The institute of fiscal affairs published a British poverty report on October 10. The study said 2.2 million children and two million working age adults were living in absolute poverty in 2009-10. It predicts that by 2012-13, this will rise by an extra 600,000 children and 800,000 adults of working age. In percentage terms, 17% of UK children were living in absolute poverty in 2009-10. By 2012-13, the IFS predicts this will rise to 21.8%.
People below the poverty line have a household income at least 60% less than the national average.
On the 13 October the housing charity Shelter reported that private rents are now unaffordable in 55% of local authorities in England. Homes in these areas cost more than 35% of median average local take-home pay - the level considered unaffordable by Shelter's Private Rent Watch report. The charity said 38% of families with children who rent privately have cut back on buying food to help pay rent. Shelter's research found rents had risen at one-and-a-half times the rate of incomes in the 10 years up to 2007.
It said private rents in 8% of England's local authorities were "extremely unaffordable" - with average rents costing at least half of full-time take-home pay. Just 12% of areas were affordable, it added.
On October 13 we also learned that the independent watchdog for health and social care says a fifth of NHS hospitals are breaking the law, when it comes to properly feeding and treating elderly patients. The Care Quality Commission visited 100 hospitals, and found cause for concern at more than half of them.
News the next day, October 14, courtesy of Ofgem, told us that profit margins for energy firms have increased more than eight times since June as a result of rate hikes by Britain's six dominant energy companies. It estimates companies are making £125 per customer in profit, compared with £15 in June.
You know all this of course. But you may not know what the next round looks like as capitalism's catastrophe shudders on.
Pedro Passos Coelho, Portugal's PM, spoke on national TV in the evening of 13 October. He announced 'new' austerity measures that economists predict will reduce public sector wages and pensions by 20% compared with 2010 levels. All employees in Portugal will face increased working weeks, they will forfeit a months wages and lose bank holidays.
A hard week?
Never mind. Thousands of anti capitalists are on the march in London today (15 October), picking up from similar, massive protests in Spain and Italy and even in Wall St., USA. And Fox, darling boy of the Tory right and the hero of a murky stew of rich US Republican Atlanticists, has just been hounded out.
Needs more time to spend with his family I expect.
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