Whilst I am convinced that some sort of needs-based approach (as
advocated by Amartya Sen, inter alia) has to be the best way of ensuring
decent minimum living standards it is very hard to define these needs in
an absolute way. One society's luxury is another's basic need. Children
who don't live in advanced urban societies have many things that most
poor British kids are deprived of, like fresh air, the freedom to roam
without being run over by a car, perhaps relaxed and affectionate
relationships with extended kinship networks, perhaps access to fresh
fruit that can be picked or scavenged - even though they may be regarded
as poorer by other measures. And there may also be things that are
perceived as religious or cultural necessities even if physical survival
does not depend on them. I was very struck on a recent trip to Brazil by
how street dwellers in Sao Paolo who were clearly malnourished (they
were painfully thin and there were long queues at the soup kitchens) and
wearing filthy tattered clothing themselves often lavished huge
attention on their dogs, many of whom had been lovingly dressed in
childrens' tee shirts or other clothing (it was winter but not cold by
british standards). I'm sure no development agency or NGO would see pet
clothing as anything other than a frivolity but it is clear that this
met some important social need. And I suspect that such things are too
various to be captured by even the most imaginatively designed survey.
Perhaps an essential ingredient of any strategy for relieving poverty is
to respect the humanity of the poor and their right to dispose of what
income they have according to their own priorities. Of course there are
other ingredients too - like decent health care, housing, schooling etc.
which should be supplied outside the market.
But in the present climate these are utopian ramblings,
Best wishes,
Ursula Huws
__________________________________________________________
Professor of International Labour Studies, London Metropolitan
University
Director, Analytica Social and Economic Research
Editor, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation
2 John Campbell Road, London N16 8JZ, UK.
Telephone: +44 20 7249 5931
Fax: +44 20 7681 1824
Mobile: +44 7711 3292 67
www.analytica.org.uk
www.analyticapublications.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: email list for Radical Statistics [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Martin Rathfelder
Sent: 09 June 2010 14:01
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A new approach to the median
Of course the poorest people in the UK are people with children. But I
don't think the poverty Kids Co describe is what I would call absolute
poverty. Most of these kids have a TV. They have a bed and meals. But
they can see that others have much more than they have. That is the
problem. The problem is affluence, not poverty.
Martin Rathfelder
Director
Socialist Health Association
22 Blair Road
Manchester
M16 8NS
0161 286 1926
www.sochealth.co.uk
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Tony Greenfield wrote:
> Martin Rathfelder wrote
>
>
>> There are very few people in the UK who suffer from absolute poverty.
>> Mostly failed asylum seekers who are subject to an official
>> destitution policy - and won't appear on any statistics. Some people
>> with mental illness.
>
> Here is a recent Kids Company report:
>
> Key Facts
> a.. 4 million children are living in poverty in the UK (after housing
> costs)
> b.. The proportion of children living in poverty grew from 1 in 10 in
> 1979 to 1 in 3 in 1998. Today, 30 per cent of children in Britain are
> living in poverty.
> c.. Since 1999, when the current Government pledged to end child
> poverty, 500,000 children have been lifted out of poverty.
> d.. The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the
> industrialised world
> e.. The majority (59 per cent) of poor children live in a household
> where at least one adult works.
> f.. 40 per cent of poor children live in a household headed by a lone
> parent. The majority of poor children (57 per cent) live in a
> household headed by a couple.
> g.. 38% of children in poverty are from families with 3 or more
> children.
> Kids Company
> More than 95% of the children and young people we support come to us
> seeking help, or are referred by their peers; 97% say that Kids
> Company is effective. Research shows that young people coming to Kids
> Company face the following difficulties:
>
> a.. 84% - homelessness - a deeply traumatic and destabilizing
> experience.
> b.. 82% - substance misuse - this is often a reaction to emotional
> distress and can indicate a child's vulnerability to being drawn into
> the criminal world of drug dealing and taking.
> c.. 81% - criminal involvement, often to feed and clothe younger
> siblings.
> d.. 83% - sustained, complex trauma during childhood.
> e.. 87% - emotional difficulties and mental health problems.
> f.. 39% - young carers struggling to cope.
> Kids' achievements
> The University of London's 2008 study found that Kids Company had
helped:
>
> a.. 95% improved their relationships
> b.. 81% reintegrated into education, training or employment
> c.. 86% engaged in work experience
> d.. 90% reduced their involvement in criminal activity
> e.. 94% reduced their level of substance misuse
> f.. 89% moved away from crime.
> Research by University of London, 2008
>
> At Kids Company in 2008
> a.. 12,000 children and young people accessed our services
> b.. 5000 volunteers gave us their time, including 4292 corporate
> volunteers from 91 companies.
> c.. 1800 children and young people with nowhere else to go came to
> our centre on Christmas day.
>
>
>
>
>
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