Australia: 1 in 3 skip meals to feed children

PARENTS GO WITHOUT TO FEED KIDS: SURVEY

November 14, 2011

One in three Australians is going without meals to ensure their children are fed, a new survey shows.

One-third of people surveyed went without meals in the past year to ensure their family was fed as rising living costs forced cutbacks on bare essentials, News Limited reported on Monday.

Seventy-five per cent of more than 1000 people surveyed also said they had to cut back on buying food or cut some items out of their shopping lists altogether.

Staples such as meat, fruit and bread were among the most common items cut out.

More than 60 per cent of people said they worried at least some of the time about not having enough money to feed their family.

Welfare groups said the survey results reflected the dire economic straits in which many families found themselves in 2011.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/11632822/parents-go-without-to-feed-kids-survey/

What result would a similar survey reveal in the country YOU are living in?

Originally posted by FMF
[quote][b]PARENTS GO WITHOUT TO FEED KIDS: SURVEY

November 14, 2011

One in three Australians is going without meals to ensure their children are fed, a new survey shows.

One-third of people surveyed went without meals in the past year to ensure their family was fed as rising living costs forced cutbacks on bare essentials, News Limited reported on M ...[text shortened]... feed-kids-survey/

What result would a similar survey reveal in the country YOU are living in?[/b]

In America, it would be a good thing if some of our children and adults missed a meal or two, including me.

Originally posted by FMF
[quote][b]PARENTS GO WITHOUT TO FEED KIDS: SURVEY

November 14, 2011

One in three Australians is going without meals to ensure their children are fed, a new survey shows.

One-third of people surveyed went without meals in the past year to ensure their family was fed as rising living costs forced cutbacks on bare essentials, News Limited reported on M ...[text shortened]... feed-kids-survey/

What result would a similar survey reveal in the country YOU are living in?[/b]

It seems almost incredible to me, especially in a country generally thought of as "first world."

It is a little unclear from the article what the meaning of the survey is. Do they mean people bought less meat to save money? If so, big deal. I've also bought less meat to save money. Do they mean that children are literally hungry because their parents couldn't afford to buy food? If so, it seems a little odd that "meat" would be considered a "staple." Meat is far more expensive than many other forms of protein and it doesn't seem likely that someone who is so poor as to be literally hungry would ever be able to afford much meat.

Originally posted by sh76
It seems almost incredible to me, especially in a country generally thought of as "first world."

It is a little unclear from the article what the meaning of the survey is. Do they mean people bought less meat to save money? If so, big deal. I've also bought less meat to save money. Do they mean that children are literally hungry because their parents couldn' ...[text shortened]... someone who is so poor as to be literally hungry would ever be able to afford much meat.

What struck me initially was the lack of specificity. Australia, though prosperous, is a land of extremes. The coastal areas are very much culturally Western. The interior aboriginal, although many aboriginals are well educated and just prefer their ancient lifestyle, which make almost all of them poor by Western standards.

Originally posted by normbenign
What struck me initially was the lack of specificity. Australia, though prosperous, is a land of extremes. The coastal areas are very much culturally Western. The interior aboriginal, although many aboriginals are well educated and just prefer their ancient lifestyle, which make almost all of them poor by Western standards.

The vagueness of the yahoo news item notwithstanding, there are not enough aboriginals in Australia to create a "1 in 3" statistic with regards to poverty or nutrition at a national population level.

Originally posted by FMF
The vagueness of the yahoo news item notwithstanding, there are not enough aboriginals in Australia to create a "1 in 3" statistic with regards to poverty or nutrition at a national population level.

Sounds like they need Big Brother to help save them. Maybe they should pass some legislation saying that three square meals, with meat, are an entitlement for everyone in the nation.

Originally posted by whodey
Sounds like they need Big Brother to help save them. Maybe they should pass some legislation saying that three square meals, with meat, are an entitlement for everyone in the nation.

People would be forgiven for thinking you only have these kinds of sarcastic parodies to offer and in this case, to my way of thinking, it falls very short as an 'analysis'. I rather think the problem alleged in the OP sounds like there are worrying issues with the levels of prosperity and security that economic activity is creating for many ordinary Australians, despite the wealthy/developed status of the Australian economy. I wonder how long the market force that "1 in 3 Australians skipping meals to feed children" represents will go on until full-time, honest, hard work earns an income that precludes the need to "skip meals".

Originally posted by FMF
People would be forgiven for thinking you only have these kinds of sarcastic parodies to offer and in this case, to my way of thinking, it falls very short as an 'analysis'. I rather think the problem alleged in the OP sounds like there are worrying issues with the levels of prosperity and security that economic activity is creating for many ordinary Australians ...[text shortened]... ntil full-time, honest, hard work earns an income that precludes the need to "skip meals".

Maybe they just need to get the economy moving. That requires government to start with stimulus packages. How much do you think the first one should be?

Originally posted by whodey
Maybe they just need to get the economy moving. That requires government to start with stimulus packages. How much do you think the first one should be?

So you don't want to answer the question posed in the OP. And you don't want to answer my question about market forces that was addressed directly to you in response to your attempted "analysis"?

Originally posted by FMF
[quote][b]PARENTS GO WITHOUT TO FEED KIDS: SURVEY

November 14, 2011

One in three Australians is going without meals to ensure their children are fed, a new survey shows.

One-third of people surveyed went without meals in the past year to ensure their family was fed as rising living costs forced cutbacks on bare essentials, News Limited reported on M ...[text shortened]... feed-kids-survey/

What result would a similar survey reveal in the country YOU are living in?[/b]

One of the comments suggests that this is could be related to an economic slowdown created by the carbon tax.

Originally posted by spruce112358
One of the comments suggests that this is could be related to an economic slowdown created by the carbon tax.

You going to hide, zeeblebot-like, behind the skirts of a 'debater' not present here to argue the idea's corner or are you going to nail your own underpants to the suggestion's mast.

Originally posted by FMF
You going to hide, zeeblebot-like, behind the skirts of a 'debater' not present here to argue the idea's corner or are you going to nail your own underpants to the suggestion's mast.

The original post sounds sensationalist to me; but I don't know how much the carbon tax is suppressing Australian industry. Australia has also been hit by devastating droughts in recent years, I believe, which could have even more to do with it.

Originally posted by spruce112358
The original post sounds sensationalist to me; but I don't know how much the carbon tax is suppressing Australian industry. Australia has also been hit by devastating droughts in recent years, I believe, which could have even more to do with it.

So you don't know how much the carbon tax is suppressing Australian industry. Ok. But you suspect it has "suppress[ed] Australian industry" which has what? ... it has reduced workers' wages, making them now less able to buy adequate food? Is that what you mean?

The [alleged] factoid that "1 in 3 Australians [are] skipping meals to feed children" is a 'market force'. It should be applying some degree of upward pressure on wage rates. If it isn't, how can it be anything other than a market failure? How long will it be until full-time, hard work in Australia earns an income that precludes the need to "skip meals".

Originally posted by FMF
So you don't know how much the carbon tax is suppressing Australian industry. Ok. But you suspect it has "suppress[ed] Australian industry" which has what? ... it has reduced workers' wages, making them now less able to buy adequate food? Is that what you mean?

The [alleged] factoid that "1 in 3 Australians [are] skipping meals to feed children" is a 'market ...[text shortened]... time, hard work in Australia earns an income that precludes the need to "skip meals".

We recently reduced our operations in Australia (not specifically due to the carbon tax as far as I know; although that could have played a role) and re-hired for the same sorts of jobs in China because we think the strategic play is to be closer to the potentially huge market of Chinese consumers.

For some years, Australia was a bit of a gateway point to the Far East for those who were worried about being 'in country' -- but now... Australia is not a huge market on it's merits.

By the way, it isn't a 'market failure' if a market goes down. Markets do go up and down -- they are supposed to. That's what makes them efficient. It is the efficiency that brings prosperity, not a particular swing upward.

Originally posted by spruce112358
By the way, it isn't a 'market failure' if a market goes down. Markets do go up and down -- they are supposed to. That's what makes them efficient. It is the efficiency that brings prosperity, not a particular swing upward.

You're deliberately missing the point and my question, I will assume.

Markets do go up and down -- they are supposed to. That's what makes them efficient.

So working people having to skip meals in a prosperous country is a function of market efficiency, as you see it, rather than a market failure?