Spain overtakes Bulgaria in child poverty and social exclusion
Spain has overtaken Bulgaria in child poverty and social exclusion. The middle class is in the crosshairs while the official response amounts to 20-euro vouchers.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Spain overtakes Bulgaria in child poverty: the EU's new worst performer
What does it say about a country when its children top the European rankings for poverty and social exclusion? The fact that Spain has overtaken Bulgaria, until now the EU's worst performer on this indicator, is not a record anyone wanted to break. It is the result of a long decade of impoverishment that has not been corrected either by the economic recovery or by the promises of successive governments.
The symptom and the anecdote
The debate around the figure has produced an image that sums it all up: while the data confirms the decline, the flagship proposal doing the rounds for young people is 20 euros in cultural vouchers. Twenty euros. The distance between the scale of the problem and the political response is astronomical.
The middle class, the elephant in the room
Impoverishment does not only affect those who were already poor. The recurring discourse about the middle class — second homes, meat and fish consumption, prices at Mercadona — is no longer about luxuries, but about survival. Some have spent 16 years waiting for the situation to hit rock bottom; now they look in the mirror and see a "second world" country.
Everything suggests that Bulgaria, from now on, will be able to look at Spain with something close to condescension. The consolation is that we have never stood out so much at anything.
What does it say about a country when its children top the European rankings for poverty and social exclusion? The fact that Spain has overtaken Bulgaria, until now the EU's worst performer on this indicator, is not a record anyone wanted to break. It is the result of a long decade of impoverishment that has not been corrected either by the economic recovery or by the promises of successive governments.
The symptom and the anecdote
The debate around the figure has produced an image that sums it all up: while the data confirms the decline, the flagship proposal doing the rounds for young people is 20 euros in cultural vouchers. Twenty euros. The distance between the scale of the problem and the political response is astronomical.
The middle class, the elephant in the room
Impoverishment does not only affect those who were already poor. The recurring discourse about the middle class — second homes, meat and fish consumption, prices at Mercadona — is no longer about luxuries, but about survival. Some have spent 16 years waiting for the situation to hit rock bottom; now they look in the mirror and see a "second world" country.
Everything suggests that Bulgaria, from now on, will be able to look at Spain with something close to condescension. The consolation is that we have never stood out so much at anything.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (12 replies).
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