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Refugees Mean Poverty, Unemployment and Economy Decline for Europe

More refugees are coming from the Middle East and Africa to Europe. This is putting a tremendous burden on European countries. It will bring three things: poverty, unemployment and economic cost. These people will not find accommodation. In all Western countries the cost of average housing has gone through the roof in the last decade. Europe has a relatively dense population already. Land for new building estates has mostly been exploited. Refugees do not have a nest egg of money for a deposit nor do they have established friends and relatives for help. They will live in parks for the rest of their lives. Almost all of the refugees are unskilled. There is a mass of unemployed native born people in European nations now. They have no future, so refugees face the same bleak future. Training is expensive. With freedom of movement to other countries in Europe no individual nation is going to pay to train non-citizens. let's face it only a small minority will ever

High Rents Put Pressure on Low-Income Earners and the Poor

A fall in house prices is a good thing for first home buyers, but it puts a squeeze on the rental market. With lower property values investors invest in other things, the bank or the share market. You would think that rents would move up and down with the price of housing, believing that monthly rents are tied to monthly mortgage repayments. This is a generality that is not always true. The reality is that as house prices fall, rents go up as investment to built more rental properties declines. In Canberra rents increased by 2.2 per cent last year. Perth continues to experience a drain of money to mining areas from Perth city itself. Consequently, new rental properties have not been built and rents have also increased. Those on low incomes who do not earn enough to get a mortgage are at the mercy of the rental market. As rents rise they have to pay more. Furthermore, students from poor families cannot afford to pay high rents. Despite the mining boom in Australia, many a

The Poor Have to Live With High Rents

The poor in Australia are doing it tough. While the economy is booming the price of housing has continued to rise. Despite the recent levelling off, further increases are forecast. With the higher valuation come higher monthly mortgage repayments and rental payments must keep up with this. Only one per cent of low income earners can afford to pay such rents. If you are on welfare and cannot get public accommodation forget it - you have to live on the street, unless you live with relatives and friends who can put a roof over yours head. The real problem is not the cost of actually building a house. Modular housing can be purchased, but people who have new houses put up do not chose such basic designs. Rental housing is largely designed for the wrong people. Unless government takes the lead and actually builds modular housing for the poor the situation will stay the same. Costs involved in getting land ready for construction is the real problem. Land levelling and servicing is v