When we used the food bank for the first time I felt deep shame. Like I hadn’t budgeted well enough, perhaps I’d been too generous to my kids and now I couldn’t buy the food we needed. Now that it’s a more regular occurrence I’m deeply concerned that if we are struggling on one fairly decent income…..how on earth are those with less coping?
I hear you, my friend. Reaching out for assistance is a tough thing, especially when, by all accounts, one fairly decent income should do the trick… but with prices driving up, it too often isn’t enough. Something has gone deeply wrong in our economic model.
It's an extremely complex mess we've got ourselves into, with no easy solutions. It seems to me that the whole economic system is based on viewing humans merely as consumers who have to spend more in order to make 'progress'. When that can't happen, the economy sputters. I know many people are really struggling. But sometimes I wonder if lots more have actually adopted the lessons of COVID and now think, "Nah, we don't need to buy into this whole consumerist mentality. We can live more simply and still enjoy life." I acknowledge I'm one of the privileged ones, but I like to think some of us are opting out of what has become an expensive (formerly average!) lifestyle by choice rather than by necessity. Does that make us bad citizens because we're not doing our bit to consume more and support the economy? 🤔
Not at all. Much of that consumption is driven by debt. We live in boom and bust cycles because of it. Booms can’t be sustained. The problem is that the busts are required, but it’s not the wealthy who suffer in the busts. We need to find a more sustainable way to exist that has less collateral damage.
With an election just a year away, I'll be looking for tax policy that is demonstratably fair and allows for a whole-of-society response to this problem. It seems highly likely that there will be a strong mood for change and that the incumbents will be unable to convince the public they can deliver that change. Therefore the pressure is on the parties presently in opposition to be bold, compassionate and fair - an insipid 'left' will not cut it.
When we used the food bank for the first time I felt deep shame. Like I hadn’t budgeted well enough, perhaps I’d been too generous to my kids and now I couldn’t buy the food we needed. Now that it’s a more regular occurrence I’m deeply concerned that if we are struggling on one fairly decent income…..how on earth are those with less coping?
I hear you, my friend. Reaching out for assistance is a tough thing, especially when, by all accounts, one fairly decent income should do the trick… but with prices driving up, it too often isn’t enough. Something has gone deeply wrong in our economic model.
It's an extremely complex mess we've got ourselves into, with no easy solutions. It seems to me that the whole economic system is based on viewing humans merely as consumers who have to spend more in order to make 'progress'. When that can't happen, the economy sputters. I know many people are really struggling. But sometimes I wonder if lots more have actually adopted the lessons of COVID and now think, "Nah, we don't need to buy into this whole consumerist mentality. We can live more simply and still enjoy life." I acknowledge I'm one of the privileged ones, but I like to think some of us are opting out of what has become an expensive (formerly average!) lifestyle by choice rather than by necessity. Does that make us bad citizens because we're not doing our bit to consume more and support the economy? 🤔
Not at all. Much of that consumption is driven by debt. We live in boom and bust cycles because of it. Booms can’t be sustained. The problem is that the busts are required, but it’s not the wealthy who suffer in the busts. We need to find a more sustainable way to exist that has less collateral damage.
With an election just a year away, I'll be looking for tax policy that is demonstratably fair and allows for a whole-of-society response to this problem. It seems highly likely that there will be a strong mood for change and that the incumbents will be unable to convince the public they can deliver that change. Therefore the pressure is on the parties presently in opposition to be bold, compassionate and fair - an insipid 'left' will not cut it.