Channel 4: Unemployment Video

This video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dWn6rjEXpSk, provides a good case study about unemployment in the UK and highlights the inequality between the North and South. Sorry if it is slightly outdated, but there are still some very useful points you can pick out.

BBC programme called 'Your Money and How They Spend It'

There is a really good programme by the BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson. It concerns itself with the fiscal policy of the UK in the past and the future. It describes the government's decisions in the allocation of resources and how the government spends our money. The programme is on the link here and is broadcast every Wednesday at 9pm on BBC2.  The issues discussed include:

• Politics
• UK's budget
• Ageing population
• Winter fuel allowance
• Pensions
• NHS
• Financial crisis 2008
• Tuition fees
• Inequality
• Infrastructure spending

Please watch it, there are case studies that you can use in your exam and some statistics that, if you learn, will make your exam answers different than others. It is also useful to know about previous governments' fiscal policies. The extra knowledge that you will receive will definitely be beneficial.

Word of the Day

Absolute Poverty

Is when a household's income level is below a certain amount. This is in contrast to relative poverty which mustn't get confused! When all incomes grow, absolute poverty falls. If low incomes grow faster than average incomes, relative poverty will fall.

In the UK, relative poverty is mainly the concern. Absolute poverty occurs less because welfare benefits are given out to people as a minimum income and safety net.