Equality in the UK?
I'm studying a course on poverty and inequality with the Open University via the learning website Future Learn. It is really interesting and I thought I would just share some of the things the course has so far made me think about along with some of the recent news stories doing the rounds.
We need to pay more:
I am a socialist and, as such, I believe we need to be paying more taxes. I for one would be happy to do so and I certainly think the rich should be paying more. I also believe they should not be allowed to put it in off shore holdings in order to avoid paying tax.
I have heard the argument before that if people earn the money they should be allowed to keep it. Great, yes, keep some of it. We are all human beings though and it should be within us to want to help our fellow humans out. By paying more in the way of taxes we ensure that people have a good education and access to health care or that they can afford to travel to work (I am also in support of re-nationalising the railways).
That little kid in that poverty struck area? He could be a top doctor that will help you or your family in years to come. That girl in the hospital? She could be a top researcher who comes up with a great new cure for something. What I am saying is that if we provide for all then we all reap the benefits in the years to come.
Pensions are not enough:
We live in a world where people who have worked hard all their lives have to make a choice to 'eat or heat'. This is shocking. We should be paying more in to the scheme so that we have provision for our own futures but also so that people have a fair share now and can afford to live. No one should have to feel the pinch of poverty in their final years.
On top of that we need our governments to stop investing pension money in risky ventures. This happened when there was a global economy boom in the last decade but when it all fell apart in the global crisis (started in 2008) and left a 'pension black hole'. We cannot allow this to continue if we do pay in more.
A living wage is no bad thing:
There should be a living wage. We live in a world where people are working for minimum wage they still can't afford things and so they rely on benefits. These benefits are getting harder and harder to obtain. Surely we should pay a living wage to people and then they can afford to buy products, which in turn will feed back in to the economy. This will pay for the cost of the living wages and grow the economy. I know this is a simple view but why does it have to be complicated?
While we are at it, can we scrap the zero hours contracts? These are sheer evil. I have friends who are on these because they could not find any other work and they hate them. I have heard company bosses claiming their staff like the flexibility of a zero hours contract but trust me, they don't. They leave them feeling insecure as they cannot plan anything for fear of being called in to work. They don't have regular hours so they cannot rely on their contracts for obtaining a mortgage or loan. Also they can be let go at a moments notice so they have no job security at all. The only thing these contracts benefit are the companies that use them.
Gentrification - good or bad?
Last night (26/09/2015) a large group of protesters, organised by anarchist group Class War, marched through Shoreditch in East London and attached the Cereal Killer cafe. For those not in the know the cafe sells nothing but bowls of cereal. You can have pretty much any cereal you want from around the world and the price is around £3.00 - £5.00 a bowl. The cafe hasn't been open for long.
Now, I understand the frustrations of Class War. I too believe that people are being priced out of London. There is a clear case of social cleansing going on. Families who need social housing are being offered places far outside of London and away from their support network of friends and family because they can't afford the homes in London on their housing benefit. Foreign investors are buying up London property and renting it at extortionate rates. This has got to change.
What I don't agree with is the method of protest. At the end of the day the Cereal Killer cafe is an independent business that two guys have set up and poured their lives into. Yes, I think it is extortionate and I don't think I would visit it, but therein lies the perfect protest. Some people will love this cafe and some will hate it. The world will be divided on these lines for everything. That is where consumer choice comes in. If you don't like it then don't eat there, but don't smash up someone's livelihood. That is just being a total dick. Also, if tourists come looking for the cafe they are likely to stick around and spend money in other shops in the area and this will help local people to have jobs and income so it can't all be bad can it?
What I am saying is that there is obvious inequality and it is right to be angry. It is how you channel that anger to make positive change that matters though.
We need to pay more:
I am a socialist and, as such, I believe we need to be paying more taxes. I for one would be happy to do so and I certainly think the rich should be paying more. I also believe they should not be allowed to put it in off shore holdings in order to avoid paying tax.
I have heard the argument before that if people earn the money they should be allowed to keep it. Great, yes, keep some of it. We are all human beings though and it should be within us to want to help our fellow humans out. By paying more in the way of taxes we ensure that people have a good education and access to health care or that they can afford to travel to work (I am also in support of re-nationalising the railways).
That little kid in that poverty struck area? He could be a top doctor that will help you or your family in years to come. That girl in the hospital? She could be a top researcher who comes up with a great new cure for something. What I am saying is that if we provide for all then we all reap the benefits in the years to come.
Pensions are not enough:
We live in a world where people who have worked hard all their lives have to make a choice to 'eat or heat'. This is shocking. We should be paying more in to the scheme so that we have provision for our own futures but also so that people have a fair share now and can afford to live. No one should have to feel the pinch of poverty in their final years.
On top of that we need our governments to stop investing pension money in risky ventures. This happened when there was a global economy boom in the last decade but when it all fell apart in the global crisis (started in 2008) and left a 'pension black hole'. We cannot allow this to continue if we do pay in more.
A living wage is no bad thing:
There should be a living wage. We live in a world where people are working for minimum wage they still can't afford things and so they rely on benefits. These benefits are getting harder and harder to obtain. Surely we should pay a living wage to people and then they can afford to buy products, which in turn will feed back in to the economy. This will pay for the cost of the living wages and grow the economy. I know this is a simple view but why does it have to be complicated?
While we are at it, can we scrap the zero hours contracts? These are sheer evil. I have friends who are on these because they could not find any other work and they hate them. I have heard company bosses claiming their staff like the flexibility of a zero hours contract but trust me, they don't. They leave them feeling insecure as they cannot plan anything for fear of being called in to work. They don't have regular hours so they cannot rely on their contracts for obtaining a mortgage or loan. Also they can be let go at a moments notice so they have no job security at all. The only thing these contracts benefit are the companies that use them.
Gentrification - good or bad?
Last night (26/09/2015) a large group of protesters, organised by anarchist group Class War, marched through Shoreditch in East London and attached the Cereal Killer cafe. For those not in the know the cafe sells nothing but bowls of cereal. You can have pretty much any cereal you want from around the world and the price is around £3.00 - £5.00 a bowl. The cafe hasn't been open for long.
Now, I understand the frustrations of Class War. I too believe that people are being priced out of London. There is a clear case of social cleansing going on. Families who need social housing are being offered places far outside of London and away from their support network of friends and family because they can't afford the homes in London on their housing benefit. Foreign investors are buying up London property and renting it at extortionate rates. This has got to change.
What I don't agree with is the method of protest. At the end of the day the Cereal Killer cafe is an independent business that two guys have set up and poured their lives into. Yes, I think it is extortionate and I don't think I would visit it, but therein lies the perfect protest. Some people will love this cafe and some will hate it. The world will be divided on these lines for everything. That is where consumer choice comes in. If you don't like it then don't eat there, but don't smash up someone's livelihood. That is just being a total dick. Also, if tourists come looking for the cafe they are likely to stick around and spend money in other shops in the area and this will help local people to have jobs and income so it can't all be bad can it?
What I am saying is that there is obvious inequality and it is right to be angry. It is how you channel that anger to make positive change that matters though.
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