The Welfare Myth Of 'Them And Us - 'Justice & Peace Study Day

How we dip in and out of poverty

Britain's richest 1% own as much as the poorest 55% of the population. So who are ‘the poor’?

Two-thirds of UK government spending now goes on the welfare state and where the money is spent - healthcare, education, pensions, benefits – is the centre of political and public debate. Much of that debate is dominated by the idea that the population divides into those who benefit from the welfare state and those who pay into it – “skivers” and “strivers”, “them” and “us”. For our Annual Study Day this year Professor Sir John Hills of the London School of Economics will help us to explore this ‘myth’ and show how we are all likely to depend on welfare at some point as our lives change.

We examine what is going on with our country’s wealth and what it means to obey Jesus’ command to reach out to the poor.

Speakers:

Sir John Hills - Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) , London School of Economics
Helen O’Brien - Chief Executive Officer, Caritas Social Action Network
Workshops (tbc) with Caritas Westminster, Citizens, Taxpayers against Poverty and more