不知道是誰曾經寄過Youtube一個連結給我看    

A Tour Of Detroit’s Ghetto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WKMNmFsxM&feature=related

 

殘破的影像的確很有震撼力,

但是更讓Fred震驚的是:底特律是我出生的地方。

這些景象和我保存的小時候照片與影片,

簡直是無法聯想在一起。

 

現在英國也開始淪陷了,

想想20多年前當世界經濟鼎盛時退休的人,

現在也落到了這步田地。

 

經濟高度仰賴全球景氣的台灣,

加上不明確的未來,

還有富爸爸預言的金融海嘯主體等,

大家真的要小心防範,

做好預備措施才是。

 

英國依賴退休金生活的老人
 
從舊書店買書來燃燒取暖

>  大批老人拼命搶購舊書籍,當成暖爐與爐灶的燃料。

>  因為同樣的重量,舊書的價格只是煤炭的四成。

 

Pensioners burn books for warmth

Hard-up pensioners have resorted to buying books from charity shops and burning them to keep warm.

 

Volunteers have reported that ‘a large number’ of elderly customers are snapping up hardbacks as cheap fuel for their fires and stoves.

Temperatures this week are forecast to plummet as low as -13ºC in the Scottish Highlands, with the mercury falling to -6ºC in London, -5ºC in Birmingham and -7ºC in Manchester as one of the coldest winters in years continues to bite.

Workers at one charity shop in Swansea, in south Wales, described how the most vulnerable shoppers were seeking out thick books such as encyclopaedias for a few pence because they were cheaper than coal.

One assistant said: ‘Book burning seems terribly wrong but we have to get rid of unsold stock for pennies and some of the pensioners say the books make ideal slow-burning fuel for fires and stoves.

A lot of them buy up large hardback volumes so they can stick them in the fire to last all night.’

A 500g book can sell for as little as 5p, while a 20kg bag of coal costs £5.

Since January 2008, gas bills have risen 40 per cent and electricity prices 20 per cent, although people over 60 are entitled to a winter fuel allowance of between £125 and £400.

Jonathan Stearn, energy expert for Consumer Focus, said: ‘If pensioners are taking such desperate measures to heat their homes it is shocking. With low wholesale prices and increasing profit margins, there is clearly room for energy companies to make price cuts immediately.’

Ruth Davison, of the National Housing Federation, said: ‘The spiralling cost of energy means heating homes has become a luxury rather than a necessity for many people – particularly the elderly, low paid and unemployed.’

原文(全)連結:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/807821-pensioners-burn-books-for-warmth


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