(V) Could Civil War

(V) Could Civil War
be on the cards in England, when aid is going to other countries which is now
putting English families and the disabled out in the street

Could you really live decently on £12,500 a year? In England?
Answer is NO

A salary of £12,500 is the minimum a single person needs for
an acceptable standard of living; according to research by the Joseph Row tree
Foundation (JRF) (who living in Narnia).

That includes not only basics like food and housing, but
also the essentials needed to "participate fully in society"; the
charity says who is also living in Narnia.

 (Not counting the
cost of getting to and from work, not counting the cost of your council tax,) £12,500
= £240pw – rent £100pw plus –council tax £17pw plus – food £70pw plus – cost of
getting to and from work average £35pw plus, just you basics without going out,
leaves a – of £35pw, so who’s going to pay your gas, electric, water, car or
bike tax, insurances, and there’s more to the list?) Spending on mobile phones,
internet access and socialising is not included?

It says it puts earners above the official government
poverty threshold and is also significantly higher than the amount you would
expect to earn on the minimum wage (£5.80 an hour).

But is £12,500 really enough to meet our everyday needs?
ANSWER NO.

"My annual salary is exactly £14, 400," says Carl
Leishman, a 28-year-old call centre worker from County Durham, "and I find
it an incredible struggle and have no real social life just can’t afford one."

After tax, Mr Leishman takes home just under £1,000 a month
- barely enough, he says, to cover his costs.

"My rental costs are £400 per month, council tax is
£120, household bills are £150, and food is £150," he says.

"Now factor in that I haven't included the loan I have
for my car, my car insurance, my car tax, fuel or socialising costs and you get
the picture of exactly how far the £180 I supposedly have left each month will
get me."

In the JRF research, owning a car was not viewed as
essential, meaning that motoring costs were not included in its figures as we
said living in Narnia.

But Mr Leishman says that for many people, having access to
car is not a luxury.

I don't think the public are at all prepared for what is to
come”

"Not running a car really isn't an option for me.
Travelling to work by public transport would be more expensive and would turn a
12-hour shift into at least a 14-hour day," he says.

"But even without car costs, it would still be a
struggle.

"I'm constantly looking at how to cut my costs. Moving
back to live with my parents is something I have to seriously consider."

Mr Leishman is not alone. Government figures suggest that
about 30% of workers in the England are paid less than £12,820, subjecting them
to similar financial pressures.

The short-term prospects for the economy suggest that this
picture will not improve any time soon, while the British government's
austerity measures will see the incomes of even the lowest-paid cut by at least
0.5%, according to June's emergency Budget forecast, and fuel prices rising by
the hour in some areas.

But despite the recession and the "age of
austerity" still to come, the JRF research still shows that people retain
their pre-recession expectations for their quality of life.

 Home internet access
is now seen as essential

"Members of the public involved in the research have
not reduced what they consider necessities," the report points out.

"They still believe that, as a minimum, people need not
just physical essentials... but also things that allow them to participate in
society."

Spending on birthdays and Christmas are not seen as
optional, while a week's holiday, even if in England, is the minimum expected
and that’s only if you can afford it, many people now just stay at home for the
week or even get other jobs.

That suggests the public might not be as happy about
reducing their standard of living as the government might have hoped.

"I don't think the public are at all prepared for what
is to come," admits David Furness of the Social Market Foundation, an
independent think tank.

"The public still seems to think we can make the
necessary cuts through improving the efficiency of our public services.

"But the reality is, the standard of public services
will drop - and living standards could drop as a result, too as the cost of
living goes on the up each day."

"If we're going to rebalance the economy, we can expect
some very big shocks."