cost of living

[adrianh]

With regards to the cost of living...it is absolutely amazing on how little one can really get by. People are so comfortable in their ridiculous lifestyles that they complain when the price of bread goes up when they just drove their BMW 323 to the cafe from their R1,7million house. The average middle class doesn't know squat about the real cost of living. You will learn about the cost of living when you and your wife get retrenched and you no longer have savings, you have to choose between paying school fees or having the water cut off.

@murdock - we are on the exact same page when it comes to whites, begging and a willingness to 'n boer maak n plan' to stay alive. I have very little regard for people who expect others to improve their lot without them doing anything themselves. Nothing stops the beggar from making art, selling newspapers or asking to be taught. I speak to the same beggars on the same street corners every day, not a single one (come to think of it) nobody has ever asked me if I can teach them a skill. I can teach them many skills, but I am not going to lick a man's butt to teach him to fish, if he feels I owe him a fish every day because he is to stupid to know that he is stupid then its just tough.

[Just Gone]

I offered a job to a white beggar once................................. he never pitched up. .............

[Blurock]

The SABC showed an etoll office with a LONG queue, as people are now "supporting" it.

The Newspaper showed an empty office, with a bored employee looking into the distance.

Take your pick.

This may be the ANC's propaganda machine at work. This is why they want to silence the newspapers. They do not want criticism or the truth to come out. Come to think of it, there are many similarities with Nazi Germany...

[Citizen X]

It sure is Justloadit!

[tec0]

R3000 is all you get?

For many of the youngsters and single moms this is a reality that they must feed there family and pay for education as well as transport and there income is R900 to R3000 a month. Yesterday i stopped at a local store and decided to speak to a few men and ladies that where having a talk about there income. They know me personally and we are actually very good friends.

Upon talking to them they said they work 12 hours a day including weekend and don't see past the R3000 mark. Now The higher income of the group is at R5000 and is basically the maximum they can earn. Now to add to the facts they rent and share homes so it is not uncommon that they both work and live together to enjoy some form of security and live in a neighborhood that is proper. MANY youngsters do the same as it is the only way to have a place to sleep.

Knowing there conditions and there challenges very well, it is hard to ignore the state of our economy and that the majority of people is part of the lower income groups.

So what can you do with only R3000 a month? If not combined it is very little and with our poor buying power it adds insult to injury.

But let us continue; where i live our hospital is downright scary with many news articles documenting this fact so using that facility is not something anyone would do willingly. Doctors on the other hand are expensive and even charge an amount of R1000 just to give someone stitches? Not to mention the cost of medication.

But lately the cost of food in general has nearly doubled and the cost of imported goods like electronics have nearly tripled leaving many people in the technological dust. To continue on, it is also true that many large stores don't offer discount anymore on bulk sales and depending where you live finding a store that do can actually cost more "getting to it" then saving money.

I find myself in a mixed place knowing factually that the rand is losing steam now more then ever judging from the exchange rate alone. So where is the upside of all of this? I cannot find one. Now many will blame the voting public where others will blame volatile politics. Both may well be correct but as it stands both situations may not change for a very long time.

Thus what must change? And more importantly what is within our control? We cannot hope and dream that corruption will just magically disappear and we cannot demand from the higher income market to sacrifice there income just so that others may benefit on charity alone. This is not sustainable and anyone doing the numbers knows this.

So what is sustainable? First and foremost Green technology can be tax exempted and import tax exempted. This will allow re-sellers to sell the technology at lower cost helping the public to keep the lights on cheaply and effectively saving money in the long run.

Is this a pipe dream? The answer is no it is not. At some stage the public will need to start considering green energy as a must have and can save them thousands in the process. Secondly is internet schooling...

Consider that private schools charge as much as R3500 per month per child being schooled I cannot think as to why the facility cost so much. Home schooling as it is now, does not reflect the capability and potential for the internet and broadcasting technologies. If properly used more Children can be home-schooled and only examination facilities would be needed and maintained taking the pressure of our economy in general.

This allow for more teachers to reach more students giving them a higher income and lower risk to themselves as they don't have to deal with undisciplined individuals consuming there time. The benefits speak for themselves. Thus perhaps it is time we take note on how our money is being spend and how it can be spend in the future.

But the situation as it stand now is not survivable.

[HR Solutions]

R3500 per month for private school fees ??? You are out of touch ! Try R6000 upwards ....

[tec0]

R3500 per month for private school fees ??? You are out of touch ! Try R6000 upwards ....

clearly you have no plan to leave me alone. But if you wish to push someone get your own facts right as well. It just so happens that my brother's youngest is not in high-school yet and her fees was for this year R3500 per month.



The extra few rand is for classes after school... ok

[adrianh]

Why would a person earning R3000 per month send their kid to a private school that costs R3500 per month. Don't us a private doctor if you can't afford him, go to a provincial clinic or hospital.

[HR Solutions]

No logic ....... No understanding ..................No social skills ....... just plays the victim all the time.....

[tec0]

Why would a person earning R3000 per month send their kid to a private school that costs R3500 per month. Don't us a private doctor if you can't afford him, go to a provincial clinic or hospital.

As you may know and it is well documented some facilities are not of the best in some areas. Private schools offer education and more to the point safety. Some other institutions lack this as shown on the news. Same is true for health care... Some hospitals don't even have proper facilities and the dead is placed in the hallways "again" this was on the news. No human being wants there children in danger. No human being wants poor health care or use a disgusting facility. These are simple facts.

However a second truth is also outlined that some facilities do get the money to give higher standards of healthcare and schooling but don't do so as seen by many other documented factors again shown on the news. There is no secret information here.

The reality is the living standard can be higher if the monies are spend wisely and some exemptions are made. There is no arguing this fact because proper management and funding can overcome 70% of what is wrong at the moment.

Money and Proper Management can fix Infrastructure
Money and Proper Management can fix Education
Money and Proper Management can fix Health care
Money and Proper Management can fix Agriculture
Money and Proper Management can fix Housing
Money and Proper Management can fix Job creation
Money and Proper Management can fix Crime
Money and Proper Management can attract investors.

Money and Proper Management cannot change people's minds... That is a choice each must make. What i am trying to point at is R3000 can be enough income if other contributing factors line up. But they don't THUS we see what we see now.

Make no mistake the situation as it is now, is artificial and is caused by corruption. Nothing contribute more to poverty then greed.

It is as it stands.

[HR Solutions]

So let me ask you a question - what have YOU personally done ? What have you contributed ? What are you doing about it ? If you don't have an answer then don't complain, because a lot of people are doing things to help ! You keep talking about money - so have YOU earned enough to give a fair chunk to any of the above just once or on a continuous basis ? Why are you not in the top earners in the country so that you can do the above ?

[adrianh]

There is no arguing this fact because proper management and funding can overcome 70% of what is wrong at the moment.

I disagree. No amount of money will cure poor values, morals and work ethic. We have seen it over and over that dissatisfied people destroy what is done for them. They burn clinics, schools and they have done millions worth of damage to universities around the country. Think about it, what will you do if your kid sets his schoolbad on fire because you don't buy him a big nice new calculator. Until people learn to have respect for what they already have, the property of others and that one has to work for what you want nothing will change.

[tec0]

So let me ask you a question - what have YOU personally done ? What have you contributed ? What are you doing about it ? If you don't have an answer then don't complain, because a lot of people are doing things to help ! You keep talking about money - so have YOU earned enough to give a fair chunk to any of the above just once or on a continuous basis ? Why are you not in the top earners in the country so that you can do the above ?

What you are asking can only be answered by you. All of them trick questions all of them can be manipulated. I will say this we do a lot and help a lot. Going into detail would be bragging and i for one don't care much for that. But a lot of systems, facilities exist thanks to contributions of many individuals not just one. That said you mist the point of my last post. Read the question read the answer. There was no attack on anyone... Why you continue on the other hand is your own prerogative.

have a good day sir.

[tec0]

I disagree. No amount of money will cure poor values, morals and work ethic. We have seen it over and over that dissatisfied people destroy what is done for them. They burn clinics, schools and they have done millions worth of damage to universities around the country. Think about it, what will you do if your kid sets his schoolbad on fire because you don't buy him a big nice new calculator. Until people learn to have respect for what they already have, the property of others and that one has to work for what you want nothing will change.

Money and Proper Management cannot change people's minds... That is a choice each must make.

Moral and work ethic is a choice.

[adrianh]

Moral and work ethic is a choice.

...and 99% of South Africans make k@k choices!