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SB
miss_s_b
[theyorkshergob]
02 July 2008 @ 10:20 am
Poverty  
You know something that makes me feel guilty? I live below the official government poverty line. According to the report by the Joseph Rowntree foundation that came out this morning, I am REALLY poor (we are currently surviving on just over half their minimum figure, INCLUDING rent). And yet...

I have enough to eat.
I spend social time with my friends.
I have a bath every day, with Lush bubble bath.
I have a roof over my head.
I have reliable, fast internet access and a good computer.
My daughter gets three meals a day and an education.
I have huge piles of material goods - books, CDs, DVDs - which could be considered luxuries.

I don't see this as poverty. And there are lots of people in this country and the wider world who are living in REAL poverty, and their struggle is cheapened by this definition. People know that this definition of poverty is the type used by the government, and they assume that when poverty is mentioned, that just means you only have one telly. It creates a perception that real poverty doesn't exist in the UK, and you know what? It does.

Relative poverty is not pleasant, and financially, I'm not going to pretend it isn't a struggle. But in terms of what is going on in the wider world, I am SO BLOODY LUCKY to have the lifestyle I do. I think perhaps more of us could do with bearing this in mind.
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Debi Linton: self[info]innerbrat on July 2nd, 2008 09:39 am (UTC)
I have income less than that and I live in London. But I haven't budgetted to figure out if I'm surviving on it.

Uh.

Yeah, I'm a privileged Daddy's princess and if I needed more I'd have it like that *snaps fingers* so I do not count at all.Still, it is possible to have a very nice lifestyle with that 'minimum amount'
SB[info]miss_s_b on July 2nd, 2008 09:41 am (UTC)
What is this budgetting thing to which you refer? ;)

As long as I can pay the rent and eat, I figure the family budget is looking after itself...
uglybuffy[info]uglybuffy on July 2nd, 2008 10:03 am (UTC)
Guess I'm not as poor as I thought I was, although I am still underpaid! Spuddy's income pushes us up quite a bit. As long as I can pay mortgage and bills (including broadband and phone), keep h***** on the road, eat, finance going to see bands and have the occasional expensive haircut I'm happy. It doesn't bother me that my phone is 6 years old and my car is 18!
Paul Alexander Mudie[info]pmoodie on July 2nd, 2008 10:40 am (UTC)
Indeed.

I would call myself financially comfortable at the moment, and combined with El's salary, we're doing OK. We're not exactly rolling in it, but we can cover all our living costs and still have enough left over for some fun stuff and luxuries.

I consider myself very lucky, but I also take pride in the fact that I earn what I get.
The Evil Atheist Your Mother Warned You About: Dave Godfrey[info]davegodfrey on July 2nd, 2008 11:26 am (UTC)
I've never had an income that high either.

Looking at the breakdown for the single male on the beeb link, I'd say he wasn't poor. He eats better than me too. I've not bought steak that wasn't reduced to clear in years!

Having said that I don't think it was the point of the report. The chaps lifestyle represents something that should be a minimum standard of living for everyone in this country. People shouldn't have to worry about their cooker breaking down because they can't afford a new one.
Olsen Bloom[info]andrewhickey on July 2nd, 2008 12:21 pm (UTC)
Agreed with this. My wife and I earn less than that a year, but not by much. We also have a few unusual expenses (she's from the US, and unfortunately visiting her family for Christmas doesn't come under 'luxury' but 'essential for her mental health'). We also have quite a lot of debt (before we married she was living over here but unable to work, so my salary that was below the single-person 'minimum' there had to support both of us.)

We live comfortably, but the problem is there's no margin for error...
XIV_Gemina[info]xiv_gemina on July 3rd, 2008 02:41 pm (UTC)
I've had income higher than that & been unable to even rent a single-bedroomed flat.
In a nondescript town in the Midlands.

I had to rent a room in shared houses.
This was an unmitigated bloody nightmare, because I lived in a University town, so those students who couldn't find enough friends to live with ended up, like me, renting single rooms in shared houses etc.

So, after work I'd come ‘home’ to find the place filthy, the place full of people I didn't know (one of whom who was actually stealing from me).
In the mornings I'd get up to find my food & milk stolen.
The washing machine was ALWAYS full, so my weekends were always spent doing laundry for work.

Oh, and I was paying very high utility bills because of one particular twunt (the same guy who kept letting in the Thief).

Does one need this amount of Pre-Tax income after Housing & Childcare costs in order to be able to survive?
I don't know, but I can confidently state that (round here at least) it is not possible to survive on this ‘sybaritic’ income before Housing costs are considered.

Particularly once They introduce the Poverty Tax that They call ‘Road Pricing’.
Gah!