Not sure the 1:3 children who will spend Christmas in poverty would agree. Another 5 years of Austerity might just finish them off.
The SMC measure sets a poverty threshold of 55% of median total available resources – in effect creating a poverty line relative to what the median family has available to spend. A key principle of the measure is that poverty “should be related to the extent to which people have the resources to engage adequately in a life regarded as the norm in society”.
In effect, 4.5 million kids are in the population with 55% or less of median total available resources.
The UK is in the top 25 richest countries per capita in the world with roughly 45,000 international dollars per capita. 55% median is 25,000 int dollars.
Taking a couple of countries 30th from bottom of the list (Yemen/ Rwanda) with roughly 2,500 international dollars per capita 55% median is 1,400 int dollars.
International poverty definitions are a sliding rule that automatically ropes in those with 55% or less of available resources. As the country get richer, the median moves up, the 'poverty' line moves, you still rope in roughly the same number of people/ kids.
I'd suggest that Yemen and Rwandan kids know what poverty is.
I'd also suggest that there are kids in the UK that know poverty. But its not 4.5 million or 1 in 3. And I suspect the only thing likely to 'finish off' most of the 4.5 million of the kids in the UK I supposed poverty will be childhood obesity or lack of exercise sat in front of their Xboxes. Not the austerity caused by the labour idiots who brought the countries finances to its knees.
The whole poverty debate continues to feed great headlines for the Daily Mirror though.
