STEADY WORK AGAINST IMPOSED AUSTERITY

Furness Against the Cuts at the 'Poverty Summit', 22nd June

HOW JOLLY NICE
A 'Poverty Summit' was organised by Barrow Churches Together and held at the Trinity Centre, Barrow, on Wednesday 22nd June.


The object of the exercise was 'to address poverty and financial exclusion' but what it boiled down to was the setting up of a Barrow Credit Union supported by Cumbria County Council.


Furness Against the Cuts attended with the message that the policies of the present government were creating poverty for many people throughout the country by job losses and cuts to benefits of the vulnerable.  Many other organisations were also present such as Shelter (homeless charity), Citizens' Advice Bureau (charity providing information on a range of issues), Christians Against Poverty, Furness Multicultural Forum and two Credit Union organisations.  


The difference between Furness Against the Cuts and the other organisations was that FAC urged the eradication of debt whereas the rest just gave advice on how to manage it.  The FAC approach was "Never mind showing people how to bail out faster, show them how to plug the holes in the boat!"


Yes, the idea behind a Credit Union is philanthropic but in reality smacks of 'we middleclass people must show these feckless working class chappies discipline, how to budget, and the benefits of deferred gratification.'  It is true that some people have no access to a bank account but in many cases this is simply because they pay out all that comes in and are often left wondering how they will manage for the last couple of days before payday or the arrival of their next benefit payment.  


Credit Unions are able to offer small loans at a very low rate of interest (eg 1%) and anything that helps to prevent desperate people falling into the hands of loan sharks is to be welcomed. However, to become entitled to a loan through a Credit Union, a person must first make regular savings for eight weeks to qualify.  Generally, poor people are poor because their level of income means they have no spare cash that they can save each week.  The only people that really benefit from a Credit Union are those who are 'not too badly off'.