I guess we have all heard how being poor is more expensive. Recently I had another reminder how life seems weighted against disadvantaged people who are poor. I have known a young adult who just seems to struggle and I worry this is getting much worse in the UK.
The above photo wasn’t set up at all. It is what I saw went I popped into see my friend who has been heavily dependent on Universal Credit, the Government’s flagship benefit.
Electricity
To illustrate how life can be more expensive for the poor, take his electricity bill for instance. He lives in a modest bed sitting room, with a separate kitchen, hallway and bathroom. Turns out his energy costs are higher than our costs (we live comfortably in a three bedroom house). We don’t shirk on our energy bills. He also has to pay 31p a day for a gas supply which he doesn’t use. That is £113 a year, for nothing.
Why? There are a multitude of reasons. We can all think of examples of buying cheap shoddy goods and they prove expensive in the long run. The cost of borrowing money is far more expensive for those who are already poor. Also when you are poor, you might not have access to the internet and be able to research the best deals. You might have a poor record of making payments, your landlord might be locking you into a specific supplier, you might have a pre-payment card owing to debts and so the list goes on and on.
Housing
The cost of housing troubles me. It seems market forces, that’s good old fashioned supply/demand trends, which simply drive prices seems to be making the situation harder and harder. Housing costs are generally heading upwards all the time and this in turn fuels the private rented market. And again, high demand pushes prices up, we all know that.
So to take a young adult starting out in life, the cost of their housing is probably their biggest expense, if they live independently. On one hand there’s nothing new about that but when it is extravagantly lining the pockets of landlords to become richer and richer, that troubles me. The divide between the rich and poor seems to be widening so much in society and I’m uncomfortable with it.
When I look at the modest bedsit my friend has and I think of the rent he has to pay, it seems outrageous in every way. It is inferior housing and costs so much because the market can stand it. It then becomes almost impossible for someone who, as an example, makes an average salary to buy a home.
Take an average salary these days, perhaps £25,000 or a little more a year. Often employees who are not highly trained (and lucky) will be on zero hours contracts, or perhaps having to work on self employed contracts, or short term contracts. This does not make raising a mortgage easy. In our area, you need around £150,000 to buy a flat – six times the average salary.
Our local area is pretty average as far as salary’s are concerned, house prices too. But go to London or some leafy suburb and you don’t stand a chance.
The solution for many is to remain in the rental sector, some almost forever. Some will get married or co-habit, some might club together with friends to buy somewhere. Some might benefit from the Bank of Mum & Dad and so on. All of these solutions are simply nibbling away at the edge, just like the Government’s efforts to assist young people into the housing market – just seems to be nibbling away at the edge and not tackling the fundamental problems – the ever increasing divide between rich and poor.
I despair at all this. I wish I could do something but right now I am feeling powerless. The UK is gripped by Brexit and this is the focus of all Government energy it seems. Even once Brexit is over and just supposing we don’t slide down into economic disaster, it will take years to recover our current economic prosperity let alone tackling some of the county’s real deep-rooted problems such as social disadvantage.
I don’t think a Labour government would be the solution either. As for the Tories, they seem hell-bent on seeking prosperity as a route to solving problems. I can see the logic but it doesn’t seem to be working. I must get plugged in properly to the RSA and the work they do. It’s not political as such, but it can bring solutions to the challenges we face.
Thank you for making it this far and for letting me have a rant. I dare say this will be the topic of evening meal conversations for some time to come…..