Also, that way there will be just as much deficit next year, to justify the next round of spending cuts!
The DWP released a paper on benefit fraud. This yearās figures show that 0.7% of benefits were overpaid due to fraud. Thatās a tiny amount. A really small amount. Contrast this with the public belief that 24% of benefits were overpaid due to fraud. The public thinks that benefit fraud is 34 times more prevalent than it actually is, no wonder the DWP and Ian Duncan Smith feel they can act so recklessly.
Itās sad, really. The Conservatives would be laughed out of the House of Commons if this issue was really understood by the public, but the way in which fraud/crime/immigration/etc is portrayed in the media makes that really difficult.
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Psst. Let you in a little secret. Socioeconomic mobility no longer exists to any meaningful level in the US. Please read recent studies on this subject, several of which have been covered by BB.
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I think thereās a difference between low social mobility and class stratification, if only in that the second happens when the first becomes more established and fossilized. A class system would usually oppose entry into a higher class by the nouveau riche, whereas successful entrepreneurs seem to have a high status in the US. They will obviously be in the extreme minority though, as the advantages of being wealthy and well connected seem to be greater than before (although they will always be important in almost any culture). On the other hand, the means of reaching that level (e.g. through education) seem to be getting more and more strained, while crippling debt or the fear of debt will stop many of those who would otherwise succeed from reaching their potential. Meanwhile, it is becoming easier for the wealthy to gain more wealth, or to use it to gain political power. I suppose an enduring idea that America is a meritocracy leads to the idea that things are as they should be and the poor deserve what they get. Iām not sure if I would consider the US to be fully stratified at this point, although it probably depends a lot on where you live. The last few decades have certainly highlighted the importance of high quality public education available to everyone as a way of fighting class stratification.
Funny you should mention quality public education. That does not exist in any meaningful sense in most of the US anymore, either. This was a deliberate destruction committed by libertarians brought to us with a trojan known as charter schools. In some states, such as the one I live in, the destruction is reaching completion. Several public districts have been disolved within this last year, leaving families having to chose a neighboring public district of dubious quality (space permitting) or largely for-profit charter schools of questionable quality.
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Thatās what I meant - you see its value as a means for social mobility most clearly when it is lacking. Kids arenāt going to be physically excluded from having a decent education by virtue of having the wrong pedigree, but money is a good proxy for that system if the only decent schools in an area are prohibitively expensive for most people, or you have to gamble your future on a college education.
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Classic BB, two people who agree with each other, arguing with each other. 
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I was actually incredibly lucky to go to school in the UK when I did. I went to a private high school and had my tuition fully paid for by the government for four years. The assisted places scheme was scrapped a year after I started studying there but any students already under the scheme could finish their education free of charge. When I went to university in 2005, the tuition fees were 1,500 GBP/year. My wife was supporting me on her nurseās salary and so those fees were waived too. The fees have now risen to 9,000 per year, of which a maximum of 3,500 GBP can be waived. At the time of announcing the fee rises, the government assured the people that this would not deter would-be students as only top universities would charge the full 9,000 and the grant for lower income students would be increased. In 2007 the BBC claimed that [this didnāt affect numbers][1], but of course [that wasnāt true][2]. I know I would have had to think a lot more carefully about my options if I were looking at 5,500 GBP higher fees per year, especially as an NHS salary is lower in real terms than it was in 2005.
Donāt know about the original poster, but the way I figured it out was to go and briefly immerse myself in the environment of the poorest of my countrymen, and I also spent a little time talking with old Irish ladies living in British hedgerows when I visited the UK.
You know, in Philadelphia there are six layers under center city. Down there, the topside worldās rules donāt really exist. If you see a policeman, you better run, because they arenāt going down there to help people.
Iāve lost track of the number of times people have used numbers and statistics to āproveā what Iāve seen with my own eyes doesnāt really exist, though. You have to go there, and hope you survive the experience. Try Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh at 4am, or the alleyways of the Port Authority in NYC around 3ish.
Not just BB, thatās been quite a frequent occurrence in my life.
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Steady increase in wealth inequality since around the mid-seventies. So about 40 years. Similarly, wealth has been steadily siphoned off by the global elite as well.
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