Originally Posted by
craic
But the bottom line is that the so called poor now are richer than the middle classes were a few years ago. They have health, welfare, housing - with insulation - cars, television and a heap of other things that I and my family never had when we were poor. Apart from that, we didn't know we were poor. We had simple food and shelter and felt sorry for the "poor" and gave the odd penny here and there to help the less fortunate. Probably in a few years if you don't have three cars and bach in Queensland, you will be part of the next 'new poor' Even in NZ when my income was what I could earn as a timber mill labourer with three yong children in a State Unit, we didn't acknowledge poverty. I could cycle to work and walk to the supermarket and the doctors. We had a childs lined copybook with a page for each month and a list of the bills including food rent electricity etc. Each pay was used on the current bill/s first, food and clothing and leisure last. They were happy days and affluence hasn't really changed much.