*Poverty* Do you agree

[geekone]

BBC Scotland say 1-4 children in Scotland live in poverty, which is an aweful statistic and really sad. However they also state "According to the group's most recent figures, a two-parent family with two children of school age would be defined as being in poverty if they are living on less than £413 a week after housing costs."

This seems like a lot of money to me £1652 after housing costs? I don't think that's poverty? In London maybe but Scotland?

I may be wrong and I am happy to stand corrected but wanted to know what you all think.

It's relative poverty not absolute poverty. It is enough to sustain them, but they will struggle and miss out on experiences and things that their peers enjoy. Although a quick google told me the benefit cap is £500 per week, including housing costs, so many families will live on a lot less.

I don't think it's a lot to cover childcare, gas / electricity, food, phones, internet, tv, transport, petrol, insurance, clothes, school shoes and uniforms, council tax, after school clubs etc.

I agree it's unlikely to mean the kids are starving and naked, but once all of the above is paid for I expect there is very little left for savings, or a cushion for when things go wrong, or even for simple family days out etc.

We have three children of school age and live on a little over half of that. £413 a week, after housing costs would be riches to us!

That doesn’t sound like poverty to me . Those with the least money will always be the poorest , doesn’t mean they don’t have enough though .

But is that after council tax and utility bills etc? I'm down south and live on £150 a week for food etc after all the bills and thats for a family of 4. So would think I was rich with 400.

Average rent for a 2 bed in Scotland is £643 per month, add that to the £1,652 gives a total of £2,295 per month or £27,540 per year, after tax, or over £35,000 if a single wage (£15k each if split).
Looks like a strange definition of poverty.

@PomBearWithoutHerOFRS that's what I thought

@Ifailed this is exactly what I meant. I think with that much money a month while I agree you would have to be careful I don't think it's poverty.

As I said in Scotland poverty does exist I would not deny that but this level doesn't seem like poverty to me.

I think that's loads and not poverty!

In that case, most people I know are living in poverty.

According to that I'm very poor indeed.
Except I'm not. £1652 pm AfTER housing costs is a lot of money.

We have a comfortable but not luxurious life and have an income after housing costs that is more than double that amount.

If it went down to that level we would have hardly anything left after basic bills - we would have to be incredibly careful about utilities to keep bills down, would need to be ultra-careful with food shopping only buying value/basic stuff and still wouldn't have much left over for a holiday or any days out or Christmas/birthday presents. I would certainly feel poor.

Obviously I would still be richer than the kind of poverty that had people dying of starvation before the reforms of the 20th century. Poverty is always relative to the expected standard if living in the surrounding community.

What group did the research out of interest?

Remember though that it;s in the Scottish government's best interests to tweak the figures for their own agenda - to show how awful things are under that nasty Westminster government and how much better things would be in the socialist utopia of an independent Scotland.

Take everything they say with a MASSIVE pinch of salt. Yes there's poverty in Scotland as there is everywhere else. 1 in 4 is a massive overestimation.

How ridiculous. We live on just under that after living costs. I would say we’re quite comfortable.

The problem is when you live in a land of
Perceived plenty . That’s not much

We are bombarded by imagery of what we need from the minute we open our eyes

Food 100
Bills 70
Transportation 40
Phone 20
Clothes 20
Treat and birthdays 10
Savings 25
School dinners
Lunches
Socialising

Then Savings for holidays etc

It leaves no wiggle and yes compared to a developing country it’s shit loads . But for a supposedly affluent land - it’s tough

I don't understand how they have arrived at that definition. If a single wage, that's well over the national average wage.

Eh?

1.5k a month after housing?

I'd be laughing all the way to the bank on that!

It's one of those daft statistics whereby some of the population have to be classed as poor because they fall below an average.

It is all relative.

Your figure is wrong. £413 per week isn’t £1652 per month.

£413 x 52 / 12 = £1790.

That is not poverty. What a load of rubbish. Having to budget carefully and not spend willy nilly is not the same thing as living in poverty at all.

Also, most people won't read past the "1 in 4 children in poverty" headline and think that it's a dreadful state of affairs. They won't go the figures and work out that at the top end of the range it's not poverty at all.

I’m not sure complaining that the government has set the levels defining child poverty too high is a good thing.

‘Children are considered to be living in poverty if they live in households with less than 60% of median household income. This is the key measure used by UK and Scottish Government. Using this measure the latest single year (2016/17) figures show;’

And it’s not the Scottish government tweaking the figures apparently.......

£413 a week is a lot of money. It is more than I get in a month.

I live in relative poverty

^^^ what titty said

www.minimumincome.org.uk/

is an interesting website, it estimates what you need to earn to have a comfortable standard of living.