The poor got poorer, according to the Bank of Greece – Main cause of unnecessary lockdowns

The narrative adopted by the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis regarding the well-being of the citizens and the development of the economy is also being “destroyed”, as from 2019 onwards the number of poor people in our country has also increased, while the salary has also increased (despite the increase in the minimum wage). lost part of their purchase value.

The report of the Bank of Greece finds a significant deterioration in the data concerning inequality, poverty, social exclusion and living conditions in our country since 2019.

The report points out that the unemployed at a rate of 45.4%, the economically inactive other than pensioners (27.3%), households with dependent children (23.6%) and children up to 17 years of age (23.7%) are the social groups that face a higher risk of poverty in Greece.

In particular, based on data on household incomes in 2020 from the EU survey, the at-risk-of-poverty index increased to 19.6%, from 17.7% recorded for 2019 incomes , reversing the de-escalation trend seen in previous years.

Also, the risk of relative poverty in Greece remains above the EU-27 average (16.8%) and is the eighth highest in the EU-27.

The percentage of the country’s population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to the revised definition, increased to 28.3% (or 2.971 million people), from 27.4% in 2019 and 29.0% in 2018 .And income inequality indicators show a significant deterioration in Greece in 2020, however remaining close to the EU-27 average.

Also, at the EU level, the average equivalent individual disposable income decreased in our country by 0.9% in 2021, compared to the previous year, while 20.4% of respondents stated that the main reason for the decrease in income it was the pandemic to them.

Wages lost 7% to 12%
The findings of the Bank of Greece report largely confirm the recent study by Panteion University professors Savva Robolis and Vassilis Betsi (Inequalities, minimum wage and purchasing power) who identify a serious increase in inequality among workers as well, even after the increase of the minimum wage.

Citing Eurostat data, they note that the loss in purchasing power of the minimum wage in Greece in 2022 was 12.7% (PPS, Purchasing Power Standard), exceeding by 3 points the inflation of the same year.

With the recent increase of 9.6%, i.e. as much as inflation in 2022, the minimum wage was set at the level of 780 euros (gross) and its loss of purchasing power reached 7%, while the average wage increased by about 4 % and the loss of purchasing power of the average monthly salary is 12%.

Exploding inequalities
S. Robolis and V. Betsis studying the data of the beginning of the current decade (2020-2030) highlight in an alarming way, at the international and European level, the widening of inequalities in income and property.

As they emphasize, the primary cause of inequalities is the high concentration of wealth (real estate, bank deposits, financial assets). “This explosion of inequalities both between states and within states is the result of the socio-economic, fiscal and environmental-energy choices made by politicians over the last three decades, but also during the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis, where there was a particularly significant increase in inequalities”.

Note that according to the Report (2021) of the Laboratory of Global Inequalities, the bottom 50% of the income scale owns the low share (2%-7%) of the total wealth, while the richest 10% owns the high share (60%- 80%) of the total wealth.

More specifically, today, internationally, the richest 10% own 52% of income, 76% of wealth and emit 48% of global carbon dioxide, while the poorest 50% of the population own only 8, 5% of income, 2% of wealth and emits only 12% of carbon dioxide.