More Aussies facing poverty

More Aussies facing poverty: charities :

"'We at Vinnies have experienced an increased demand not only for presents and food for the Christmas season but even with the day-to-day expenses such as prescriptions, doctors' visits, school excursions and electricity bills,' Dr Falzon said."

The charity organisations and churches would know because they work with the poorer and disenfranchised people all the time. I do know we have been trying to rally our support and if asked, it happens. But the changes to our daily living have created the haves and the have nots. There is only so much money to go around. If there is more at the top, there is less at the bottom. I suppose it's fair enough to give rich people more money. I am sure they wouldn't fritter it away on silly things like bread, cheese and milk. I am sure they'd buy shares and the odd diamond or two and another new car. Some people have too much. Others cannot even have a place to sleep. I was reading a French article on Liberation and they now have figures that people on the street die around the age of fifty and older than that is considered "old". In France they have pretty organised assistance with people in vans going around trying to find the homeless and making sure they have things to keep warm, to eat or to keep cool. We have here, too, but you don't see it on the news. Some people want to live on the street and for some they have to go down that road before they can come intot he community . Most are not there by choice. Some have terrible health problems and that is how we are "dealing" with it. At Christmas, it'd be nice to know that everyone could manage to feel comfortable at Christmas time. We are not a large, impersonal nation. Some run it as though we are, but recent events show clearly we are all linked one way or another when we want to be.