Poor People in the Uk??????

[Abdulmajid]

In the news today some Colonel was harping on about how poor some soldiers in the UK are and I quote "Can not afford to eat".

Now don't get me wrong our boys and girls deserve a lot more than than starting salary but they get fed on base whether free of charg or with huge subsidies.

But my question is, are there really working people in the UK who can not afford to eat????

This is in light of the fact Jamie Oliver can feed a family of 4 for a fiver.

Yes, if I rented a three bedroom apartment in Mayfair and bought an Aston Martin I would be as skint as hell, but I will still eat, just not lobster and oysters.

Is the credit crunch really that bad here? Surely the car, clothes shopping and entertainment comes after food. And if you are going hungry, move to a smaller place.

More of a rant than a question, but any views?

[sp1214]

Instead of trying to solve the world's problems our troops should all be brought back home. From experience you would never die of starvation having Army meals.

[whiffey]

I served in the Gulf for a while as a Major, I didn't kill anybody, but I got really cross with a few Arabs on a number of occasions and asked my platoon to dispose of them when I wasn't looking. I don't like people wearing silly Eastern garb and not speaking English.

I also like the questioner don't see how anybody in England can actually starve. If they are below the breadline and need money then society should give it to them. The balance of contribution vs benefits is irrelevant, especially if they are

[whiffey]

Sorry, for platoon, read Brigade.

[beanebabe]

It never ceases to amaze me that when 'poor' people are interviewed in this country it is usually in a pub with a pint in one hand and a fag in the other. They probably consume enough of both in a week to feed a family of 6 quite well. I buy a newspaper everyday and you can bet the person (of the lower classes) in front of me is paying for either 20 or 40 cigarettes. Even at a conservative guess that is a �35/week habit, times 2 in a house is �70 - I don't spend much more on food for 4 of us and we eat quite well. Add a few pints down the pub and a family could eat like kings! Oh and another thing 'the poor people' usually have the latest flat screen telly and games console in their living rooms. I am sure there are people in this country who are very hard up but the majority who claim to be have their priorities all wrong.

[Booldawg]

Soldiers spend all their money on Suburu Imprezas, expensive casual sports wear, fast food, Carlsberg and lap dances. They will get some local barrack rat pregnant, move into to family accommodation, serve 24 years in the army, realise they dont actually own property and then try to get a mortgage at 50.

They will then get a warehouse or security guard job to pay for this mortgage and regale 'civvy' workers with endless boring accounts of life in the army. They will constantly drop military talk into any given conversation; the snack truck will be the 'NAAFI wagon'. The tea room will be the 'mess' hut and holiday entitlement will be 'leave'

A large percentage will either top themselves or end up homeless when they realise they have to cook and clean for themselves.

[slugmonkey]

married soldiers with families don,t have subsidised meals, they pay rent and bills. they put their lives at risk to protect this country, and its people. and according to the papers,get paid less than traffic wardens.

[Kathyan]

My husband is a soldier. He has never owned a Subaru, worn flash sports gear or (as far as i know, visited a lap dancer!) He has served 30 years and would stay on until he was 60 if he could. Don't tar all soldiers with the same brush. My husband works hard and on occasions has done the jobs of three men at the same time. And, whilst we are on the sublect, Soldiers DO NOT get free food and accommodation, they do not get their bills paid and they have to pay towards Council Tax as well.

[Kromovaracun]

I served in the Gulf for a while as a Major, I didn't kill anybody, but I got really cross with a few Arabs on a number of occasions and asked my platoon to dispose of them when I wasn't looking. I don't like people wearing silly Eastern garb and not speaking English.

I really, really, really hope you're not serious. But to be honest I've come to doubt that you anything you write is actually true.

On the original topic: I don't think that anyone in the UK is poor enough to not be able to afford to eat. That does not however mean that there isn't considerable social hardship : while just about everyone can afford to eat, there are plenty of families who live on a week-by-week basis and often struggle considerably.

Having said that, what does irritate me is then when people then use this to send you a social guilt trip. I'm middle-class and whiter than a snowman with a heroin problem, but something that really gets up my nose is when people start telling me that my political views are a product of my class. I might as well just have done with it and stand around with my boot on the neck of a blue-collar worker cackling wildly. God that really irritates me.

[Kromovaracun]

Sorry, I sort of misinterpreted the question.

[cooksters]

Well said Kathyan!
My husband is in the forces and yes we still pay council tax, he has to pay for food unless on deployment. Then the spend per head a day for food is less than prisoners and trust me it's not great! My husband spends most of his money in the Naffi!
I get no help with childcare when he's away, pay all the bills and am just left to get on with family life while's he's risking his life.
I'm sure he'd love to wander round the streets all day sticking tickets on cars!!
But without people like him we wouldn't be free country!
And no i don't have a Suburu!

[Booldawg]

OK then, Maybe a left hand drive Mitsubishi imported on the cheap from Germany?

[Abdulmajid]

I must say I am slightly disappointed in the apathy shown towards our soldiers.

If it wasn't for them both now and historically we would be firstly speaking bloody German and now doubt rife with terrorist ragheads walking our street.

Whether royalists or not they put their own lives at risk to defend Queen and country for very little pay.

[4GS]

As a S/Sgt I was paid quite handsomely thank you very much. However, as slugmonkey, Kathyan and cooksters has said, I still paid
1) Rent
2) WO + Sgts Mess fees
3) Community Charge,
4) Child care provision
etc etc, etc which put a massive dent in my salary I can tell you

Booldawg,
I did not ever buy:
a 'chav-charriot'
expensive casual sports wear
nor did I get a barrack rat pregnant.
I did however move into service accommodation, which a never worked a day in her life and never will pregnant 16 year old single civvie mum of 3 would turn her nose up at. AND had to pay through the nose for the privilege.
Yes, I've got a mortgage but my pension pays for that, the pension I got for being a bullet catcher for you in the most sh1tty parts of the world you can imagine.

I rarely if ever regale 'civvy' workers with endless boring accounts of life in the army due to you lot not understanding how our minds work. Trust me, it would go right over your head.
Being in the services, or being married to a Service person is not an easy option.

Rant over, sorry for hi-jacking youyr post Minter

[Kromovaracun]

very little pay.

This really depends on rank. The average Private isn't that well paid, but as you go up the ranks a lot of them are actually pretty well-paid.

[Oneeyedvic]

From the BBC website:

Salary at age 18: �16,227
Operational Allowance: (182 days) �2,380.56 (during six month tour of Afghanistan)
Longer Separation Allowance: (182 days) �1,132.04
Other perks including dental care and free eye tests: �510
Financial assistance for learning costs: �2,175
Subsidised living accommodation: �425.83
Estimated annual employers' pension contribution: �3,148.04
Total: �25,998.47
Source: Ministry of Defence

so �26,000 at 18 years old. Poor squadie.

[Oneeyedvic]

Sorry, should also point out that a traffic warden starts off at �17,000 in London or �15,000 outside of London.


Lower ranks in the army also got a 9% increase last year (3 times inflation).

Still, lets not allow facts to get in the way of a good rant

[Theland1]

Where did rdio 4 get story of private earning �12500?
Not the sort of thing to slip by John Humphries?

[Oneeyedvic]

A new entrant rate is �12,500

A private level 1 starts @ �15,677

http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l01 04.html

[jake-the-peg]

Generally people will find money for food.

It's usually fuel that gets cut back on.

This is fuel poverty

Currently it's estimated that there are 4.4 million in the UK that can't afford to heat their homes and it's going to get a lot worse.

Why do people smoking and drinking turn up saying how poor they are?

Because those are the ones that certain type of journalist chooses to interview

Why do they choose to interview those?

Because it winds up the gullible