Sunday, April 20, 2014

Increasing Pauperism

Despite recent claims that the capitalist system is making a steady recovery from economic crisis the number of people given "pauper's funerals" has risen by more than a third in the last five years. 'About 4,100 were cremated anonymously or buried in mass graves with no headstone in 2013, against about 3,000 in 2009. .... A spokeswoman for Age UK, which represents the elderly, described the figures as "deeply worrying". "It's a stark reminder that 1.6m older people are living in poverty and and many more are struggling to make ends meet," she said.' (Sunday Times, 20 April) It speaks volumes for the wonderful, progressive nature of  the capitalism  system that the press has to use Dickensian terms like "paupers" to describe some workers in the 21st century. RD

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