20 Reasons It Really Sucks To Be Poor Right Now

Kin Hubbard, the American humourist, said: “It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.”

It’s too bad that Hubbard, who died in 1930, never got the chance to satirise 21st Century attitudes towards poverty because he would’ve been tickled by a society where the only banks that don’t attempt to exploit the poor are food banks.

There are many reasons why people are poor, but redundancy, illness, domestic violence and family breakdown are typically seen as an excuse by TV shows that attempt to fuel hatred against those living below the poverty line. As John Fugelsang points out, “Rich people pay Fox people to make middle class people blame poor people.”

On both sides of the Atlantic, commentators who make a nice living from criminalising the poor can say whatever they like - poor people are unlikely to seek redress in court, and they can’t afford to buy handguns. Meanwhile, politicians attempt to push through legislation seemingly inspired by a Dead Kennedys lyric: “Jobless millions whisked away/ At last we have more room to play/ All systems go to kill the poor tonight.”

Before that happens, here are 20 reasons why you shouldn’t base your attitudes towards the poor on what politicians or Fox News tells you. 

Zero Hours Contracts could only ever appeal to Homer Simpson – they amount to little more than an agreement between two people guaranteeing that neither has to do anything.

Basically, the employer is under no obligation to offer work to the employee, who is under no obligation to accept it. Somewhere, Mr Burns is rubbing his hands together and shouting, “Excellent!”