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About LinkBacksAre we seriously drawing parallels between the UK and the likes of Africa in terms of poverty and suchlike?
Are we seriously drawing parallels between the UK and the likes of Africa in terms of poverty and suchlike?
I agree that aid shouldn't stop full stop, but it should be in the form of tools and training to build their own functioning economy, slapping a plate of food in front of them just makes the humanitarian disaster worse.
Originally Posted by Agent
There are lot's of very simplistic posts on this thread, mostly from people pushing their own (off topic) agenda. The letter on HB was obviously just one contributing factor (possibly the last straw). But let's not let that get in the way of a good bit of soap boxing ...
If the current administration (at least one of whom is serving a jail sentence for fraudulent expenses claims) weren't being so profligate with their slash and burn policies, then these consequences wouldn't be on the increase ?
Ever wonder what the urgency is ? After all, it's merely the equivalent of living frugally in order to cut a 25 year mortgage to 20 years (who on here has done that ?). The urgency is so they can repay Lord Ashcroft with the inheritance tax cuts (etc.) that they promised him.
It's no coincidence that the week directly before and directly after the riots, the Tory's #1 priority was abolition of the 50% tax rate for people on over £150,000/year.
Maybe Richard Sanderson was despairing about this and many other things.
Quite agree. But I didn't realise govt. aid was the latter, I thought it was more the former. In which case the solution is to change the nature of the aid, still not the amount of it, which was my point.
I've starved in the UK due to the ageist starve-youths-into-staying-at-home policy. Don't be conceited thinking that because you're in a first world country and have a welfare system that starvation and exposure doesn't happen.
It's a matter of degrees/orders of magnitude though. Which was more my point.
Poverty is not as extreme over here, nor as widespread. Not by a long, long, long way.
So as someone who was under 18, you were in a situation were your weren't getting suitable meals, whilst resident in the UK. Social services are very good at putting a stop to that in my experience, so long as they know its going on obviously.
You describe yourself as a youth, so whilst it would have been a very difficult decision, you could have notified the authorities. If you were in a situation where it was overtly visible, I would have thought the school or a friend via a teacher might have intervened.
I'm not knowing anything about the situations, but I'd hazard a crude guess that you don't know what starvation in the global idea of the word means. I'm also not going to link to the images I just googled, but you must admit there is a sense of scale. You said charity begins at home. I think you are failing to understand the needs of the people at the end of the street.
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Perhaps not as widespread, but I'd say dying is still pretty extreme.
No, as someone who was under 25, I was in receipt of sub-25 JSA, while servicing a social fund loan for a flat deposit, and only half my rent was covered by the Housing Executive, which means I had to pay the rest out of already meagre income. It's systematic starvation, so no, Social services is terrible at putting a stop to it, because they, themselves, created the situation. As I'm nearing 30, I now have brittle teeth problems as a result of the chronic malnutrition I faced as a young man.
Done playing apologist, yet?
But it is very unusual, usually surrounded by a number of other unfortunate circumstances.
Comparing the two only undermines any argument, imho.
Sorry to hear that, but..... I've personally been to Africa. I've personally been to poorer parts of Asia. From your post you had your own flat. Presumably that means that you had heating, lighting, power, phone(?), TV(?).
You are already way better off than people in poorer parts of the world.
Do you not get JSA if you live in a shared house? Presumably outgoings would have been much less, leaving more money for food?
You can argue that much of the aid to places like Zimbabwe etc doesn't get to the right people, and I take that point. Perhaps in that case you should be arguing for donations of food/medicines etc over cash?
I do agree that aid to countries who have their own space program is a waste of money though.
Oh, my appologies, I assumed you ment 14-18 bracket, being forced to live at home (due to the comment about accommodation)
No, the quality of life you had, was far better than half the world had. Get some perspective on things, we all suffer, often needlessly, but we're talking about people who lack access to clean water, let alone the other foodstuffs and shelter.
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Saw this today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14785304 (sad pictures)
Why are we wasting any time worrying about those people, when the world is overpopulated, and there are people who are having their housing benefit cut. I mean, gah, I can't even bring myself to understand why anyone would care, their not even white, let alone english!
</piss take>
I would at least be able to understand the compassion if you were saying to kill them all quickly and painlessly, but to suggest they are in less need is just.... I can't comprehend the confusion of ideas that leads to such thoughts.....
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I think when it comes to foreign aid people people are more annoyed at the billions going to countries with nuclear and space programs. Far to much is allocated as diplomatic bargaining chips rather than based on actual need.
Less than £200mil to darfur, billions to india.
They have been warned for years to slow down child births, we can't go on giving them food we've done if for the past 30 years with no benefit, its time to change the tactics on.
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No benefit apart from it being the right thing to do.
Sure the we could let them die and sure, it would save us money...but would I want to live in such a world? Not a chance in hell.
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