According to World Bank’s ‘Poverty-at-a-Glance, anyone living with US$1.90 (RM8) per day in the world is considered to be living in poverty. In 2013, an estimated 10.7 percent of the world’s population live on less than US$1.90 per day. Here’s that link from World Bank to read more. I just came back from Sydney and Melbourne trip last week. In many train stations that I was at, there were homeless people sleeping along the corridor. There were not many of them but there were always a couple of them nearby train stations.
The Australian Council of Council of Social Service says that 13.3 percent of Australians are living below the poverty line, after taking into account their housing costs. It does not follow the US$1.90 per day. The poverty line for Australians would be AUD426 per week (AUD60 / RM182 per day) for a single adult. One report says that less than 1 percent of Malaysians live in extreme poverty. Here’s that article. I think when they meant extreme poverty, it meant US$1.90 per adult per day. This is Malaysia where the Tabung Harapan could tip RM90 million in a few weeks. I think we MUST ensure there are NONE living under the extreme poverty level.
There are many places where properties are making everyone poor. In fact, there are jobs which pays a salary which is not enough to even ensure the worker gets a decent roof over their heads! These workers are so poor that the jobs they hold are categorised as ‘poverty-level’ jobs. This is the article in TheStar: “These are poverty-level jobs in Facebook.’ It gave a few examples. One guy was making about US$2,400 (RM9,611) per month after taxes as a security guard but he could not even rent a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose, which averages about US$2,460 (RM9,851) monthly. He is currently sharing a garage-turned-bedroom which he splits with a roommate for US$825 (RM3,303) a month. This guy routinely works up to 80 hours a week. (That’s 11 hours per day 7 days a week).
Another lady, a 58-year old security officer says she sleeps three to four hours a day in her 1997 Mercury Tracer in industrial parks in Santa Clara and San Jose to avoid police who may impound her car or carjackers who may steal her car and the few remaining belongings she has. The money which she’s earning as a guard is spent on her brother. She says she pays for his room and for caretakers while she is at work. She regularly works 16 hours a day every day. There are many other examples in the article. Please read it here.
One wonders why the government did not step in to provide cheaper housing; affordable homes and allows their people to continue to suffer under such situations? I have no answer but I can safely say that from all these real life examples, it is so important to ensure everyone have access to a roof over their heads. Living in a car park space, shared by two strangers simply because of exorbitant rental is really sad. These situations are already happening in advanced nations with far more advanced property markets than ours.
Perhaps what they did not do right, we must do soonest. By the way, those getting much higher pay continue to get every higher pay even in San Jose. The CEOs are earning salaries which could and should actually be lowered… Earlier article here. When salary packages for CEOs become way too high By the way, the ONLY reason why companies could continue to function is NOT because of one CEO but because of everyone in the organisation. Fairer salaries please for the majority. Happy working and yes, get a property to ensure one does not live in poverty due to high rentals…
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written on 26 June 2018
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