What is poor?

[i-need-a-martini]

There was a really interesting article in todays SMH about how many of us think we are poor which is far from the reality.

I grew up in a migrant household where my dad worked 6 days a week and sometimes 2 jobs to keep us fed and housed. More often than not our food was basic and heating in winter was a luxury. But it never occurred to me that we were poor. I thought we were middle class.

So what is poor? ?:|

The last line of the article sums it up for me: 

Which brings us to the other side effect of our collective crying poor: it makes it easier to look past the struggles of those who are genuinely struggling. When you're declaring social bankruptcy over drinking cleanskin wine instead of $17 cocktails, catching the night bus home instead of a taxi, or having to skip out on your friend's destination wedding – indeed, when this becomes your vision of what “poverty” looks like – there is a little less room in your heart for those for whom poverty means having no choice at all.

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-privileged-poor-2...

(And please don't make this a political thread cause it has nothing to do with the freaking carbon tax)

[cherry*135]

That is fair enough (having to have a postal address), might deter fraud too. As people could have many email addresses, harder to have more than 1 postal address.

[i-need-a-martini]

" if someone is unemployed and looking for work they can certainly make a claim for a Centrelink payment without a home address. Centrelink does require customers to have a postal address so that they can receive correspondence, but a 'care of' address is fine. However, make sure that the mail won't be returned to Centrelink by first confirming it's okay to receive mail at that address."

From the Centrelink page of the Australian part of the International Homeless Forum. 🙂

http://www.homelessforums.org/showthread.php?7262-Ask-a-Centrelink-Representative-any-Questions-you-...

That's true. But if they don't have a c/o address and the letters bounce back, then they get their payments stopped. This is what happened to my brother in law and is the reason we gave him our address to use.

But often these people have no-one. So who's c/o address do they use then? 

[cherry*135]

So who's c/o address do they use then?

Don't know. I guess some homeless get food from charity vans in the big cities, rubbish bins, clothes from ?? maybe there are some charities that will give them free clothes. Other than that they don't get any money from anywhere... begging with a plate?

[just_me_karen]

Homeless people can have their mail kept at centrelink, but they have to check in weekly. I know this because I've worked with homeless people and helped them fill in their forms.

[chalmsbury]

[So who's c/o address do they use then? 

Any local post office.

[bella_again]

To me poor is not being able to afford to have housing, going without meals so the kids can eat. Not having enough food in the cupboard or enough to pay for basic bills.  But in saying that that is considered poverty in this country.

In other countries they experience poverty in a far different way than we do, however out culture is different. I wouldn't want to see those in poverty in this nation fall to that level of poverty.  I would hate for that to me the norm here.

And just because our level of poverty is different it does not mean people still don't need help because they do.

[azureline**]

Sorry to raise this aged thread..... but my local Post Office asked for me and they called me yesterday, to say that a person can use a care of Post Office address for only 6 months on a continuous basis and then they MUST cease or get a paid box.

[baby.jane.begins]

Very few people I know believe the truth when I tell them, so I don't expect people here to believe me.

When I was in my early 20's I once went 2.5 weeks without any food whatsoever. I came from a proud family who never took handouts and as a young girl, left home after a major fight with my family. I had to spend every cent I had to secure a place to rent (actually a room above a pub). I never knew the Salvation Army gave out food and if I had, I still wouldn't have used them as I considered myself a middle-class girl. The people who owned the pub were kind to me and I'm sure would have helped but I didn't want them thinking I couldn't pay my rent in future. I found a job after a week, and it took another week before I got paid. I had hoped my employers would have supplied mini refreshments, but not even coffee was given out free. Goodness knows how I managed to work to my full capacity that last week. I was so weak, I fainted in my chair a couple of times and when my first pay check cleared - what a glorious feeling that was. I ran to my milk bar, bought a 2 litre lemonade and 3 hot pies and scoffed the lot in five minutes. I felt ill for the rest of the day but I survived it. I don't know, I guess I was poor, but few people spare pity for a private school educated middle-class people who fall on hard times. I think it would be easier to be poor all your life than to have something taken away from you. I never did regain my well-to-do status I enjoyed as a member of my family, but in the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "I'll never go hungry again."