UN to investigate extreme poverty in the UK

[billshoreham]

UN to investigate extreme poverty in the UK – after nearly a decade of austerity

thought I would leave this here so that the usual empathetic PH crew could comment.

[otolith]

[Deep Thought]

billshoreham said:

UN to investigate extreme poverty in the UK – after nearly a decade of austerity

thought I would leave this here so that the usual empathetic PH crew could comment.

Yes, its very sad. Some people i know have children who dont have the latest mobile iPhones.

Terrible.

[Pvapour]

otolith said:

Is that bradford?

[Toltec]

Pvapour said:

Is that bradford?

I thought it might be Slough, never been there, but I hear it isn't very nice.

Looks the perfect place to start buying up on the cheap so once the coffee shops move in the poor people can sell their houses, make some money and move somewhere else.

Yes, sarcasm, in case it wasn't completely obvious.

[slk 32]

billshoreham said:

UN to investigate extreme poverty in the UK – after nearly a decade of austerity

thought I would leave this here so that the usual empathetic PH crew could comment.

Shouldn't you be on the Guardian website?

[Riley Blue]

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

[anonymous-user]

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

Sorry I dont agree, that is not poverty, that is a sad set of parents.

[996TT02]

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

Very real issues indeed, but in this case it's not really "true" poverty - if the parents had twice the disposable income the situation would likely be completely unchanged. Lottery winners have gone from riches to rags, can't really blame "poverty" for that.

[Deep Thought]

Pigdoguk said:

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

Sorry I dont agree, that is not poverty, that is a sad set of parents.

+1

[Zetec-S]

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

But is that poverty, or a failure of social services/care?

Arguably the parents would have the money but because they are s choose to neglect their child.

[BoRED S2upid]

Pvapour said:

otolith said:

Is that bradford?

Somewhere up north I dare say.

[otolith]

We do have poverty. Sometimes because of circumstances, sometimes because people who are not functioning adults are parents. "Extreme" poverty, though? We have cradle to grave healthcare, free education, state provision of housing (even if it's sometimes crap), clean water, a benefits system. People sometimes fall through the cracks in the system, but systematically? No.

Extreme poverty is what large parts of the world's population would like to come here to escape.

[Killboy]

Pvapour said:

otolith said:

Is that bradford?

Nah, these women are actually well dressed and seem to take pride in their appearance.

[Riley Blue]

Zetec-S said:

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

But is that poverty, or a failure of social services/care?

Arguably the parents would have the money but because they are s choose to neglect their child.

Poverty can lead to addiction and vice versa, I don't know about this particular family. How about another example, girls who can't afford sanitary products.

[Toltec]

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

There is the problem, stories like that which involve self induced poverty* attract little sympathy from people have gone through periods in their own lives where they have struggled to make ends meet. The people that need help and would genuinely try to pull themselves in to a stable financial situation are burdened by the ones that are happy to suck up the resources that they should not really be getting.

* Not the child's fault, however his situation is the responsibility of his parents.

[rallycross]

Killboy said:

Nah, these women are actually well dressed and seem to take pride in their appearance.

I think it might actually be Southall (I also thought Bradford at first).

[hutchst]

I think it's a total disgrace that the idiot president in the White House is cutting the U.N. funding when you look at the really important work that they do. Why only today we learned that the secured conviction of 2 90 year old men Pol Pot assistants in Cambodia. That makes 3 in total, and it only cost $300 million. If they get a move on they might be able to sentence them before they expire from old age.

The U.N. is a laughing stock.

Edited by hutchst on Friday 16th November 16:32

[Zetec-S]

Riley Blue said:

Zetec-S said:

Riley Blue said:

Poverty, especially child poverty, is no laughing matter. My O/H has dealt with it in the past and it can be heartbreaking; one boy of seven or eight was asked what would make a big change to his life. His reply, "An alarm clock because then I wouldn't be late for school and not get in to trouble." She discovered his parents were alcoholics who stayed in bed most of the time and didn't have money to feed him, it all went on booze.

So scoff away, it's a real problem even in the UK and probably not far from where you live.

But is that poverty, or a failure of social services/care?

Arguably the parents would have the money but because they are s choose to neglect their child.

Poverty can lead to addiction and vice versa, I don't know about this particular family. How about another example, girls who can't afford sanitary products.

Yes, fair enough, and perhaps my view on alcoholic parents was a little harsh. But in the 2nd example you still need to ask why they can't afford sanitary products? How common is it that the family genuinely cannot afford it, and how often are other factors also to blame (poor spending decisions, poor parenting, failure of social care, etc?).

Also, a distinction needs to be made between extreme poverty (far less prevalent in the UK) and relative poverty (which is more widespread).

However, by it's very nature, relative poverty will always exist.

[sas62]

Relative Poverty ? Any poverty that can be completely eradicated by reducing the incomes of others is not real poverty.