The BBC's "Growing up poor". Poverty seen up close

shaggydoo

YoungBusinessman wrote: »

This shows a minority of the Glasgow scene and infact the city as a whole is thriving just now, jobs are there if you are prepared to work hard for it.

epz wrote: »

I think she was from pollok which was ruff as hell even in the good times, the problem is if you are brought up in that sort of area you are trapped more by what and who you know than external opportunities.

She should have been housed in a better area where she could have found work. What was the point in housing her in Pollok?

Surely, we need to address why (or why not) these young people can't leave the area they are born in.
At least 2 of the girls would have been highly employable especially in the South East!

ukcarper

I'm not sure employment in the south east is as good as people imagine. My wife's firm advertised a minimum wage job and had over 100 applicants and I know of a couple of young people who found it very difficult to find jobs who could only find part time jobs.

malcumms7898

It isn't really that easy to just back everything up and move to the other end of the country though - particularly when you are in that situation. Aside from the costs it is adding a heap of uncertainty to your future. She may have found work by moving to the south east but also would have increased her cost of living. She may have also moved down to the south east and found no work and ended up being more isolated and financially worse off. It is a huge gamble and one that might not work.

Saturnalia

Last two posts are right. I moved to London when the economy was a lot better (nearly 7 years ago) and yes, there is more work available but more competition for it. Wages have dropped dramatically and of course the cost of living is high.

And I was 25 when I went and had been living away at uni and elsewhere before making the jump. And I still found it hard. I couldn't imagine doing it as a teen.

I don't regret it, but had the economy then been in the same state it is now, I would have had second thoughts about it.

IveSeenTheLight

LauraW10 wrote: »

"Growing up poor" Poverty seen up close

It amazes me in a world that appears smaller, how some still are ignorant to poverty in terms of the world population.

Having worked in some countries where there are real poverty, the expectation of those who are poor relatively in the world is not that it should be given, but that they "strive" with the resources they have at hand.

Indeed, I recall the floating villages of Cambodia where people lived on less than $1 per dayand were very innovative.
One family had started a business recharging car batteries which were used for powering televisions in thier boats / stilted home.

They don;t have a benefit system and just get on with it.

In Malaysia there is no state pension system or benefits. If you don;t work, you don't earn and you need to provide for your own pension.
This is partly why there are more generations living under the same roof with the grandparent raising the granchildren, whilst the parents worked.

Lots of examples of "poor" getting on with it instead of expecting life to be handed to them on a plate.

I'm all for benefits safety net, but it should provide the very basics and no room for luxury.

GeorgeHowell

shaggydoo wrote: »

Did you watch the program? One of the girls was working in a shop 30 hours per week for nothing but work experience, she had plenty of work ethic, self discipline, punctuality, and personal presentation.
What do you do if there is no paid work anywhere?

People like that girl should be supported by reasonable welfare until she can find her own feet. That's my point, there isn't enough distinction between those who try to help themselves and those who do not. Sooner or later that girl will have much more chance of landing a proper job than the unemployable layabouts who don't want to know.

lostinrates

GeorgeHowell wrote: »

People like that girl should be supported by reasonable welfare until she can find her own feet. That's my point, there isn't enough distinction between those who try to help themselves and those who do not. Sooner or later that girl will have much more chance of landing a proper job than the unemployable layabouts who don't want to know.

It's easy to see why that experience would put someone off. Sometimes the dividing line is blurred and I don't think it's a stable line. A negative experience after a long drive for self improvment for no Perceived gain could just be someone's final reserve of 'push' depleted.

GeorgeHowell

lostinrates wrote: »

It's easy to see why that experience would put someone off. Sometimes the dividing line is blurred and I don't think it's a stable line. A negative experience after a long drive for self improvment for no Perceived gain could just be someone's final reserve of 'push' depleted.

Totally agree. That's why the welfare system is so wrong because it does not give sufficient support and and encouragement to those who want to help themselves, and concentrates too much on the "most vulnerable in our society", which includes all the layabouts. It's a comparable ideological disaster to the state education system giving insufficient attention to the brightest and most diligent pupils because that would be "unfair" on the others.

In the longer term a recipe for national penury and disaster.

Prudent

Saturnalia wrote: »

Last two posts are right. I moved to London when the economy was a lot better (nearly 7 years ago) and yes, there is more work available but more competition for it. Wages have dropped dramatically and of course the cost of living is high.

And I was 25 when I went and had been living away at uni and elsewhere before making the jump. And I still found it hard. I couldn't imagine doing it as a teen.

I don't regret it, but had the economy then been in the same state it is now, I would have had second thoughts about it.

I think it is a tough jump too, especially for young people with poor qualifications. I live in an area of high unemployment in Scotland. My daughter couldn't even get a part time job while at college here. After several months of serious searching she finally got a live in job in London. Flying down for an interview at short notice cost £170 in total including taxis to the airport here (because times clashed with work for me) and getting from Stanstead into London. I then gave her a further £500 to help with spends until payday, a railcard, her fare back down and new clothes for work. For these young people there is no one to fund that kind of jump. My daughter is now looking at live out jobs because she is contantly on call 24/7 living in and as her wages have been low, I will again need to help her out with deposits for accomodation etc. It isn't always a level playing field.

GeorgeHowell

Prudent wrote: »

I think it is a tough jump too, especially for young people with poor qualifications. I live in an area of high unemployment in Scotland. My daughter couldn't even get a part time job while at college here. After several months of serious searching she finally got a live in job in London. Flying down for an interview at short notice cost £170 in total including taxis to the airport here (because times clashed with work for me) and getting from Stanstead into London. I then gave her a further £500 to help with spends until payday, a railcard, her fare back down and new clothes for work. For these young people there is no one to fund that kind of jump. My daughter is now looking at live out jobs because she is contantly on call 24/7 living in and as her wages have been low, I will again need to help her out with deposits for accomodation etc. It isn't always a level playing field.

Again that's exactly the sort of thing that welfare money should be available for, to help those who genuinely want to improve their lives but can't afford to. But our system would rather dish it out indiscriminately, often to be blown on fags, booze, and scratchcards.

Lunacy.