Jun 28, 2013
THE TOXIC TRINITY OF PRECARITY
As part of our project on making a living, we’re looking at how helpful different forms of support are to help young people cope with precarity.Recession, social stigma and emotional distress – mixing up a toxic trinity We make the assumption that focusing on getting people into work helps take people out of poverty – whether it’s using the incentive of the minimum wage or the threat of cutting welfare payments.
But when we look at what’s going on the ground, many people find it difficult to find the money or the time to look for jobs. Even when they have found work, many families still face poverty, having to get high cost sub-prime loans because they are refused better value loans.
Let’s get this straight – the more disadvantaged people are, the harder they’re going to be it by the recession. That’s why the advice and support by organisations such as @jrf_uk is so critical:
Many people aspire to be “good families”, but face the constant threat of companies charging them ever more for their basic needs, with benefits agencies telling them to cut corners when they are no more corners to cut and society labelling them “bad parents”.This all creates a social crisis of of deteriorating mental health and self exclusion. Income inequality doesn’t only affect spending power, it exacerbates everything else – indeed there is a direct correlation between the rates of emotional distress and income inequality.
We may be able to reboot the banks at the touch of a Treasury button, but rebooting people’s livelihoods requires a far more radical approach.
