Poverty Australian Style By James Reed

     Being dirt poor, I can relate to my fellow Aussies sinking into the mud with me. Like not being able to pay for dental treatment, and having to contemplate pulling out one’s own teeth with rusty pliers. Don’t even ask about do-it-yourself surgery:
  https://www.sbs.com.au/news/one-in-eight-australian-adults-one-in-six-kids-are-living-in-poverty

“One in eight Australians adults and one in six children are living in poverty, a new report has found. The Australian Council of Social Service and UNSW Sydney joint study found 13.6 per cent of the population - or 3.24 million people - are estimated to be living below the poverty line, after taking account of housing costs. Of those, 774,000 children are living in poverty, the study published on Friday said. The council's chief executive Cassandra Goldie said Australians were locked into poverty by low welfare rates, a lack of jobs and unaffordable housing. She called on the government to raise welfare payments, invest in social housing and boost jobs growth. "Our economy is leaving people behind, with persistently high poverty rates despite decades of uninterrupted economic growth," Dr Goldie said. Researchers warned Australia's poverty rate was worse than most wealthy countries, including New Zealand, Germany and Ireland. In Australia, the poverty line was $457 per week for a single adult, with the poverty line measured as 50 per cent of median income. The average gap between the poverty line and people living in poverty was $282 per week.”

     I repeat, the poverty line is $ 457 per week, single. The old age pension for a single is, maximum, $ 850.40 per fortnight. Really, it does not go far and it gets eroded away every day, with rising prices. Inflation is just way for big business to put the screws on harder, and they love doing it, being psycho-sadists, who get off on the misery of us small people. It is the final stage of the school yard bully.