Poverty Trap!

• Eddie
• 13 years ago
• Categories: poverty
• Tags: poverty

It’s the game played by hundreds of thousands of kiwi families each week, with more new players all the time. In Poverty Trap!, you start with an income less than 60% of the median and have to support yourself and your family within those limits. Watch out for those unexpected costs!

You’re Maree. You have three kids. You have had to move your family twice to escape your abusive ex-partner. You don’t drink or smoke. You can’t work due to a chronic pain syndrome, which also affects your mental health.

Here’s your budget:

Weekly income

$827.50 – DPB, accommodation supplement, disability allowances, family tax credits

Weekly expenses

• $385.00 – Rent
• $35.00 – Rent arrears
• $85.00 – Power
• $60.00 – Petrol
• $45.60 – Disability costs
• $38.00 – Repayments to WINZ
• $10.00 – Fines
• $200.00 – Food

Deficit

$31.10

Clearly, you can’t go on with a deficit each week. So, what do you cut?

• You can’t cut your rent. It’s already well below the Auckland average and rentals are rare as hen’s teeth. State housing even rarer because the Nats sold it in the 90s.
• You can’t cut your loans and repayments from the last time you had extra costs.
• You can’t cut your disability costs.
• If you cut your power bill, your kids will get sick.
• Your petrol consumption is only three-quarters of the typical household’s.
• Your food budget amounts to $2 per meal per person.
• You have no luxuries to cut.
• You don’t go to the movies.
• You don’t buy scratchies.

How do you make ends meet?

…

Found a solution?

OK.

Now, your youngest needs new shoes. How do you pay?

The car’s broken down. How do you pay?

The rent’s gone up, how do you pay?

Power’s gone up, how do you pay?

Kids need new clothes. How you do pay?

How do you pay?

How do you pay?

How do you pay?

…

Keep playing, week after week after week.

Poverty Trap! The game the whole family has to play.