How bad is poverty in Britain? (health insurance, crime, home)
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How bad is poverty in Britain? Of course I have never been there, and can only watch on YT, and you have to take with grain of salt. So I ask real people who live there how bad is it.
Do you suffer anywhere near the same levels of poverty as is on display every day out in the open in the United States? What is the homeless situation like?
What place is closest to looking like Kensington Philadelphia, furthest from looking like Kensington Palace? What is the worst nabe you have in what city?
Is there rampant crime anywhere with lots of gangs?
The US has a worse GINI coefficient than the UK so more income inequality. The US has worse socioeconomic class mobility than the UK though the UK is almost as bad among first world countries. The poverty in the poorest red states in the US is probably worse than anything in the UK because the social safety net is virtually nonexistent. Poor in Mississippi is different from poor in Massachusetts, for example. In Massachusetts, the poor have health care and a lot more state services. In Massachusetts, the state funds public schools in the poor cities and towns so the schools are generally better.
The US has a worse GINI coefficient than the UK so more income inequality. The US has worse socioeconomic class mobility than the UK though the UK is almost as bad among first world countries. The poverty in the poorest red states in the US is probably worse than anything in the UK because the social safety net is virtually nonexistent. Poor in Mississippi is different from poor in Massachusetts, for example. In Massachusetts, the poor have health care and a lot more state services. In Massachusetts, the state funds public schools in the poor cities and towns so the schools are generally better.
In what State does that State not have taxpayer funded public schools?
The US has a worse GINI coefficient than the UK so more income inequality. The US has worse socioeconomic class mobility than the UK though the UK is almost as bad among first world countries. The poverty in the poorest red states in the US is probably worse than anything in the UK because the social safety net is virtually nonexistent. Poor in Mississippi is different from poor in Massachusetts, for example. In Massachusetts, the poor have health care and a lot more state services. In Massachusetts, the state funds public schools in the poor cities and towns so the schools are generally better.
Poverty exists in most countries, the French banlieues being a case in point, whilst even countries such as Germany have large scale food banks.
Some European countries have high tax rates in order to fund more social programs, however this can be self defeating in terms of attracting business and investment.
The UK has lower taxes than some parts of Europe, in order to try and attract business, whilst in terms of welfare programs they are more generous than the US, but not as generous as some European nations.
However things are changing, and the political right seems to be gaining traction in Europe, with even traditionally left Scandinavian countries such as Sweden having far more right wing Government, and the mix of taxes and welfare is starting to change.
As for drugs, they are a problem in most western countries, however the problems in the US are on a different scale due to the opioid crisis, caused in part by the over prescribing of medical pain relief drugs.
It also should be noted that the US has different drug use in relation to drugs such as Meth, which are not as popular in the UK or Europe.
In terms of actual poverty, I have seen far worse poverty in other parts of Europe than in the UK, and this includes parts of Eastern Europe and Southern Europe, whilst even Western and Central Europe have their needle ridden areas full of sex workers.
In terms of London, areas such as King's Cross have now been gentrified and no longer have the social problems they once had, whilst the sex industry in Soho is now a shadow of what it once was, with the area now full of fashionable restaurants, and it also should be noted that a lot of the failed post war housing estates across British cities have also been demolished.
In terms of poverty today, compared to poverty in the past, you just need to read the works of Engels, Dickens, Orwell etc in order to get a picture of historic poverty, from the industrialisation and the Victorian age through to the 1930's and beyond.
Last edited by Brave New World; 07-23-2023 at 03:05 AM..
But low wage worker often equates to poor. You may not be the poorest person like an unemployed, but you still fall into same category.
True, there are working poor, but generally if you are working full time, and you have some sort of employer health plan, you come out ahead in the US versus the UK. Wages, outside of finance, are generally quite low in the UK compared to the cost of living.
True, there are working poor, but generally if you are working full time, and you have some sort of employer health plan, you come out ahead in the US versus the UK. Wages, outside of finance, are generally quite low in the UK compared to the cost of living.
Britain is not that bad a country in terms of wages versus cost of living in terms of international comparison and that's despite the country being dominated by London and the home counties, which like most major city areas are very expensive.
As for poverty in the UK, it is no more prevalent than many other parts of Europe and is no where near as significant in many parts of the world, so these constant threads regarding Britain in relation to cost of living, poverty, it's health service etc just look like Anti-British trolling, and I suggest some Americans take a long hard look at their own country rather than pointing the finger at others.
Last edited by Brave New World; 07-24-2023 at 04:12 AM..
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