Penny Booth: Desperate times for families and the elderly

In the last week two stories caught my attention. Both concerned families in different ways and both will affect family life.

The first new story is that of the increase in unemployment and the huge unemployment rates among the youth of the UK in particular - the highest proportion for some considerable time. This is not good for the economy but neither is it good for families. Unemployment affects families by reducing their ability to be consumers of the ordinary necessities of life and removing possibilities of their purchase of luxury items. We can live without luxuries but the producers and sellers of them cannot and if there is no money around then there will be little to stimulate the economy. People not actually officially working will not be paying into the tax and welfare system either.

Unemployment further affects families by risking loss of pride and ability to manage life and by diminishing people's faith in themselves as net contributors...