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Post by ann on Aug 19, 2022 7:51:31 GMT 7
Older Australians caught in pincer grip of rising rents and dwindling incomes
Meg says there is "an awful lot of people like me … you don't hear from them because it's embarrassing and humiliating".
At nearly 80 years of age, Meg* realised she was "running out of money" and needed to take drastic action.
Key points: A survey found of 45,992 rental listings across the country, only 975 were affordable for a couple or single person on the aged pension At 80, Meg decided to buy and live in a caravan as she was running out of money She believes she is typical of many older Australian women, being divorced with a small nest egg rapidly declining because of high rents She was spending nearly 70 per cent of her aged pension on rent and her small nest egg was rapidly being eaten away.
With her lease nearly up and her rent looking set to rise from $390 per week to $500, Meg decided she would need to make a big life change.
"I worked [out] that if I continued the way that I did for another five years I'd have no money at all and that was the scary thing," she said.
"I decided to buy a caravan [to live in]."
Meg said her family had been helping her with the cost of her rent and then with her private health insurance payments.
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Post by bear on Aug 19, 2022 9:29:11 GMT 7
There's certainly a lot of hidden homelessness in Oz that is only seen by those helping their own elderly out, as in this story; those allowing friends to couch surf and thousands more living in their cars with kids. Then there's the ongoing reported 100,000+ sleeping rough.....If this is unacceptable in a country as rich as Australia, mobilization is urgently required so as to protest the displeasure of it. Of course recent laws regarding protest probably deters the majority from doing that out of fear of the shame they believe will come from being arrested. Being arrested should be worn as a bade of honour when protesting against injustice. Rant over!! The only thing that changes is the administration spruiking platitudes about the need for change every three years....  |
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Post by ann on Aug 19, 2022 17:15:33 GMT 7
To be honest Bear I feel it’s more ‘I’m alright Jack’. There isn’t the community concern around these last few years. People are still living in tents from the bush fires over two years ago!!! Hundreds of thousands now have property worth millions, thousands of properties are empty and will remain that way. I really do feel it’s up to every individual to sort it out themselves as there will be no support. People give ‘lip service’ to the needy but don’t help them in the slightest. The old days of a ‘fair go’ and ‘help a mate’ are well and truly gone. I’m of the opinion there will be more suicides amongst the homeless and elderly as they truly have no chance it seems to me. It’s not just the government that need to step up, it’s the general population who can do the best and most work as they know what’s really needed locally. As they say ‘you don’t know who you are till you’re tested’ and the Australian people are not passing the test in my opinion and I don’t see that changing
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Post by bear on Aug 19, 2022 20:59:25 GMT 7
To be honest Bear I feel it’s more ‘I’m alright Jack’. There isn’t the community concern around these last few years. People are still living in tents from the bush fires over two years ago!!! Hundreds of thousands now have property worth millions, thousands of properties are empty and will remain that way. I really do feel it’s up to every individual to sort it out themselves as there will be no support. People give ‘lip service’ to the needy but don’t help them in the slightest. The old days of a ‘fair go’ and ‘help a mate’ are well and truly gone. I’m of the opinion there will be more suicides amongst the homeless and elderly as they truly have no chance it seems to me. It’s not just the government that need to step up, it’s the general population who can do the best and most work as they know what’s really needed locally. As they say ‘you don’t know who you are till you’re tested’ and the Australian people are not passing the test in my opinion and I don’t see that changing That's a very erudite opinion to the core ann. Unfortunately I don't see it changing either, as the divisions run far too deep. The way I believe the divisions came about I've attempted to outline in my opinion below. It was in answer to a social media comment regarding how we should never forget the last nine years. I though I'd tell him part of the0 story about the long game that I think's been played for several decades, by the toffs globally. Cheers 🐻 "Exactly; never forget!! But Australians did forget, and in double quick time post Howard, who openly stated his mission was to right a wrong laid upon his father by unionists, possibly the stevedoring union but my memory fails me; back in the fifties. The stevedores were the ones who copped it though in order to bring worker's advocates, the unions to heel... along with Aboriginal people in the form of the INTERVENTION; the ADF, FFS!! Fifty years of hate filled scheming to right Daddy's wrong and keep Australia white at any cost!! Now after twenty five more years the IPA's chickens from Howard's plan have come home to roost, in the form of raging inflation, failing small to medium sized everyday Australian businesses, mortgage foreclosures and on it goes. The stroke of Howard's genius was lifting up middle income workers; tradies, floor & shop face management etc. to put them a rung or two up the ladder than the old, poor, vulnerable, disabled and poorly educated, long term unemployed fellow Australians who were the aforementioned's fall back position for management scapegoating; all the while believing trickle down was finally working and they were a cut above the rest of us. Talk about Divide & Conquer. Sucked in!! Nevermind, som na pom na; it was a blast while it lasted eh?? Meanwhile the generation below those grovellers have scooped the pools with their tech jobs, while the aforementioned less fortunate trudge on, die and suffer through incompetent professionals and makes a party out of the scraps with nary a complaint because they're just getting on with it best they can. They are the ones still living with the quintessential Ozzie spirit and will suffer least in this economic debacle because of it. How good is Australia eh? Guess in the end it all depends on your frame of mind, timeline and where you were born & how you were raised!!" |
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Post by bear on Aug 19, 2022 21:05:35 GMT 7
To be honest Bear I feel it’s more ‘I’m alright Jack’. There isn’t the community concern around these last few years. People are still living in tents from the bush fires over two years ago!!! Hundreds of thousands now have property worth millions, thousands of properties are empty and will remain that way. I really do feel it’s up to every individual to sort it out themselves as there will be no support. People give ‘lip service’ to the needy but don’t help them in the slightest. The old days of a ‘fair go’ and ‘help a mate’ are well and truly gone. I’m of the opinion there will be more suicides amongst the homeless and elderly as they truly have no chance it seems to me. It’s not just the government that need to step up, it’s the general population who can do the best and most work as they know what’s really needed locally. As they say ‘you don’t know who you are till you’re tested’ and the Australian people are not passing the test in my opinion and I don’t see that changing That's a very erudite opinion you've got there ann right to the core of the matter. Unfortunately I don't see it changing either, as the divisions run far too deep. The way I believe the divisions came about I've attempted to outline in my opinion below. It was in answer to a social media comment regarding how we should never forget the last nine years. I thought I'd tell him part of the story about the long game that I think's been played for several decades by the toffs globally. Cheers 🐻 "Exactly; never forget!! But Australians did forget, and in double quick time post Howard, who openly stated his mission was to right a wrong laid upon his father by unionists, possibly the stevedoring union but my memory fails me; back in the fifties. The stevedores were the ones who copped it though in order to bring worker's advocates, the unions to heel... along with Aboriginal people in the form of the INTERVENTION; the ADF!! It certainly emboldened those who came after. Fifty years of hate filled scheming to right Daddy's wrong and keep Australia white at any cost!! Now after twenty five more years the IPA's chickens from Howard's plan have come home to roost, in the form of raging inflation, failing small to medium sized everyday Australian businesses, mortgage foreclosures and on it goes. The stroke of Howard's genius was lifting up lower to middle income workers; tradies, floor & shop face management etc. to put them a rung or two up the ladder than just being a worker; the old, poor, vulnerable, disabled and poorly educated, long term unemployed fellow Australians who were the aforementioned's fall back position for management scapegoating; all the while believing trickle down was finally working and they were a cut above the rest of us. Talk about Divide & Conquer. Sucked in!! Nevermind, som nam na; it was a blast while it lasted eh?? Meanwhile the generation below those grovellers have scooped the pools with their knowledge of hi tech jobs, while the aforementioned less fortunate trudge on, die and suffer through incompetent professionals and makes a party out of the scraps with nary a complaint because they're just getting on with it best they can. They are the ones still living with the quintessential Ozzie spirit and will suffer least in this economic debacle because of it. How good is Australia eh? Guess in the end it all depends on your frame of mind, timeline and where you were born & how you were raised!!" |
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