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Poverty is a psychological state, not just an economic condition Poverty is a psychological state, not just an economic condition
(6 months later)
Since I became a father 10 years ago, I have never been out of work. At the same time as raising three daughters with my girlfriend, in my spare time I have also studied for a degree in business studies. Because of the costs of childcare, one of us has always had to stay at home and we decided that this would be my girlfriend. Having only one income and a high rent to pay we have been entitled to tax credits and housing benefit.Since I became a father 10 years ago, I have never been out of work. At the same time as raising three daughters with my girlfriend, in my spare time I have also studied for a degree in business studies. Because of the costs of childcare, one of us has always had to stay at home and we decided that this would be my girlfriend. Having only one income and a high rent to pay we have been entitled to tax credits and housing benefit.
We have always had to budget carefully. But we used to have enough to eat. We went out for a family meal once or twice a month to a pub on a Sunday and we had an annual foreign holiday. The biggest change for us came about five years ago, when I "got on my bike", and I started commuting to London, for a job that had been advertised as a graduate position. When working out benefits, travel costs are not taken into account, and so, even though the job in London paid £30,000, rather than the £15,000 I was earning in Brighton, because of the extra proportional tax and the £4,000 or so I was spending each year on transport, and the fact that we lost a huge proportion of our benefits, we were a lot worse off financially.We have always had to budget carefully. But we used to have enough to eat. We went out for a family meal once or twice a month to a pub on a Sunday and we had an annual foreign holiday. The biggest change for us came about five years ago, when I "got on my bike", and I started commuting to London, for a job that had been advertised as a graduate position. When working out benefits, travel costs are not taken into account, and so, even though the job in London paid £30,000, rather than the £15,000 I was earning in Brighton, because of the extra proportional tax and the £4,000 or so I was spending each year on transport, and the fact that we lost a huge proportion of our benefits, we were a lot worse off financially.
Despite these difficulties, I carried on, determined to work my way out of poverty, forge ahead with a successful career that would eventually enable us to get a mortgage and a car and a garden and everything else that decent people have. Eventually though, as the credit crunch came, and as the cost of train travel increased, the job became financially impossible to sustain. Amid mounting debts, I went back to working in Brighton; in a job where I am paid about £10,000 less, with nowhere near as many prospects for career advancement, but in which we are financially better off.Despite these difficulties, I carried on, determined to work my way out of poverty, forge ahead with a successful career that would eventually enable us to get a mortgage and a car and a garden and everything else that decent people have. Eventually though, as the credit crunch came, and as the cost of train travel increased, the job became financially impossible to sustain. Amid mounting debts, I went back to working in Brighton; in a job where I am paid about £10,000 less, with nowhere near as many prospects for career advancement, but in which we are financially better off.
We live in a three-bedroom house. The housing estate we live on used to be a council estate, but all but one or two houses are now privately owned, so we receive housing benefit to help pay the landlord's high rent. Our youngest daughter has recently turned five, so, because she has started school, my girlfriend has been able to start work again, and this will probably mean the majority of our benefits will go, so, despite the extra wage, we won't have a higher household income. Due to rising food costs and shrinking benefits and growing children, we are considerably worse off. After the rent, food, shopping, clothes and activities for our children (clubs, music lessons etc), so they can enjoy their lives to some extent, my girlfriend and I have to go without food fairly regularly. Like many people in this country, hunger is now part of our daily routine.We live in a three-bedroom house. The housing estate we live on used to be a council estate, but all but one or two houses are now privately owned, so we receive housing benefit to help pay the landlord's high rent. Our youngest daughter has recently turned five, so, because she has started school, my girlfriend has been able to start work again, and this will probably mean the majority of our benefits will go, so, despite the extra wage, we won't have a higher household income. Due to rising food costs and shrinking benefits and growing children, we are considerably worse off. After the rent, food, shopping, clothes and activities for our children (clubs, music lessons etc), so they can enjoy their lives to some extent, my girlfriend and I have to go without food fairly regularly. Like many people in this country, hunger is now part of our daily routine.
I have begun counting calories, not to lose weight, but to try and make sure I get enough; on average I would say I consume about 1,000-1,500 calories a day (the average required daily calorie intake is 2,550 for a man). I budget everything obsessively, calculating every penny, every trip to the shops, every sandwich, every packet of chewing gum.I have begun counting calories, not to lose weight, but to try and make sure I get enough; on average I would say I consume about 1,000-1,500 calories a day (the average required daily calorie intake is 2,550 for a man). I budget everything obsessively, calculating every penny, every trip to the shops, every sandwich, every packet of chewing gum.
It is difficult to describe our lives now without sensationalising. The best way to put it is like this; with the hunger, and with the way that budgeting money becomes something that dominates every day, poverty becomes a physical and psychological state, rather than just an economic condition.It is difficult to describe our lives now without sensationalising. The best way to put it is like this; with the hunger, and with the way that budgeting money becomes something that dominates every day, poverty becomes a physical and psychological state, rather than just an economic condition.
At this point I feel I need to define myself, am I a striver or a scrounger? Am I a victim or a parasite? Am I a symptom or an illness? From my experience of people I know, just about everyone relying on the welfare state (myself included) has more or less the same relationship with taxpayers as everyone else; we see it as give and take. We take when the law says we are entitled to but we do contribute what we are able to. Most of us work. Almost everyone I have ever met who is out of work is doing everything they can to try and find a job.At this point I feel I need to define myself, am I a striver or a scrounger? Am I a victim or a parasite? Am I a symptom or an illness? From my experience of people I know, just about everyone relying on the welfare state (myself included) has more or less the same relationship with taxpayers as everyone else; we see it as give and take. We take when the law says we are entitled to but we do contribute what we are able to. Most of us work. Almost everyone I have ever met who is out of work is doing everything they can to try and find a job.
If I am being honest, there is a case for making it financially easier for people to work more. From my perspective though, the problem is not that we are getting too many benefits. The problem is that as soon as we try to work our way out of the grip of the welfare state, we lose so many benefits, and incur so many other costs; transport, childcare etc. Yet instead of helping people, there seems to be this obsession with punishing those on benefits, as if being poor is some sort of crime.If I am being honest, there is a case for making it financially easier for people to work more. From my perspective though, the problem is not that we are getting too many benefits. The problem is that as soon as we try to work our way out of the grip of the welfare state, we lose so many benefits, and incur so many other costs; transport, childcare etc. Yet instead of helping people, there seems to be this obsession with punishing those on benefits, as if being poor is some sort of crime.
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