There but for the grace of God!

As Winter approaches and I occasionally venture out for a walk, I can't help but notice the unfortunate soles who somehow manage to survive while living on the streets.  In life it is all too easy to point the finger and say that's their own doing.  It passes the buck that way and stops us feeling guilty in case there was anything we could have done to help.
I guess the general perspective is that these people are mainly drug addicts and alcoholics therefore they have caused their own demise.  The reality of it is that in many cases they haven't been able to pay their rent/mortgage and ended up getting thrown out of the property.
In many cases this could well be due to unemployment which may or may not be their fault.

Unemployment

Following a 6 month spat of unemployment myself I realise how easy it could be to find all you have worked for taken away. 

In the UK the average salary is £26,330.00 while the average debt level is £7,940.00.  In the USA the average salary is $81,400.00 while the average debt is $15,600.00.

Looking at these figures it is easy to see how in just a few months of not paying your debts, you could so easily end up on the street.
 
The United Nations Commission claim there are 100 million homeless people worldwide.  Just in England in the UK alone that figure is 28,000.  8 of the top 20 Cities in the world with the top amount of homeless are in America. 

When I arrive back to my warm home I wonder how Countries such as ours allow this to happen under our noses and choose to do nothing about it.  Naturally, the people who govern our lands like to tell us how well they are doing as they want our votes.  But for those who don't have a vote due to not having a fixed address, I feel they don't get a fair crack of the whip.

I understand, as with all things, it comes back to money or lack of it.  Well if we are so short that we cannot look after our own, why are we sending so much of our capital abroad in Foreign Aid?
Now I am all for giving money to poor Countries that have famines or disasters that are not caused by them and out of their control but why are we giving Billions to Countries that are not in this situation?

This year the Government of the UK is due to give Uganda £75.2 million and Zambia £45.6 million.
Islamic State Countries get £1.6 billion per year to do with as they will.
Pakistan is allocated £1.4 billion while India has a massive £2.19 billion.  Both these Countries possess an arsenal of Nuclear weapons with India still sending rockets to the moon!

In the meantime we continue to borrow money to add to our own debts of £1,400.00 billion with £43billion being added each year in interest!  That £2000,00 per household in the UK!

Call me negative if you will but it seems we are borrowing money to give it to others to do with as they want!

Housing

Perhaps I am being unjust with my comments and the Government knows more about what it is doing with my tax then me.  One of the biggest reasons there are so many people on the street is the lack of housing and we are told this is partly due to the lack of usable land.  So in this vast concrete jungle of ours, how much is actually built on?

In reality there is only 11% of the UK that has been built on!

Naturally much of this is in areas that are not the most desirable or easily accessible but although London has the greatest need for housing there are 35,000 hectares (86,450 acres) that are classed as Green Belt.  By building on less then a quarter of this, a million homes could be constructed which would give homes to those without plus bring in much needed capital to the City.  

Due to increased supply and demand factor, which continually pushes up the price of property in London, 1 in 4 families are facing eviction.

Isn't it time we started to look after our own rather then everyone else?