FREDs

Dubious acronym for the debt-ridden and disenfranchised.

The charity Oxfam recently asserted that “the U.K. is fast becoming a nation of FREDs”:

Forgotten by those in power. Ripped-off by taxes and the benefits system. Excluded from opportunities. Debt-ridden because they can’t afford to get by.

According to Oxfam, FREDs are “the people in the U.K. least equipped to cope with the effects of recession.”

The government has pledged many hundreds of billions of pounds to bail out financial institutions. We can certainly see that it’s not been enough to protect the millions of poor and vulnerable people in the U.K. from the effects of the recession – and we know that most people agree. Unless we act now, this recession could take away FREDs’ jobs, their incomes, their homes – and their life chances.

The charity presented politicians with a paper detailing “a pro-poor policy response to the recession that lays down the foundations for a more equitable, sustainable society.”

(According to The Telegraph, one fifth of Britons live in poverty – defined as persons earning less than 60% of the average U.K. income; Oxfam warned that the recession will likely “exacerbate existing poverty,” and cause more to “fall into poverty.”)