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The Near-Poor: Oz Paralleling the US?

Last week saw interest rates rise. Meanwhile, petrol prices are high and Peter "Hey Big Spender" Costello brought down the 2006 Budget on Tuesday night. But who are the winners and losers in all of this? Certainly not the poor or what are described in the US as the "near-poor".

As the International Herald Tribune reports:

"In a time of plenty, more American workers are in danger of slipping into outright poverty. About 37 million Americans lived below the poverty line in 2004 - $19,157 a year for a family of four. An additional 54 million lived between the poverty line and double the poverty line - $38,314 for a family of that size.

They are the "near poor," and they generally receive little attention. But they are often one injury or layoff away from slipping into poverty themselves."

Is it any different in Australia? Probably not! - as welfare agencies and NGO's would probably testify. Read the full IHT article and ponder whether there are now basically 4 classes of people in our society - namely, the rich, some sort of middle class, the near-poor and the poor. Those two bottom groups are most likely growing.

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