1. Poor show.
- Subjects
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HOUSEHOLD surveys , *POOR people , *INCOME , *HOUSEHOLDS , *SOCIAL classes - Abstract
The article reports that a households survey in Great Britain showed a dramatic fall in the share of total incomes going to the worst-off 10% of households: from 4.0% to 2.1%. At the other end of the spectrum, the number of households on more than £600 a week (at 1993 prices) rose nine-folds from 230.000 to 2.1m. The survey found that average incomes rose by 35% in real terms. But the poor missed out entirely. The incomes of the bottom 10% actually fell, by 14% after they had paid their housing costs. In other words, the poor have got poorer. But, Peter Lilley, the Thatcherite social-security secretary, denies it. According to Lilley, though the poorest 10%'s share of total incomes has fallen, this does not mean that the same people have got poorer.
- Published
- 1993