UK decline - people borrowing money to buy food.

[chem1st]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22417334

 

The situation of the UK peoples continue to decline.

 

One in five UK households borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs in April, a Which? survey says.

 

It suggests the equivalent of five million households used credit cards, overdrafts or savings to buy food.

 

And what with UK people not having a right to grow their own food, the situation can only get worse.

 

Many of our fellow citizens can no longer afford to buy food from their income without getting into debt or depleting savings. This is a national shame.

 

Foodbanks are on the rise, people are being forced to beg for food. And increasingly people are stealing it too.

 

Some of us, are out there digging the land and trying to grow our own, but it ain't easy. For starters you must wait for years to get but a small plot to pay for the privilege of growing your own food, and then there are massive restrictions on the food to be grown and its subsequent use.

 

You can't plant lots of fruit trees to help ensure you and your family and friends can eat your '5 a day'.

You can't sell your produce for profit. (Like large landowners who get paid to own land, and can then use their large amounts of land an exploit economies of scale).

 

People borrowing money to buy food is a disgrace upon the state, upon the British people as a whole.

 

British people need to have a constitutional right to be allowed to grow food. If not, then we must eat the rich and create a fairer system for our peoples.

[lens a tener]

you can bet most of the people who go to the food banks have got the latest I-phone and the rest of the gadgets if they can afford that then they can afford to buy food :suspect:

[WeX]

you can bet most of the people who go to the food banks have got the latest I-phone and the rest of the gadgets if they can afford that then they can afford to buy food :suspect:

 

I'm with you on this. People have their priorities totally backward.

[chem1st]

you can bet most of the people who go to the food banks have got the latest I-phone and the rest of the gadgets if they can afford that then they can afford to buy food :suspect:

 

Maybe cash converters should do a food special.

 

Bacon butty for a basic phone. 3 course meal with wine for an iphone.

 

Then once people have pawned all their stuff for food, and are wandering the streets naked, without a phone in order to secure employment, then you might understand how close to having literally nothing some people are.

 

If you realise that many people have very large debts. You will realise most have LESS THAN NOTHING!

 

---------- Post added 05-05-2013 at 12:50 ----------

 

I'm with you on this. People have their priorities totally backward.

 

What is the UK human priority supposed to be, mandated by the state?

 

Eat instead of look for work?

 

Ensure you can look for work instead of eat?

 

Try to do both?

[lens a tener]

you don't need a phone to get a job

[MrSmith]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22417334

 

The situation of the UK peoples continue to decline.

 

 

 

And what with UK people not having a right to grow their own food, the situation can only get worse.

 

Many of our fellow citizens can no longer afford to buy food from their income without getting into debt or depleting savings. This is a national shame.

 

Foodbanks are on the rise, people are being forced to beg for food. And increasingly people are stealing it too.

 

Some of us, are out there digging the land and trying to grow our own, but it ain't easy. For starters you must wait for years to get but a small plot to pay for the privilege of growing your own food, and then there are massive restrictions on the food to be grown and its subsequent use.

 

You can't plant lots of fruit trees to help ensure you and your family and friends can eat your '5 a day'.

You can't sell your produce for profit. (Like large landowners who get paid to own land, and can then use their large amounts of land an exploit economies of scale).

 

People borrowing money to buy food is a disgrace upon the state, upon the British people as a whole.

 

British people need to have a constitutional right to be allowed to grow food. If not, then we must eat the rich and create a fairer system for our peoples.

 

How many gardens do you see full of vegetables, the only thing I usually see frequenting the gardens of the poorest, are weeds.

[El Cid]

How many gardens do you see full of vegetables, the only thing I usually see frequenting the gardens of the poorest, are weeds.

 

Even allotments are generally taken up by old folk.

[monkey104]

There are some very salient comments made at the bottom of that report.

I don't earn that much more but have an IPhone, car, motorbike, mortgage, I have put a bit of weight on so must be eating ok.

It's all down to how you manage your money and the priority in which you spend it.

Ie. if you are hungry bin the sky subscription and any other luxuries.

Cigarettes and alcohol are not essential items.

[ollieandarch]

you can bet most of the people who go to the food banks have got the latest I-phone and the rest of the gadgets if they can afford that then they can afford to buy food :suspect:

 

I think you may be on to something there.

 

---------- Post added 05-05-2013 at 13:09 ----------

 

There are some very salient comments made at the bottom of that report.

I don't earn that much more but have an IPhone, car, motorbike, mortgage, I have put a bit of weight on so must be eating ok.

It's all down to how you manage your money and the priority in which you spend it.

Ie. if you are hungry bin the sky subscription and any other luxuries.

Cigarettes and alcohol are not essential items.

 

Good post. You have hit the nail on the head there, monkey104.

[Ms Macbeth]

There are all sorts of reasons why people don't have money for necessities. When someone on basic benefits gets sanctioned, they are unlikely to have savings to tide them over. I can understand them needing a foodbank or even taking on a loan.

 

Some people have earned a reasonable living, and have bought things on credit, then been made redundant, or become too sick to work. Paying back their debts can take up a chunk of their much smaller income.

 

I don't disagree that there will be those whose spending priorities are skewed, however I'd not want to see their children without food. Children don't have a choice of which family they are born into!

 

As I understand it no one can just turn up at a foodbank, they have to be referred by an organisation who has checked their reasons for being in that situation. Hopefully they will be given help and support to improve their situation, such as money management and finding work.

 

As for dipping into savings, we had no long term savings when our children were growing up. What little we put away for emergencies, often had to be used to pay for heating or food. We were working, but had no control over mortgage interest rates in the 80s. There are lots of reasons why people use savings, or borrow short term to pay for necessities. Its not a great way to live, but many of us have had to resort to it at some time in our lives.

 

Chem1st, how about asking people for surplus gardening tools and seeds? They could be loaned or given to people who are money poor, but who have large (and so far uncultivated) gardens. Have a look around some estates, there appear to be quite a few gardens that could do with cultivation. With tools and seeds and a bit of guidance, could it work?