree with Frank Field that unrestricted immigration places a further huge burden on those already in poverty. Blue tinted specs? I think you need to check which party Frank Field belongs to and with 2/3rds of his constituents either C2 or DE on the social grade I think he's well placed to speak on poverty.

 

[glasfryn]

After about seven pints I might.........

you would'nt believe me

 

[HH Brighton]

What utter cock,HH. People voted Tory because Milliband was far from being PM material and was too far to the Left.
There was also the small matter of not trusting them with the economy.

I rest my case.

 

[HH Brighton]

Millions of folk in this country care for others and collections after disasters often tally in millions. The number Governors in schools runs into hundreds of thousands, all of whom are volunteers giving up much free time, to make a difference to children.

Ah yes, fantastic points to show a caring society......... you win people do care then !!! Arrogance? No, just realistic and saddened at views of a small minority of 'I'm alright Jacks' that bought this government back in. You've only got to read on this board the reasons people voted Conservative to make a judgement on their intellect.

 

[Hastings gull]

poor is mum and dad going without so their child can have what your does
have you tried sending your boy/girl to school with cheap trainers or no uniform or no money to buy school diners like other children have
I have only been in that position once (when I was on my own with both children) and I went out and found a job from 9-3 with no breaks, but I was fortunate to have a trade, but for a few months I relied on handouts from friends( while my ex-wife pissed it up with the childrens allowance with her new mates) thats the days when the social did'nt give a **** Oh no hang on a minute things have not changed that much.
If I had not had a trade and been untrained in anything god knows what would have happened, two school uniforms cost me a fortune.
Once things settled my second wife bless her paid for my childrens school trips, while I struggled to pay the mortgage, we would never have got a new mortgage with what we earned.
not exactly poverty but just a flavour there were are are people far worse off that me, and I fell for them and their children

In a way I wished you had not mentioned this, as it then encourages others to comment on your personal situation, which is hard to do. I think I am right in confirming that you opened your account by blaming the Tories for the predicament of poor families, whatever the definition of poverty is. I can see that your situation was not good, but if you and your wife split up, and she then boozes it all away, thus frittering away your funds, why should the social (i.e. other taxpayers whose wives don't booze it all) give a xxxx as you refer to it. Of course children will always be supported, and rightly so, but this is what I mean when I write about personal responsibility. Great that your second wife has come to the rescue and I am genuinely delighted for you, but your previous situation can be mirrored hundreds of thousands of times in present-day UK, and whilst you may understandably consider that you were poor, it is not a reason why others should feel guilt.

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

I'm not blaming anyone, I happen to agree with Frank Field that unrestricted immigration places a further huge burden on those already in poverty. Blue tinted specs? I think you need to check which party Frank Field belongs to and with 2/3rds of his constituents either C2 or DE on the social grade I think he's well placed to speak on poverty.

I wasn't calling Frank Field blue, and I didn't mean to imply he was. I was referring to those who would blame immigration and those less fortunate than themselves for poverty instead of looking at those at the top who oversee the failing of the welfare state.

As I say I fully except that immigration has knock on effects but more blame lays at the feet of those who implement welfare cuts and the oversee the race to the bottom than at the feet of those who have next to nothing IMO.

 

[Hastings gull]

Millions of folk in this country care for others and collections after disasters often tally in millions. The number Governors in schools runs into hundreds of thousands, all of whom are volunteers giving up much free time, to make a difference to children.

Ah yes, fantastic points to show a caring society......... you win people do care then !!! Arrogance? No, just realistic and saddened at views of a small minority of 'I'm alright Jacks' that bought this government back in. You've only got to read on this board the reasons people voted Conservative to make a judgement on their intellect.

MY friend, you are continuing this arrogant perception. Since they were elected with no coalition, by your logic, millions must be of poor intellect, and of course we have good pompous old you to lecture them. Might it just be you with inferior intellect, as you seemed so hooked on the idea of intellect? The vast majority on this forum, irrespective of their political views, write very articulately, but you have simplistically managed to divide it all up into the brainy and stupid ones.