Why did "Channel 4" even air "Benefit Street"?

[LeftishBrit]

4. I don't think people's attitudes to poor people are caused by (real or perceived) left-wing denials.

It's the other way round; if you think there's a lot of people taking the piss, you tend to think that the people in charge are denying it. Hostility to people perceived as taking the piss is based mainly on their own perceived actions; not on others' 'denial'.

IMO what is happening is that lots of people (even those not currently poor) feel very insecure, and this leads to a lot of mutual suspicion. The exploited, hard-working immigrant may think that unemployed native Brits are scroungers; the unemployed person may think that immigrants are 'flooding the country and taking our jobs'; those in traditionally low-paid jobs may be suspicious of both the above groups. Some of this is a natural though regrettable result of chronic insecurity; some of it is fuelled by the media.

I think that chronic insecurity is by now so taken for granted, that most people, even on the left, fail to see how disastrous it is for individuals and society. It is vital IMO that the social safety net be preserved - but it is also vital that the root causes of poverty be addressed: low pay, job insecurity, and in many places, high cost of living.