Mass Homelessness Soon?

[Anna B 1,414]

4 hours ago, the_bloke said:

The class system of the 1970s no longer exists. People can't be pigeonholed into classes based upon their background in an age of social mobility.

 

Classes have become weaponised by political parties for one to hate the other. One party says the 'working class' should hate the 'middle and upper classes' because they apparently have all the money and dump on the working class, another party says the 'middle class' should hate on the 'working class' because they get everything for free. It's all bobbins.

 

If you want to hate on people who have more things in life than you, then that's called jealousy - and ironically, being jealous and bitter has no class.

Funnily enough I agree with most of this, however I think we should all be working for the common good. While ever there are homeless and people in need, which there certainly are, we all need to work towards helping them. That has nothing to do with jealousy, bitterness or hate. Just basic, common decency.

 

Where we probably part company is how that is to be acheived. 

[Anna B 1,414]

On 12/11/2020 at 14:16, nightrider said:

Some of the wealthiest people I know are working class. e.g. one is a builder who made his fortune when young (< 40) in the trade

By the same token many of the poorest are extemely hardworking and in employment.

The working poor are a big and rapidly growing problem. Poor working practices such as short term contracts , 0 hours, and job insecurity have left them in dire straights, and often in debt. 

 

The 'just managing' are within a hairs breadth of having the rug pulled out from under them, and with little or no savings one unexpected bill or repair or missed rent can pitch them into headlong disaster and  possible eviction. If unemployed, Universal Credit can take 2 months or more to come through during which presumably you're expected to live on fresh air, so you're usually already well into debt before you start. 

 

We live in a country where a lot of people are on the edge of a precipice, that's no way to live. When did we change into a society where a hardworking man (or woman) cannot support her own family?

[El Cid 220]

20 hours ago, Anna B said:

Funnily enough I agree with most of this, however I think we should all be working for the common good. While ever there are homeless and people in need, which there certainly are, we all need to work towards helping them.

Yes, but who is 'we'?

Who is responsible and who should fund housing homeless people, who is responsible for them being homeless in the first place?

[Anna B 1,414]

21 minutes ago, El Cid said:

Yes, but who is 'we'?

Who is responsible and who should fund housing homeless people, who is responsible for them being homeless in the first place?

We are all responsible for them, some acknowledge it, and some don't. 

 

As you might expect, I largely blame the Conservative governments of the last 40+ years. We didn't get into this mess overnight, but it  was their policies that broughtit about. Blair's Labour government did little to stop it (and neither will Starmer,) and yes, people have personal responsibility as well, but that's assuming we all start from a level playing field which we don't.

Rents are out of control, so are house prices, and inflation is on the rise no matter how the government try to spin it. Talk to people who have to watch every penny about food prices, and see what they say. 

 

We are told we live in a rich country, so homelessness and poverty are not acceptable. We pay our taxes to deal with problems like this and to help those less well off than ourselves. The gap between rich and poor is widening substantially and that affects everyone. But of course not everybody pays their fair share do they? So the government should get a grip on those tax avoiding / evading it, like they keep promising but they never actually do. The richest have got substantially richer ever since the financial crisis, how do you think they manage it? 

[El Cid 220]

4 hours ago, Anna B said:

So the government should get a grip on those tax avoiding / evading it, like they keep promising but they never actually do. The richest have got substantially richer ever since the financial crisis, how do you think they manage it? 

Homelessness is is not linked to the rich not paying enough tax.

There is the problem of people that cannot afford a house, which is always single people, surely all poor families will get housing benefit, even the foreigners that dont qualify will probably be helped if children are involved.

[Anna B 1,414]

25 minutes ago, El Cid said:

Homelessness is is not linked to the rich not paying enough tax.

There is the problem of people that cannot afford a house, which is always single people, surely all poor families will get housing benefit, even the foreigners that dont qualify will probably be helped if children are involved.

I didn't say the rich were directly responsible, but you asked who should pay. I believe a fair tax system which is paid by all is the best way to redirect cash via the government which benefits all and also helps those that need it most. 

 

i agree single people have particular problems. I believe they are only entitled to enough to cover a single room in a house. They're not all young student types who can house share, many are middle aged and older, often  victims of divorce, redundancy etc. who need somewhere of their own to re establish and start afresh.

 

Housing benefit now no longer covers all the rent, but what the government think is an appropriate rent, which is of course open to interpretation. And nothing at all if they have some savings. This often effects couples whose children have grown up and left home, and people who have a home still paying rent/ mortgage but have been made redundant. 

 

Their are many families with children living in one room of a hostel or halfway house waiting years to be rehoused. Sometimes the children are taken into care and lost to the parents. How they came to be evicted I don't know, but not enough money to live on is usually at the bottom of it. 

[catmiss 12]

Have a look at the Homeless Act and you’ll see LA statutory duties/funding. Single people >18 and <60 are only entitled to advice unless they can fulfil very specific criteria. Temporary accommodation provided to families with dependent children, younger and older people and those deemed vulnerable due to mental or physical ill health can be withdrawn if investigators decide the family/individual is ‘intentionally homeless ‘ which includes rent/mortgage arrears whatever the circumstances. This Act has been long overdue for review but more so in the current climate

[Ms Macbeth 75]

Having both left school at 15, my husband and I realised by the 80s when our children were in their teens, that qualifications were becoming much more necessary to achieve any sort of career.  Both our children have risen much higher than us  in both qualifications and careers.  

 

A couple of posters have mentioned social mobility.  This article points out that one in five people work at a lower level than their parents.  Might the other four have done better?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/18/one-in-five-people-in-uk-in-lower-status-jobs-than-parents-study

[nightrider 13]

On 15/11/2020 at 14:00, Anna B said:

We are all responsible for them, some acknowledge it, and some don't. 

 

As you might expect, I largely blame the Conservative governments of the last 40+ years. We didn't get into this mess overnight, but it  was their policies that broughtit about. Blair's Labour government did little to stop it (and neither will Starmer,) and yes, people have personal responsibility as well, but that's assuming we all start from a level playing field which we don't.

Rents are out of control, so are house prices, and inflation is on the rise no matter how the government try to spin it. Talk to people who have to watch every penny about food prices, and see what they say. 

 

We are told we live in a rich country, so homelessness and poverty are not acceptable. We pay our taxes to deal with problems like this and to help those less well off than ourselves. The gap between rich and poor is widening substantially and that affects everyone. But of course not everybody pays their fair share do they? So the government should get a grip on those tax avoiding / evading it, like they keep promising but they never actually do. The richest have got substantially richer ever since the financial crisis, how do you think they manage it? 

Well we don't pay our taxes to deal with problems like this - we have one of the lowest tax rates in western europe and we can see the result. If we want to fund NHS, police, help poor people etc it costs money. Other countries make people pay a lot more tax to fund it (and that includes low earners, not just the super rich).

[Anna B 1,414]

Do you never wonder why we now have homelessness, 0 hour contracts, poor job security, foodbanks, unemployment and the rise of the working poor? 

 

Think the ever widening gap between rich and poor might have something to do with it? 

 

It's because we have a tax system which penalisers the lower paid and holds them and their wages down, but allows the super-rich who have more money than they know what to do with in the first place , to avoid taxation with impunity and grow considerably richer on a daily basis.

These are the people who should be paying more tax, not the multitude on PAYE

 

Before anyone wants to start on about the 'politics of envy,'  322,000 households are in rental arrears as we speak, and that figure is growing exponentially. It could soon be you.

 

It's immoral. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by Anna B

[catmiss 12]

Most of us could be susceptible to homelessness. Unemployment, ill health, relationship breakdown or unexpected life events such as pregnancy, disability, reduced working hours/conditions which all effect income. How many people have savings that would sustain a family home/lifestyle whether rent or mortgage for many months?

[Anna B 1,414]

That is so true. 

Divorce in particular seems to be a major cause of middle age homelessness, but as you say, any unexpected life event can tip people over the edge.

I have a particular concern about mental illness which is a major problem amongst some of the homeless, takes many forms, and is definitely getting worse. These people need help and protection, but neither is available for many of them.

 

We live in a complicated, bureaucratic world, and they simply cannot cope with it unaided, so benefits are unobtainable or stopped without warning, and they become homeless which is often the end of the line for them.

The suicide rate is climbing inexorably, especially amongst young men.