All of those measures of poverty are of inequality, less than 60% of median household income, less than 50% and so on. This sort of poverty decreases in recessions. As it just did in the last one. Because top end wages are more geared to profits and the economy. So, they collapse more in a recession.
‘In the United Kingdom, 14 million people, a fifth of the population, live in poverty.’
The bottom fifth will ALWAYS be in poverty. By definition. Alston has found a way to not have a bottom fifth?
‘Four million of these are more than 50 percent below the poverty line’
There’s a line?
‘1.5 million are destitute, unable to afford basic essentials.’
So they are dead?
Good to know there are essentials and basic essentials…
Destitute and unable to afford essentials – that’s not a relative measure, that’s asserting an objective measure. If they’re doing that based on relative scales, you should call it out a lot louder – it really is a lie.
“The bottom fifth will ALWAYS be in poverty. By definition. Alston has found a way to not have a bottom fifth?”
The only way to avoid that is to have all* incomes equal. By law. Which would probably mean prices would need to be controlled too. And therefore the means of production.
That’s their real agenda.
*apart from the commissars who kindly and selflessly give up their working lives to ‘manager this for us. I’m sure they’ll be comfortable in many subtle ways.
@ Lockers. *apart from the commissars who kindly and selflessly give up their working lives to ‘manager this for us. I’m sure they’ll be comfortable in many subtle ways.”
It’s always worked that way before, from Stalinist Russia to Venezuela. Don’t see why it should change under a Corbyn government.
Blatant engineering of the new definition – they wanted the 14m figure as it was considered ‘about right’ and worked backwards to get the 55% of incomes required.
No mention by the rapporteur that over half of children in the UK are being raised in families in receipt of a means tested benefit ( not including Child Benefit ) – what is the correct number for govt welfare dependency anyway
1.5 million are destitute? What are their names?
The UN can be closed. Things are fine in Bangladesh and Angola, cos the UN can now examine ‘poverty’ (sic) in first world countries (Britain).
Philip Alston doing God’s work.
Or was it a two-week vacation?
They should show this report to those in the third world whining about no food, water, sanitation, medicine, education or shelter.
It would put things in perspective. Maybe they’d have a whip round for the destitute of the UK?
The government should take this at face value and declare that they are terminating foreign aid until they have fixed poverty in the UK.
The bottom *fifth* is in poverty? That means me! So, how the hell have I managed two weeks in Japan?
UK, where the destitute are obese.
Since the era of Charlemagne