Anti-Poverty Week 2011

October 16-22 is Anti-Poverty Week. Which means it began, like, today, and by next weekend–if successful–poverty will be no moar.

I guess only time will tell eh.

Still, I have to confess that, at first glance, I thought ‘Anti-Poverty Week’ might refer to an under-publicised project associated with the billion-dollar Building Australia Fund.

Apparently not:

Anti-Poverty Week was established in Australia as an expansion of the UN’s annual International Anti-Poverty Day on October 17.

The main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to:

strengthen public understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world and in Australia;
encourage research, discussion and action to address these problems, including action by individuals, communities, organisations and governments.

Everyone who is interested in helping to reduce poverty and hardship here or overseas is encouraged to organise their own activities during the Week or join in some being organised by other people. The activities can be large or small, and events at the local level are especially welcome.

Future dates for Anti-Poverty Week: 14-20 October 2012.

Unfortunately, while the website established to promote the Weak provides numerous links to Facts About Poverty, it provides little information about its Causes. There are exceptions, however, and one fact sheet (PDF), titled ‘Poverty and its causes’ and authored by some thing called ‘Australian Collaboration’ (the site dates the doc as being May 2008; the vers linkedto is actually a revised vers dated December 2010) states:

Poverty is not caused only by individual circumstances but also by major inequalities built into the structure of Australian society. Some of the main causes of this inequality and poverty are access to work and income, education, housing, health and community services.

So. There are major inequalities in Australian society, and these are some how, and in some way, built into its structure.

By whom and for what purpose, I wonder?

A beggar dreamt of a millionaire. As he awoke he met a psychoanalyst. The latter explained to him the millionaire was a symbol for his father. “Curious”, remarked the beggar.