Ｔhe cost of living rises faster than wages and benefits

REPORT: UK FAMILY LIVING STANDARDS DROPPING
By DANICA KIRKA
― Aug. 18 7:01 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) ― Poor families in Britain are struggling to provide basics for their children as the cost of living rises faster than wages and benefits, research released by a charity Monday suggested.

The cost of raising a child during the first 18 years of life rose 4 percent to 148,105 pounds ($230,376) last year, while average earnings rose 1.5 percent and safety net benefits rose 1 percent, according to the report from the Child Poverty Action Group.

"This research paints a stark picture of families being squeezed by rising prices and stagnant wages, yet receiving ever-diminishing support from the government over the course of the last year," said Alison Garnham, the group's chief executive. "Every parent knows it's getting harder to pay for the essentials their children need, and they don't feel like politicians see them as a priority."

The report comes as Britain's coalition government, elected in 2010, imposes tough austerity measures to reduce the nation's budget deficit. Those programs include limiting benefit increases to 1 percent annually for three years, forcing many low-income residents to pay local council tax for the first time, and a new fee for public housing tenants with spare bedrooms.

給料はそれほどあがらないが、物価はあがる、それでいて、育児支援金は減らされて、貧困家庭の生計を圧迫し、子供に必需品を与えるのにも苦労している、と

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