truman Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breadline-britain-20million-now-living-5123323 “On current trends, the next five years will see more people in the UK in poverty, more often and for longer. “Despite falling unemployment, the combination of an increasingly polarised labour market, rising housing costs and a continuing squeeze on benefits will put further pressure on low incomes.” Just to play Devil's advocate.....if you don't believe anything printed in the Mail why is the Mirror any less biased? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buck Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 To Bridlington or Florida?Florida's cheaper, no bingo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenRivers Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breadline-britain-20million-now-living-5123323 “On current trends, the next five years will see more people in the UK in poverty, more often and for longer. “Despite falling unemployment, the combination of an increasingly polarised labour market, rising housing costs and a continuing squeeze on benefits will put further pressure on low incomes.” 1/3 of UK population on breadline, don't think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey69 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Great piece about so called welfare reform. really nails it down....http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/21448 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Wasn't a lot of the financial trouble in Greece caused by too generous public sector pensions and low tax take? no, that's just what yoi were told in the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 no, that's just what yoi were told in the media. Right..so what happened and where is your proof? Genuine questions.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJeremy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Great piece about so called welfare reform. really nails it down....http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/21448 No one here is in poverty. They have shelter. They have food. And if they choose to spend the money the tax payer gives them for food on "other things" there are food banks. The piece you quote is left wing propaganda like the daily moron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I sometimes think that if Labour won the election in 2010, it wouldn't be UKIP as the 'new opposition party', it would be something akin to Syriza after the UK had to go cap in hand to the EU for a bailout. The political system here wouldn't allow it, but it isn't unthinkable, a lot of people were/are very quick to forget how close to the brink the UK was. I know people in Greece, I have friends there. If the rules from the Troika and the EU were meant to provide a solution then the Northern Euro countries were just wrong. How can you demand a country change it's entire economic and social structure when unemployment is 80%? They demanded an increase in GDP...but how can you do that when nobody has a job? It is a balance...everyone knows that saving money is good, I'm pathalogical about it, but on the other had you have to spend...or the shopkeepers go but. Greece was made to cut to the bone but was also prevented from making money. Everyone unemployed. How does that create income? No doubt the rich haven't even noticed there is a recession I know people from Greece, they in particular suffered greatly because their universities went unfunded from one day to the other. The problem, as they have explained it to me well before the bail-outs were needed, was that the government was only interested in making the books look good and had a habit of 'buying' votes by promising and frequently delivering mountains of gold to specific demographies. Want to win votes in Thessaloniki? Promise a brand new motorway (unfunded) a military base (unfunded) tens of thousands new jobs in the public sector (unfunded). Want to win votes among the elderly? Promise to raise pensions by 20%, free public transport and free healthcare for the infirm. Want to win votes among the wealthy? Promise to lower their taxes, scrap rules on property extensions etc. provide benefits for organisations. Match two of every set of promises and you win the election, who needs fiscal responsibility! Greece has been a mess for decades. The real problem is that it was allowed to join the Euro in the first place. Having said that: Had they not been? They would be in an even worse state than they already are. The Greeks need to take responsibility for years of mismanagement, it is tough (sometimes devastating) but it is a consequence of trying to screw the system for too long. Guess how Syriza got into power: Promise gold mountains, no more austerity! Jobs for everybody! Stay in the Euro without trouble! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staunton Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Wasn't a lot of the financial trouble in Greece caused by too generous public sector pensions and low tax take? Wasn't a lot of the financial trouble in Greece caused by Goldman Sachs cooking the books? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh Carol Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The political system here wouldn't allow it, but it isn't unthinkable, a lot of people were/are very quick to forget how close to the brink the UK was. I know people from Greece, they in particular suffered greatly because their universities went unfunded from one day to the other. The problem, as they have explained it to me well before the bail-outs were needed, was that the government was only interested in making the books look good and had a habit of 'buying' votes by promising and frequently delivering mountains of gold to specific demographies. Want to win votes in Thessaloniki? Promise a brand new motorway (unfunded) a military base (unfunded) tens of thousands new jobs in the public sector (unfunded). Want to win votes among the elderly? Promise to raise pensions by 20%, free public transport and free healthcare for the infirm. Want to win votes among the wealthy? Promise to lower their taxes, scrap rules on property extensions etc. provide benefits for organisations. Match two of every set of promises and you win the election, who needs fiscal responsibility! Greece has been a mess for decades. The real problem is that it was allowed to join the Euro in the first place. Having said that: Had they not been? They would be in an even worse state than they already are. The Greeks need to take responsibility for years of mismanagement, it is tough (sometimes devastating) but it is a consequence of trying to screw the system for too long. Guess how Syriza got into power: Promise gold mountains, no more austerity! Jobs for everybody! Stay in the Euro without trouble! Sounds like the Labour party manifesto for the general election........or any election! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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