What is poverty? | 1960s UK | 1960s Nottingham | St Ann's | Documentary Report | 1969

Yes lemsip , I've watched, thankyou for posting this. It seems so distant and at the same time bang up to date. There seemed to be a real time of optimism for a few decades between 'then' and now.

I grew up in the St. Ann's area of Nottingham. I was the youngest of 4 children, in a 2-up, 2-down terraced house. No bathroom, indoor toilet, heating, carpets, 'fridge, or washing machine. We were always clean and tidy, well-fed and cared for by our parents. In contrast, the majority of children these days have all those things, and their parents have mobile 'phones, broadband, and Universal Credit.

has anyone clicked on the link? it's only a short film, the young mother sewing lace in her living room.
it's worth a watch.

Yes, there is something very,very wrong in the world when sports people and entertainers are paid so much and medical people so little! Not just the uk, all over the western world. Here people who direct traffic on building sites are paid about 3 times that of a nurse or teacher. Strong unions.

Yes, the whole system does need a shake-up. Private companies should be forced to pay a proper, living wage. On the matter of child care....do women work because they need the money or because they don't want to be at home all day? Has anyone studied the effect on children who spend most of their time with a group of strangers as opposed to those looked after by one person?
The medical profession needs money invested in it. When you consider what nurses and carers have to deal with, they really should be much better paid. It's far too easy to ship in foreigners just because they will accept poorer wages. We should concentrate on our own citizens, and make the professions more attractive to them.

I can't listen to the video as Mr D is watching TV, but I agree that it is very wrong that people are not able to work their way out of poverty. Wages are kept low by allowing employers to pay very little and their workers getting it made up with benefits, although I don't think that this was happening in the 1960s. That is bad for the taxpayer, and bad for the employees, who become dependent on the state, and have to report everything they earn in order to claim the benefits, which would stop if they earned above the means-tested threshold.

There seems to be a race to the bottom in the UK. Means tests will always hold people back - whether those in the 'gig economy', those earning over £100k who lose out on help with childcare, or those in between who don't get child benefit because they earn above a threshold, so they lose their autonomy in so many ways.

Those who save or earn 'too much' are discouraged from trying to improve their lot, as they know that concessions of various types will be lost if they manage it. Meanwhile, many people don't pay tax, but still use the facilities it pays for.

We really need to reconsider the whole system to make it fairer to everyone. I would like to see a fully contributory tax system, an increase in the living wage, no 'top ups' that can make people better off working part time whilst others have to work overtime to get by, and an end to means tests.