Young people being strangled by debts

Young people are struggling because of low pay and high rent, not avocado toast, photo TaxRebate.org.uk (Creative Commons) (Click to enlarge)

Take the wealth off the super-rich

No to the Tories' scapegoating of pensioners!

Jack Yarlett, Wirral Socialist Party

Over a third of young people are in debt - on average by £2,989 - says the Money Advice Trust.

And this figure does not even include mortgages or our astronomical tuition fees! It also does not include young people borrowing money from our parents.

The head of the Financial Conduct Authority, Andrew Bailey, has admitted concerns about the alarming levels of debt young people aged 18 to 25 are facing.

And fearing more backlash from young people, Tory chancellor Philip Hammond is reportedly considering a tax cut for under-30s - funded by cuts to pension tax relief.

Over half of 18 to 24-year-olds express worries about money and debt, and more than a fifth admit to losing sleep over it, according to the Money Advice Trust study. One in ten has resorted to taking money from predatory payday loan companies - particularly young parents, the Young Women's Trust has found.

To add insult to injury, much of the establishment media likes to stereotype young people as causing our own problems by frivolously borrowing to pay for smartphones, 'useless' degrees and avocado toast. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Young people are going into debt to cover our cost of living, not spending on luxuries. This is no surprise in the new economy of low pay, zero-hour contracts and soaring rents.

This is a problem that will only grow worse as the government imposes the hated 'Universal Credit' welfare scheme, notorious for sometimes leaving claimants for more than a month without any income.

Meanwhile, Hammond's tax plan, like May's meagre 5,000-a-year housebuilding plan, does not come even close to what is needed.

And in unfairly attacking pensioners, it could well backfire - just like the Tories' infamous 'dementia tax' proposal. It's not retired workers, but super-rich bosses, who are to blame.

The Socialist Party demands:

£10 an hour minimum wage now, with no exemptions
Scrap zero-hour contracts - full-time hours for all who want them; flexibility on workers' terms, not the bosses'
Living benefits without compulsion
No attacks on pensioners - for a living pension for all

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.