UK austerity has inflicted 'great misery' on citizens, UN says

Re:UK austerity has inflicted 'great misery' on citizens, UN... by gaius on Saturday November 17, 2018 @07:16AM (#18475242)

The UK is one of the richest countries in the world.

Yes but you are neglecting to mention the other side of this coin: also one of the most expensive countries in the world. Look at purchasing power parity and the UK doesn’t seem rich at all, it’s all on paper only. Housing, fuel, transportation etc are all disproportionately expensive here.

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Re:UK austerity has inflicted 'great misery' on citizens, UN... by tonyedgecombe on Saturday November 17, 2018 @08:44AM (#18475486)

The problem is it is massively divided, a house that costs £100,000 in Wales might cost £500,000 in Oxford or £750,000 in London.

Politicians on both sides keep banging on about mobility but the real problem is inequality.

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Re:UK austerity has inflicted 'great misery' on citizens, UN... by matthewmacleod on Saturday November 17, 2018 @07:26AM (#18475274)

Okay, sure – if you rank by per-capita PPP then the UK slides down the chart further than you might expect. That doesn't in any way make it a poor country or change the point at all.

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Re:UK austerity has inflicted 'great misery' on citizens, UN... by gaius on Saturday November 17, 2018 @08:01AM (#18475362)

Well, it sort of does: any services the government delivers will be delivered by people being paid UK wages using goods and services paid for at UK prices. We look rich from the outside because we (still) have a strong currency but from the inside the UK is not especially wealthy because you don’t get much for your money here.

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