The article is pretty much self-explanatory. Most poor families are / have become poor in the developed world due to rising unemployment levels & stagnant or less-than-living wages.
Governments, on top of widespread unemployment & low wages, are cutting social programs in the name of austerity. However, incomes of ministers & taxes are not decreasing. Heck, in some cases, they are actually increasing.
Rich, on the other hand, are becoming richer, by the minute. Governments, which by the way, are controlled by these industrialist elites, are afraid of increasing taxes on the rich. Companies also try to find the best way to lower their tax burden through some legal loop holes. So, the only part of the whole country, who is left propping up the country's finances, are the poor people, who diligently pay taxes, while their incomes don't even go up. Their living expenses, on the other hand, keep going up.
So, of course, what else to expect when these families are bringing up children in poverty-ridden conditions. Of course then, as I blogged previously, most of these children will have a hard time in securing good jobs, housing, & perhaps, even good quality education. Then, they will end up either on the welfare list or the criminal list of the government, since they will still want to provide a good lifestyle to their own descendants.
The primary sources of this problem of increasing poverty across the developed world is the government being controlled by the business & political elites, & they all want to see their bank balances increase, even if it spreads misery all across their own countries & regions. Governments are trying to increase taxes or fines or services fees on the poor, decrease taxes or creating loopholes for the rich to avoid taxes altogether, not creating jobs at all ("governments can't meddle in free markets"), fighting unions (which were the reason that baby boomers enjoyed such high incomes & good lifestyle), & becoming parts of secretive trade pacts which will further destroy the labour conditions for the poor.
But, hey, we have democracy & freedoms, right !!! (sarcasm) If Westerners love freedom & democracy so much, then why are they so enthusiastically moving to Middle East (UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia), Asian & South East Asian countries, where, there are no such things as democracy & freedom of speech, but good enough living wage (for a Western-educated graduate) & a good lifestyle.
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The majority of children living in poverty in the UK come from working families, a leading think tank’s report reveals.
The report, titled ‘Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2015’, was published ... by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). It was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Trust.
The study examined key factors driving changes in incomes & poverty across the UK.
Figures from the report show that the number of children living in absolute poverty remained unchanged between 2009-10 & 2013-14. However, the proportion of kids living in poverty whose parents work rose by 9% over this period.
The IFS says this dramatic rise in what has been described as Britain’s working poor is a result of increased unemployment levels & a steady decline in workers’ real wages.
Despite the promise of a new living wage, benefit cuts made by the new Conservative government are likely to put pressure on poor families, the report said. It argued the effects of further government cuts make a greater impact than this marginal pay rise for those who are struggling financially.
"Material deprivation" was one of the main issues for those living in rented properties, single parents & disabled people.
The report noted many such families are unable to afford more luxurious goods & are more exposed to deprivation than home owners.
“Among families with children, social renters with incomes (after housing costs) around the median are at least as likely to be materially deprived as the lowest-income owner-occupiers," the report said.
"This illustrates the importance of looking at more than just current income to understand low living standards.”
Research Economist at the IFS Chris Belfield, who co-authored the report, said absolute poverty levels among children obscure “important and offsetting trends.”
“Since 2009–10, a fall in the number of workless families has acted to reduce poverty, but this has been offset by a substantial rise in in-work poverty," he said.
"This largely reflects the wider nature of the labour market since the recession: robust employment and weak earnings.”
Senior Research Economist at the IFS Robert Joyce, who also authored the report, added that the government needs to do more to combat the root causes of poverty.
“The government has recently emphasized worklessness as a cause of poverty," he said.
"This makes sense, but tackling low living standards will be difficult without improvements for working families too.”
Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Julia Unwin said in-work poverty is a growing concern.
“A strong economy and rising employment have masked the growing problem of in-work poverty, as years of below-inflation wage rises have taken their toll on people’s incomes,” she said.
“The upcoming minimum wage rise will help, but many low-income working families will still find themselves worse off due to tax credit changes. Boosting productivity and creating more jobs which offer progression at work is vital to make work a reliable route out of poverty.”
Governments, on top of widespread unemployment & low wages, are cutting social programs in the name of austerity. However, incomes of ministers & taxes are not decreasing. Heck, in some cases, they are actually increasing.
Rich, on the other hand, are becoming richer, by the minute. Governments, which by the way, are controlled by these industrialist elites, are afraid of increasing taxes on the rich. Companies also try to find the best way to lower their tax burden through some legal loop holes. So, the only part of the whole country, who is left propping up the country's finances, are the poor people, who diligently pay taxes, while their incomes don't even go up. Their living expenses, on the other hand, keep going up.
So, of course, what else to expect when these families are bringing up children in poverty-ridden conditions. Of course then, as I blogged previously, most of these children will have a hard time in securing good jobs, housing, & perhaps, even good quality education. Then, they will end up either on the welfare list or the criminal list of the government, since they will still want to provide a good lifestyle to their own descendants.
The primary sources of this problem of increasing poverty across the developed world is the government being controlled by the business & political elites, & they all want to see their bank balances increase, even if it spreads misery all across their own countries & regions. Governments are trying to increase taxes or fines or services fees on the poor, decrease taxes or creating loopholes for the rich to avoid taxes altogether, not creating jobs at all ("governments can't meddle in free markets"), fighting unions (which were the reason that baby boomers enjoyed such high incomes & good lifestyle), & becoming parts of secretive trade pacts which will further destroy the labour conditions for the poor.
But, hey, we have democracy & freedoms, right !!! (sarcasm) If Westerners love freedom & democracy so much, then why are they so enthusiastically moving to Middle East (UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia), Asian & South East Asian countries, where, there are no such things as democracy & freedom of speech, but good enough living wage (for a Western-educated graduate) & a good lifestyle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The majority of children living in poverty in the UK come from working families, a leading think tank’s report reveals.
The report, titled ‘Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2015’, was published ... by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). It was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Trust.
The study examined key factors driving changes in incomes & poverty across the UK.
Figures from the report show that the number of children living in absolute poverty remained unchanged between 2009-10 & 2013-14. However, the proportion of kids living in poverty whose parents work rose by 9% over this period.
The IFS says this dramatic rise in what has been described as Britain’s working poor is a result of increased unemployment levels & a steady decline in workers’ real wages.
Despite the promise of a new living wage, benefit cuts made by the new Conservative government are likely to put pressure on poor families, the report said. It argued the effects of further government cuts make a greater impact than this marginal pay rise for those who are struggling financially.
"Material deprivation" was one of the main issues for those living in rented properties, single parents & disabled people.
The report noted many such families are unable to afford more luxurious goods & are more exposed to deprivation than home owners.
“Among families with children, social renters with incomes (after housing costs) around the median are at least as likely to be materially deprived as the lowest-income owner-occupiers," the report said.
"This illustrates the importance of looking at more than just current income to understand low living standards.”
Research Economist at the IFS Chris Belfield, who co-authored the report, said absolute poverty levels among children obscure “important and offsetting trends.”
“Since 2009–10, a fall in the number of workless families has acted to reduce poverty, but this has been offset by a substantial rise in in-work poverty," he said.
"This largely reflects the wider nature of the labour market since the recession: robust employment and weak earnings.”
Senior Research Economist at the IFS Robert Joyce, who also authored the report, added that the government needs to do more to combat the root causes of poverty.
“The government has recently emphasized worklessness as a cause of poverty," he said.
"This makes sense, but tackling low living standards will be difficult without improvements for working families too.”
Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Julia Unwin said in-work poverty is a growing concern.
“A strong economy and rising employment have masked the growing problem of in-work poverty, as years of below-inflation wage rises have taken their toll on people’s incomes,” she said.
“The upcoming minimum wage rise will help, but many low-income working families will still find themselves worse off due to tax credit changes. Boosting productivity and creating more jobs which offer progression at work is vital to make work a reliable route out of poverty.”
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