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.
Most of the poor in the UK have a colour TV. Quite a few are
overweight. They probably have debts. People who are absolutely poor
don't have debts.
Yes relative poverty is a political issue. But it is a problem about
the rich.
Martin Rathfelder
Director
Socialist Health Association
22 Blair Road
Manchester
M16 8NS
0161 286 1926
www.sochealth.co.uk
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John Whittington wrote:
> At 08:09 09/06/2010 +0100, Martin Rathfelder wrote:
>> If the problems of poverty in the UK are about relative poverty, why
>> will reducing the incomes of the rich not help?
>
> That surely hits the nail on the head. IF the problems were about
> relative poverty, then that would, indeed, be the obvious solution.
>
> However, relative poverty (within a country) is really essentially a
> political/ psychological issue ('sour grapes'), not a humanitarian one
> - e.g.a person who can't afford to feed their children properly
> feeling aggrieved because others were in a much better position.
> Maybe their psychology would feel a bit better if one changed the
> situation such that no-one else could feed their children properly,
> either, but that's hardly a solution - and wouldn't result in an
> improvement in their children's nutrition!
>
> At the most basic level (virtually 'human rights' - access to adequate
> food, shelter, healthcare, protection, education etc.), the poverty
> that matters is surely absolute, not relative?
>
> Kind Regards,
>
>
> John
>
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