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dragonborn The UK: Still has remnants of class division, has a big problem with 'dole dossers' but doesn't have as much of a problem with the working poor, even if they need to claim suppemental benefits.
Does Britain really have a bigger problem with 'dole dossers' than any other country implementing similarly aggressive economic policies? The recurring theme of a developing underclass appears to go hand in hand with economic policies that set out to reflect the Thatcherite/Reaganomic consensus. New Zealand is another perfect example of a country where an underclass seemed to magically appear in the wilderness years of the mid-80's when there was suddenly a maifestation of an underclass that wasn't there previously.
The 'feckless scrounger' caricature is actually the ultimate straw man argument built up by governments which are vehemently pro-big business and overly subservient to neo-liberal ideals. For instance, there are countries in the world with more punitive sanctions against the poor and unemployed who have higher unemployment and countries with a far more generous welfare system with far lower unemployment.
On the one hand neo-liberal governments like to boast of low wage economies yet on the other the surplas of unemployed jobseekers in the economy is something they secretly applaud because it creates a race to the bottom enviroment for business where wages are driven down.
So in effect the government and the tabloid media are attacking the poor and removing benefits for the vulnerable on the basis of the social environment that they have not only encouraged and actively set out to create but are also openly happy and proud to have created. Conservative and New Labour politicians alike constantly boast about Britain's low wage economy as if that is a magnificent achievement in itself.
You also say the working poor do not have a problem. I beg to differ. The fact that their wages are topped up by government is a clear sign that retailers and corporations are relinquishing their responsibility to pay a living wage and passing the buck on to government to fill the gap that should have been filled by wage inflation in relation to growing living costs. The working poor are not only losing out in loss of earnings they are also losing out by the disparity caused by the increased wages at the upper end of the financial hierachy that is pushing up the cost of housing and other living costs with money that should be more evenly spread around.
The working poor also lose out on the added tax that would have been paid into the public purse through added tax on the higher wages they should be getting paid. And they also lose out through the money that would have been going into improving public services would there have been a working environment where corporations didn't need to be propped up by taxpayer's money. Every penny of the public purse that subsidises the lack of wage inflation at the lower end of the wage spectrum is money not going into public services such as health and education.
Fewer and fewer working poor can any longer afford to get married or have families either and they are increasingly being forced to live in poorer and more cramped conditions further and further from their place of work. I'd say the negative impact on the working poor of aggressively imposed neo-liberal ideals has not just been immense but absolutely catastrophic.
Last edited by Fear&Whiskey; 01-31-2012 at 04:31 AM..
I would like to hear what the 'America bashers' have to say about inequality or healthcare etc in China, Brazil, India, Japan, Germany or France? - they all have larger economies than the UK!..
Does Britain really have a bigger problem with 'dole dossers' than any other country implementing similarly aggressive economic policies? The recurring theme of a developing underclass appears to go hand in hand with economic policies that set out to reflect the Thatcherite/Reaganomic consensus. New Zealand is another perfect example of a country where an underclass seemed to magically appear in the wilderness years of the mid-80's when there was suddenly a maifestation of an underclass that wasn't there previously.
The 'feckless scrounger' caricature is actually the ultimate straw man argument built up by governments which are vehemently pro-big business and overly subservient to neo-liberal ideals. For instance, there are countries in the world with more punitive sanctions against the poor and unemployed who have higher unemployment and countries with a far more generous welfare system with far lower unemployment.
On the one hand neo-liberal governments like to boast of low wage economies yet on the other the surplas of unemployed jobseekers in the economy is something they secretly applaud because it creates a race to the bottom enviroment for business where wages are driven down.
So in effect the government and the tabloid media are attacking the poor and removing benefits for the vulnerable on the basis of the social environment that they have not only encouraged and actively set out to create but are also openly happy and proud to have created. Conservative and New Labour politicians alike constantly boast about Britain's low wage economy as if that is a magnificent achievement in itself.
You also say the working poor do not have a problem. I beg to differ. The fact that their wages are topped up by government is a clear sign that retailers and corporations are relinquishing their responsibility to pay a living wage and passing the buck on to government to fill the gap that should have been filled by wage inflation in relation to growing living costs. The working poor are not only losing out in loss of earnings they are also losing out by the disparity caused by the increased wages at the upper end of the financial hierachy that is pushing up the cost of housing and other living costs with money that should be more evenly spread around.
You mention house prices....depending on where you are in the US, house prices are expensive and unattainable here too. I could move somewhere like South Carolina where I could buy something for $150k, but I wouldn't want to. I live near Boston, which is a great city, but would give even London a run for its money when it comes to rents or house prices. Housing in the. UK is expensive though and banks are reluctant to lend. Home ownership is something that many of this generation will never experience.
The working poor also lose out on the added tax that would have been paid into the public purse through added tax on the higher wages they should be getting paid. And they also lose out through the money that would have been going into improving public services would there have been a working environment where corporations didn't need to be propped up by taxpayer's money. Every penny of the public purse that subsidises the lack of wage inflation at the lower end of the wage spectrum is money not going into public services such as health and education.
Fewer and fewer working poor can any longer afford to get married or have families either and they are increasingly being forced to live in poorer and more cramped conditions further and further from their place of work. I'd say the negative impact on the working poor of aggressively imposed neo-liberal ideals has not just been immense but absolutely catastrophic.
If I had my way, the minimum wage would allow anyone working a 35+ hour week to survive with no government assistance at all. Unfortunately, human beings are the lowest common denominator to these corporations and can be paid a pittance, poisoned with food additives, pushed to buy buy buy and get into debt and are arbitrarily stripped of their rights.
I'm really not making out the UK to be better. I am just figuring out America's attitude toward the poor and how it differs from Britain's. Ours is most certainly rooted in age old class division...a working class that became an underclass and the problem exacerbated by the Maggot Thatcher years. The problem with Britain is that Labour became the Tory-lite party in order to get elected. Even though I otherwise thought he was OK, Blair aligned himself with quite possibly the most moronic US president of all time and committed British troops to Iraq.
The US doesn't have the same class divisions, but it has become increasingly less socially mobile over the years, most likely because of the staggering costs of tuition and healthcare make it much harder for many people to climb the ladder. There is also a sense of meritocracy here and non-achieving is heavily frowned upon. I've heard many Americans say that British people lack ambition. I can relate to that as I've experienced the 2 cultures.
Both the US and the UK are not in a good shape, IMO. The solution to tackling poverty and lack of social mobility requires an American solution for the US and a British solution for the UK. As far as the UK goes, investment in education is what's needed to try to end the cycle of hopelessness that has plagued Britain's disenfranchised youth for decades. The British themselves need to see their strengths and not just their weaknesses. For the US, it's a far costlier problem financially to tackle and one that involve making unpopular decisions and perhaps accepting that some degree of socialism is good as it would help create a real American dream in which people can pursue their goals, but aren't penalised and chastised for not making it, or for choosing a lower paid life.
Thanks for adding in the section on the cost of housing in South Carolina and Boston. It pretty much flows well with the sentiments of the rest of my rant so we'll leave it at that. 150k for a house in South Carolina. I've always wanted to live there ever since I heard Gram Parson's 'Hickory Wind'.
Thanks for adding in the section on the cost of housing in South Carolina and Boston. It pretty much flows well with the sentiments of the rest of my rant so we'll leave it at that. 150k for a house in South Carolina. I've always wanted to live there ever since I heard Gram Parson's 'Hickory Wind'.
I'll pass on South Carolina...thanks! I believe that in many cases, you get what you pay for. I do like the southern hospitality though, but wouldn't want to live anywhere further south or west than eastern Virginia...gets too hot aside from anything else. North Carolina is particularly beautiful. I drove through South Carolina once on a trip to Orlando and I swear, I remember seeing a petrol station that was also a church. I wish I could remember the name of the town.
Dead Bodies Tossed into Broom Closets on London's Tube
I read an article in the U.K. Daily Mail newspaper about how they put dead bodies into broom closets on the London Underground. If someone commits suicide or drops dead on the subway, an ambulance will not come so they shove the dead body into a broom closet waiting for the coroner to arrive and haul the body away. It could take the coroner several hours to come and cart away the stiff. Putting dead bodies into broom closets? And the Brits call us Americans uncivilized and ill-mannered.
As someone pointed out in the comments section, where the heck are they supposed to put them? Would you have, as someone else said, a morgue at every station?
It may be a C4 documentary, but trust the Daily Wail to kick up a fuss.
If I opened a door to a broom closet on the London Tube and encountered someone inside, I would likely say: “Sorry mate but I didn’t mean to disturb you in here. You’re looking rather glum today and hope you are feeling better soon. Cheerio!”
I read an article in the U.K. Daily Mail newspaper about how they put dead bodies into broom closets on the London Underground. If someone commits suicide or drops dead on the subway, an ambulance will not come so they shove the dead body into a broom closet waiting for the coroner to arrive and haul the body away. It could take the coroner several hours to come and cart away the stiff. Putting dead bodies into broom closets? And the Brits call us Americans uncivilized and ill-mannered.
Best bet is to just ignore anything published by the Daily Mail. American equivalent would be the New York Post.
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? The recurring theme of a developing underclass appears to go hand in hand with economic policies that set out to reflect the Thatcherite/Reaganomic consensus. New Zealand is another perfect example of a country where an underclass seemed to magically appear in the wilderness years of the mid-80's when there was suddenly a maifestation of an underclass that wasn't there previously.
. It pretty much flows well with the sentiments of the rest of my rant so we'll leave it at that. 150k for a house in South Carolina
. I've always wanted to live there ever since I heard Gram Parson's 'Hickory Wind'
.
Dead Bodies Tossed into Broom Closets on London's Tube
