I Hate To See The Poverty In My Country

There is so much of it too but people walk through their lives wearing blinkers, ignoring the injustices happening within the UK right now.

I speak from experience, I live in poverty. I live in a one bed flat with a housing association with a part-time job which pays above the national average, while doing a part-time degree with the aim of bettering myself and getting myself out of this survival.

I have never been at all materialistic, living frugally and by my means. My only expenditure this month that wasn't a necessity was a night out with my friends. My rent and council tax is cheap and I've chosen my suppliers with care, finding the best and cheapest for my situation.

And yet, I am utterly broke and it is three weeks until payday.

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GlassDog · 46-50, M

What seems to have happened in this country are that the lower middle earners and lower earners are being squeezed until they can barely survive. I've never understood why the disparity between rich and poor increases when the economy is in poor shape. That's the time when we really need to be helping those who are just about managing (or not managing, because their quality of life is impaired).

What most people don't seem to realise is that if only 5% of your income is disposable, it only takes a 5% increase in prices, or drop in wages, and then you have zero disposable income. More than 5% and you can no longer afford even the most basic life.

We're not asking for a socialist utopia where everyone earns the same. A 5% tax hike on the top 10% (where 2.5% earn more than £100k) raises just over fifteen billion pounds. That's £2500 a year for the poorest 10%. How much difference would £50 a week make to you? How much difference would 5% extra tax make to someone earning £150k? I guarantee it means more to you than them.

WorldlyWoes · 36-40, M

@GlassDog: That's very well put.

SugarRush · 31-35, F

I'm lucky that I own my home despite being a single parent. The future worries me. I work, I have a mortgage, my kids have food in their stomachs and clothes on their backs but I don't drink and rarely go out because I prioritise. I had to give up my degree because I was stretching myself too thinly. I'm anxious about the future - my middle daughter is due to have surgery and both she and my youngest are on medication (medication they need that I couldn't afford without the NHS). Luckily my mortgage is less than rent but if my ex didn't give maintenance, my wage alone wouldn't cover everything especially with schools demanding that h/w is to be done on laptops etc. I know so many people who do things underhanded because of poverty ( I know one parent whose a call girl because her ex left her in debt and she has no other choice) these so called politicians need to live the lives of others and share our worries to understand just how tough life can be.

WorldlyWoes · 36-40, M

@AutumnxRayne: we need such great change in this country. It angers me so much the bias towards May and the conservatives when all they've done is bring us to the brink of disaster and offer no solutions while corbyn is berated by the media, falsely, and has actual policies in place to improve housing, homelessness, welfare and the NHS.. the world is going backwards.

KaysHealingPath · 36-40, F

I'm sorry that is a tough situation which I can relate to.
Even now the only reason we're doing well is because my husband has a good means of income.
I hope it all works out for you 🙏🏼

Pherick · 41-45, M

I hate to sound like a jerk here, but this,

I speak from experience, I live in poverty. I live in a one bed flat with a housing association with a part-time job which pays above the national average while doing a part-time degree with the aim of bettering myself and getting myself out of this survival.

really isn't poverty. You have a house, you have a job and you are in school getting a degree. You certainly may not be well off, but I am not sure you can call that poverty.

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WorldlyWoes · 36-40, M

@AutumnxRayne: Yeah, this happened to a friend of mine. She had to get one of the kids grandma's to buy the special PE kits.

No, you won't need to route through bins, you can join me in the queue for the Food Bank. Not been to one yet but I can feel the pinch with the rising food prices.

SugarRush · 31-35, F

@NocturnalNomad: and the government wonder why people deal drugs or sell their bodies. They wonder why people steal food. I heard a snob of a woman passing comment on a guy giving someone homeless a cup of tea. It was a cup of tea for peak sake, he wasn't contributing to an "addiction" and if she wasn't so well off and ignorant, she would have shared a moment of her time to listen to the guys story because he was actually explaining to the guy that he has mental health problems due to an abusive upbringing. He lost his job through the company going into administration, had a break down and there for couldn't afford the rent on his flat and there was no room in the hostel. Sometimes my faith in humanity is tested.

WorldlyWoes · 36-40, M

@AutumnxRayne: I continually hear of stories like this and it is so sad. I wish I could do something to stop this madness..

SW-User

:-(

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WorldlyWoes · 36-40, M

@Greenbare: This is the result of the conservatives.

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tynamite · 31-35, M

I'm in poverty too :(

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