Sunday 16 November 2014

Who Pays For The UK Recovery?


       Yea, the nights are fair drawn' in, it's getting' cauldur, for some that is a fearful dread. In this country of millionaire economic recovery, this winter, approximately 3.5 million people will not be able to to heat their homes adequately. Age UK states that an older person dies every 7 minutes from the cold weather, then there is the increase in cold related illness, if it doesn't kill them, can leave their health impaired for the remainder of their lives. The winter figure for England and Wales is 206 cold related deaths a day. Every winter, across the country, elderly people die from living in homes they can't afford to heat, yet the big energy companies see their profits go through the roof. The UK energy watchdog states that this year suppliers of our energy will see a record profit £106 from every customer, up from £53 the previous year. In 2009 the big energy companies averaged £9 profit from each customer, since then they have enjoyed a staggering 1,100% increase in their profit per customer. That is a crime against the elderly of this country and people should be held to account for those deaths. 
       Another symptom of this millionaire economic recovery is the increase in evictions, and the threat of eviction, even although you have no rent arrears. Citizens Advice Bureaux states that it has seen a 38% increase in the number of people consulting them over the fears of eviction, even although they have no rent arrears. Eviction by private landlords is the most common cause of homelessness encountered by their offices. The housing shortage, and increase price of houses see landlords increasing rents to unaffordable levels. Some tenants have been faced with eviction after asking for repairs, the landlord making the excuse he wants to sell the house. Others have been faced with eviction after informing the landlord that because of changed circumstances they have moved on to housing benefit, even although they have no rent arrears. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Tenants are being treated as cash cows as a chronic housing shortage pushes up prices and forces renters out of their homes. Competition for properties means that tenants are easy to replace, increasing insecurity for people trying to create a home in the private rented sector. “We see people who will be forced to move away from work, school or family and friends, which can ramp up commuting and childcare costs or disrupt children’s education.”
     These are the conditions of the ordinary people in this rich millionaire controlled country, these are the building blocks of the millionaire economic recovery. As the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, it's called capitalism.
 
 
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk
 

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