What kind of country are we with 36% child poverty?
The positive macroeconomic data of recent years, with GDP growth well above the European average and significant drops in unemployment, have not yet had a significant impact on reducing poverty in Catalonia, which currently stands at around 25%. And if we talk about child poverty, that is, the poverty of children between 0 and 16 years old, This percentage increases to 36%.According to the latest data from Idescat, this breaks a timid downward trend that began with the pandemic and confirms the suspicions of third-sector organizations, which have long warned of the growing demand for their services from people who even have jobs. General poverty rose 0.8 points, and child poverty, 1.3. The poverty threshold is set at incomes below €13,800 for a single person and €29,100 for two adults and two children. Just looking at the current cost of housing, it's clear that a person with this income is condemned to a life of severe material deprivation. poorThe concept that frightens some is perfectly illustrated here. It refers to those who cannot guarantee their basic needs (housing, clothing, energy, water, and food) with a minimum of dignity.
The fact that this should concern us is twofold. On the one hand, how can a country with an 8.2% unemployment rate have 25% of its population living in poverty? And what impact will that 36% of children currently living in abject poverty have on the future? The country portrayed is a place where wages are insufficient, forcing a rethinking of the economic model once again, and where social policies are unable to mitigate the impact of inequality. When social organizations complain about something as reasonable as the need to approve budgets, political parties should take note, forget their partisan squabbles, and act with greater responsibility.
In this sense, it would be desirable for the announced regularization of undocumented migrants who have been here for more than five months to also help improve the living conditions of people who are currently forced to work off the books and live in semi-clandestinity. Bringing this economic activity into the formal economy should also serve to provide more resources for these social policies. The important thing is to offer a horizon of dignified life and guarantee equal opportunities to all these children who are currently part of this tragic statistic.
What cannot be done under any circumstances is to close our eyes to this reality and act like that councilor from the Community of Madrid who denied that there were so many poor people in the capital. On the contrary, reducing child poverty must be a national objective, a moral imperative, but also a measure with economic and social sense, since what we do to lower this figure is what will ultimately define us as a country.
