Author Topic: Dispatches last night, children in poverty  (Read 8132 times)

GrannyMac

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Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« on: Dec 03, 2019, 08:33:41 AM »
I don't know if anyone watched it.  Family bereavement, parents with mental health issues, domestic violence leading to family breakdown, temporary housing.  None of these children asked to grow up without enough food, in inadequate housing, worrying about their parents. 

Yet another example of how well off most of us are. Warm, fed, clothed, with a regular income, even if its not a lot.  And before people rush to point out how bad it was a long time ago, there was no welfare system, families tended to be in the same place, and there weren't the same comparisons in daily view.

Whoever ends up in government, I hope they take note that the safety nets are just not adequate at times. 
Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.

R. Gervais

mick607

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #1 on: Dec 03, 2019, 08:38:24 AM »
I don't know if anyone watched it.  Family bereavement, parents with mental health issues, domestic violence leading to family breakdown, temporary housing.  None of these children asked to grow up without enough food, in inadequate housing, worrying about their parents. 

Yet another example of how well off most of us are. Warm, fed, clothed, with a regular income, even if its not a lot.  And before people rush to point out how bad it was a long time ago, there was no welfare system, families tended to be in the same place, and there weren't the same comparisons in daily view.

Whoever ends up in government, I hope they take note that the safety nets are just not adequate at times.
Rather than feel guilty. Stop these people breeding.
Problem solved.

digitalis

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #2 on: Dec 03, 2019, 09:03:34 AM »
It's rather sad but think of things thisaway: such poverty and miscreants,prisoners and such-like all breed social workers,governers,prisons,prison staff,probation officers,laws,Mps,solicitors,barristers,judges...these are careers for people. Its also dosh. I counter argue that we should have more poverty and wars to make more suffering cos then it gives us more universities and such like to over-see these people.

Everyone makes money off the poor. And which is why we need the poor.

Think if no one woz ever sick. We wouldn't need hospitals and GPs and the like. They'd all be unemployed.

I just met a neighbor notsolongago. Theyre on £100k pa. They tell the poor how they're going wrong. £100k pa: Not a bad screw eh?

In the great US of A various states compete to have more laws written so more offenders can be caught and prosecuted,so filling prisons,so creating jobs and government funding. Itsa BIZ!

Todays world,eh!

Sheila

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #3 on: Dec 03, 2019, 09:35:23 AM »
Rather than feel guilty. Stop these people breeding.
Problem solved.

How exactly would you go about that?

BazzerPontefract

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #4 on: Dec 03, 2019, 09:38:50 AM »
I don't know if anyone watched it.  Family bereavement, parents with mental health issues, domestic violence leading to family breakdown, temporary housing.  None of these children asked to grow up without enough food, in inadequate housing, worrying about their parents. 

Yet another example of how well off most of us are. Warm, fed, clothed, with a regular income, even if its not a lot.  And before people rush to point out how bad it was a long time ago, there was no welfare system, families tended to be in the same place, and there weren't the same comparisons in daily view.

Whoever ends up in government, I hope they take note that the safety nets are just not adequate at times.
Does anyone really believe these children will be properly fed even if welfare levels are raised.
The parents of many of these children have no moral agency, they don't help themselves - the welfare you would give  would be wasted.


If you really want to ensure these kids are fed you should take the kids into permanent care - an expensive solution I grant, but the welfare would not be spent on drugs.

Diasi

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #5 on: Dec 03, 2019, 09:54:59 AM »
No child in the UK needs to go hungry.

They go hungry because there's a TV with a Sky / Virgin package, smartphone, cigarettes & drink that their family can't afford but which they have anyway.

Replace cash benefits with food / commodity vouchers & pay housing benefit directly to landlords.
Make every day count, each day is precious.
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Jacqueline

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #6 on: Dec 03, 2019, 10:20:07 AM »
Missed it but will try to find it on Catchup as I would be interest to see it.


I'm sure there are some genuine cases where people's circumstances change suddenly.  But as said here there shouldn't be children hungry in 2019.


My husband was one of 10 children, his father was a maintenance worker for London Transport, the family was kept on his wage.  Mother in law never stopped, cooking, washing by hand, housework, knitting jumpers in the evening.  They grew veg in their garden.  My husband had his elder brothers hand me down clothes.  They didn't have much,  but they were all warm and well fed.  None of husbands brothers and sisters feel hard done by they all say they had a happy childhood.


As I say I have not seen this programme, but I wonder if the difference here is single parents.  Marriage seems to be a dirty word, two parents working together to bring up their family.


I don't know the answer, something is very wrong if things have gone downhill since we were children.  Poverty in this country should be a distant memory and if it's that bad we have a large pot of money going to Overseas Aid which could be better spent at home.




GrannyMac

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #7 on: Dec 03, 2019, 12:47:12 PM »
Rather than feel guilty. Stop these people breeding.
Problem solved.

These weren't big irresponsible families. One mother was still paying off her young daughter's funeral. She'd always worked, had a mortgage, but her daughter got cancer. Perhaps some mothers would just keep working, but she cut her hours down and subsequently struggled.

The parents weren't on drugs, or drink. Lots of judgements here without seeing the programme.  Not really surprising.

Jacqueline, I think single parenthood is a feature. Nowadays it usually takes two wages or salaries for a reasonable lifestyle.
Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.

R. Gervais

Ashy

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #8 on: Dec 03, 2019, 01:04:57 PM »
It looks like if we could take out all the cases of poor parenting, the problem would be a lot smaller.

mick607

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #9 on: Dec 03, 2019, 01:08:40 PM »
It looks like if we could take out all the cases of poor parenting, the problem would be a lot smaller.
It would.

BazzerPontefract

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #10 on: Dec 03, 2019, 03:14:18 PM »
Jacqueline, I think single parenthood is a feature. Nowadays it usually takes two wages or salaries for a reasonable lifestyle.
[reasonable] LIFESTYLE
No one, in my view, should have a reasonable LIFESTYLE without working for it.
The suggestion appears to be, every family should have a LIFESTYLE at least commensurate  with a two wage family. 

Diasi

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #11 on: Dec 03, 2019, 03:21:49 PM »

These weren't big irresponsible families. One mother was still paying off her young daughter's funeral. She'd always worked, had a mortgage, but her daughter got cancer. Perhaps some mothers would just keep working, but she cut her hours down and subsequently struggled.

The parents weren't on drugs, or drink. Lots of judgements here without seeing the programme.  Not really surprising.


It's easy for any programme maker to cherry-pick a few families that prove whatever agenda the programme intends to deliver. 

Did the programme show her claiming help for the funeral costs?

https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments
Make every day count, each day is precious.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal".  (Cassandra)

GrannyMac

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #12 on: Dec 03, 2019, 06:00:36 PM »
[reasonable] LIFESTYLE
No one, in my view, should have a reasonable LIFESTYLE without working for it.
The suggestion appears to be, every family should have a LIFESTYLE at least commensurate  with a two wage family.


That wasn't suggested by me, just that so many parents seem to be bearing all the costs of child rearing on their own.  In two of the families the mothers were the focus.  Even if they'd been in full time work, unless they were in high paying roles, the money wouldn't support an adult and two children.  I wonder how much effort is made to get the other parent to pay their share.
Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.

R. Gervais

GrannyMac

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #13 on: Dec 03, 2019, 06:11:23 PM »
It's easy for any programme maker to cherry-pick a few families that prove whatever agenda the programme intends to deliver. 

Did the programme show her claiming help for the funeral costs?

https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments

They do cherry pick, and no, no claims for funeral costs mentioned.   At least in your days with DWP there weren't the delays built into Universal Credit.

However much we criticise parents, the children have done nothing to warrant being hungry or cold.  I wouldn't argue with food stamps like they have in the USA.
Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.

R. Gervais

BazzerPontefract

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Re: Dispatches last night, children in poverty
« Reply #14 on: Dec 03, 2019, 06:18:28 PM »
That wasn't suggested by me, just that so many parents seem to be bearing all the full costs of child rearing on their own.  In two of the families the mothers were the focus.  Even if they'd been in full time work, unless they were in high paying roles, the money wouldn't support an adult and two children. 
I wonder how much effort is made to get the other parent to pay their share.
GrannyMac,
Getting an absent parent to pay their fair share of child rearing costs must be good.

I doubt there are any parents bearing the cost of rearing children on their own - but the state will chip with all kinds of temporary welfare payments.  It is only the relatively high earners who'll bear the cost themselves, effectively losing child-allowance when beyond some threshold.

I can see how some families might get into temporary difficulties, and the state steps in with ad-hoc payments of different kinds.  The thing I can't understand is why so many families are permanently in a state of crisis - lack of moral agency, is the problem, it seems to me.   Many families simply take stock of their benefit income, and decide it is not worth the going out to work to generate an higher income - why would you work 30 hours a week if the balance between loss of welfare and increased income is £30 or £40, a Labour rate of £1 an hour.

And that is the bind with welfare.   If you've no shame, you can live exclusively off welfare.