Poverty
In Our Country
My
attention was drawn to a report about Malta, entitled Sustainable
Governance Indicators, drawn up this year by the consultancy company
Bertelsmann Stiftung1.
The report discusses economic, social and environmental policies, as
well as the democratic system and its governance.
I
was particularly struck by the chapter on social policy, especially
the statistics on poverty as compared to the European Union average.
In
this report, poverty is understood in its traditional sense, that is
an income level considered to be low, and does not include other
wider aspects such as the lack of inadequacy of education, roof over
one's head and the like.
This
report quoted the Maltese National Statistics Office (NSO) as saying
that today the quantity of Maltese considered at risk of poverty
being at 63,000, or 21.4% of the population. There has been a bit of
controversy in Malta about this percentage figure which when compared
to the Maltese population is too high - perhaps a mathematical error.
So
I decided to have a look myself at the NSO statistics2.
This says that at the end of 2013, there were 64,996 people out of a
population of 412,534 (15.7%) considered at risk of poverty, when
this is taken as an income less than 60% of the median equivalised
income (which takes the total household income, subtracts taxes and
distributes the rest to the members of the household, with children
given a reduced weighting).
This
figure unfortunately was an increase from the level of 15.1% as at
the end of 2012. In the EU, the equivalent figure of people at risk
of poverty was 24.8%3,
substantially
higher.
If
the threshold of poverty is taken as 50% of the median equivalised
income, then the percentage of people considered at risk of poverty
was 8.9% (36,534) in 2013, still more than 7.4% (30,456) in 2012.
The
Bertelsmann Stiftung report says that the Maltese Government intends
to achieve a target of 6,560 people considered at risk of poverty by
2020. Actually, the Maltese Government had committed to the EU that
by the year 2020 it would decrease the quantity by 6,560, not to
6,560.
I
also looked up the situation in Australia. The OECD issues
statistics for its member countries4,
and
one can find that in 2012 over here there were 13.8% of people
considered at risk of poverty (income less than 50% of median
equivalised income). In Australia there is the effect of the
Aboriginal population, who face substantial social problems, not
having yet overcome the decades of exclusion and discrimination by a
predominantly Anglo-Saxon society.
Naturally,
one must bear in mind that levels of income in one country compared
to another may be different. For example,
a person considered poor in Australia, or in Europe, may have an
income with which he/she might not be considered poor in Malta.
There
are many other details in these reports, including analysis of
poverty by sex, age etc. It's not my intention to treat these
details here, except to make one observation.
10%
of the population is one out of every 10 persons, 15% is one out of
every 6. Would you consider these figures high or low?
Keep
in mind that in the street you live in, there could be that
proportion of your neighbours at risk of poverty. Perhaps its that
man you nod to on your way to work, or that woman you recognise on
the other side of the road while making your daily shopping.
Here
in Australia, there was a bit of an uproar when the new
Liberal-National Coalition government issued its budget for this
year. That it intended to tighten the belt, to use a common
expression of the ex-Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, was probably
a surprise to no one.
However
to propose such harsh measures to the most vulnerable people in
society, while people not so poor being hit relatively much less, I
was never expecting. The rhetoric coming from government ministers,
about society split between lifters
and leaners5,
or
that poor people don't have cars or don't drive very far6,
shows
an ideological poverty and lack of empathy with who is doing it
tough.
Some
time ago, I happened to watch the discussion programme Q&A on the
ABC7,
which
included the participation of a person of Maltese descent, Dr John
Falzon, who is the CEO of the organisation St Vincent De Paule. His
message was similar to what he wrote in a 2012 report on poverty in
Australia, and I'd like to close by quoting a part thereof:
“Our
problem in Australia is not the “idleness of the poor.” Our
problem is
inequality. This is a social question, not a question of
behaviour. We do
irreparable harm when we turn it into a question of
individual behaviour,
blaming people for their own poverty.8”
1
Sustainable Governance Indicators - 2014 Malta Report; Pirotta,
Calleja & Colino; Bertelsmann Stiftung
2Statistics
on Income and Living Conditions 2013: Salient Indicators; 164/2014
National Statistics Office Malta, 3/9/2014
4http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=47991,
retrieved 24/9/2014
7http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4047130.htm
8Poverty
in Australia 2012, 3rd Edition; Australian Council of
Social Service (ACOSS); p8
-----------------------------------
Il-Faqar
f'Pajjiżna
Għajnejja
nġibdu lejn rapport fuq Malta, imsejjaħ Indikaturi ta' Iggvernar
Sostenibbli, miġbur din is-sena mill-kumpannija ta' konsulenza
Bertelsmann Stiftung1.
Dan ir-rapport jitkellem fuq il-polititika ekonomika, soċjali w
ambjentali, kif ukoll fuq is-sistema demokratika u kif il-pajjiż
jiġi ggvernat.
Li
laqatni partikolarment kien il-kapitlu fuq il-politika soċjali,
speċjalment l-istatistika fuq il-faqar, kif imqabbel mal-medja
tal-Unjoni Ewropea.
F'dan
ir-rapport, il-faqar huwa mifhum fis-sens tradizzjonali tiegħu,
jiġifieri l-livell meqjus baxx ta' dħul, u ma jinkludix aspetti
oħra iktar wesgħin bħan-nuqqas jew inadekwatezza ta' edukazzjoni,
saqaf fuq rasek u l-bqija.
Dan
ir-rapport ikkwota lill-Uffiċju Nazzjonali tal-Istatistika (NSO)
f'Malta li jgħid li illum l-ammont ta' Maltin meqjusin f'riskju ta'
faqar huwa 63,000, jew 21.4% tal-popolazzjoni. Kien hemm daqsxejn
ta' kontroversja f'Malta għax dak il-persentaġġ meta mqabbel
mal-popolazzjoni f'Malta huwa għoli wisq - forsi żball
fil-matematika.
Għalhekk
iddeċidejt li nħares lejn l-istatistika tal-NSO direttament2.
Dan jgħid li fl-aħħar tal-2013, kien hemm 64,966 persuna minn
popolazzjoni ta' 412,534 (15.7%), meqjusin f'riskju tal-faqar, meta
dan jittieħed bħala dħul ta' inqas minn 60% tad-dħul medju
ekwivalizzat (li jieħu id-dħul totali ta' dar, inaqqas it-taxxi u
jqassam il-bqija fuq il-membri tal-familja li jgħixu ġod-dar,
bit-tfal ikollhom inqas piż).
Din
il-figura sfortunatament kienet żieda mill-livell ta' 15.1% fl-aħħar
tal-2012. Fl-Unjoni Ewropea, din il-figura ta' nies f'riskju
tal-faqar kienet ta' 24.8% fl-20123,
pjuttost iktar għolja.
Jekk
il-livell tal-faqar jittieħed li huwa 50% tad-dħul medju
ekwivalizzat, il-persentaġġ ta' nies meqjusin f'riskju ta' faqar
kien 8.9% (36,534) fl-2013, xorta iktar mill-7.4% (30,456) tal-2012.
Ir-rapport
ta' Bertelsmann Stiftung jgħid li l-Gvern Malti għandu l-intenzjoni
li jnaqqas l-ammont ta' nies meqjusin f'riskju ta' faqar għal 6,560
sas-sena 2020. Proprjament, il-Gvern Malti kien ikkommetta mal-UE li
sas-sena 2020 inaqqas in-numru b'6,560, mhux li jnaqqas in-numru għal
6,560.
Fittixt
ukoll is-sitwazzjoni fl-Awstralja. L-OECD toħroġ din l-istatistika
għall-pajjiżi membri tagħha4,
u wieħed isib li fl-2012 hawnhekk kien hawn 13.8% tal-popolazzjoni
meqjusin f'riskju ta' faqar (dħul inqas minn 50% tad-dħul medju
ekwivalizzat). Fl-Awstralja hawn l-effett tal-popolazzjoni
Aboriġina, li jbatu problemi soċjali sostanzjali, li għadhom
m'għelbux il-ħafna għexieren ta' snin ta' esklużjoni u
diskriminazzjoni mis-soċjeta' predominantement Anglo-Sassona.
Naturalment,
wieħed irid iżomm f'moħħu li l-livell ta' dħul f'pajjiż
imqabbel ma' ieħor aktarx ikun differenti. Ngħidu aħna, persuna
meqjusa fqira fl-Awstralja, jew l-Ewropa, jista' jkollha dħul li bih
ma titqiesx fqira f'Malta.
Hemm
ħafna iktar dettalji f'dawn ir-rapporti, inkluż analiżi tal-faqar
skont is-sess, jew skont l-età eċċ. M'iniex beħsiebni nidħol
f'dawn id-dettalji hawnhekk, ħlief biex niġbed osservazzjoni waħda.
10%
tal-popolazzjoni huwa wieħed minn kull 10 persuni, u 15% huwa wieħed
minn kull 6. Dawn figuri għoljin jew żgħar?
Żomm
f'rasek li fit-triq ta' fejn toqgħod, jista jkun hemm dak
il-proporzjon tal-ġirien tiegħek li huma f'riskju ta' faqar. Forsi
huwa dak li ssellem int u sejjer għax-xogħol filgħodu, jew dik li
tagħraf in-naħa l-oħra tat-triq meta qed tixtri l-bżonnijiet ta'
kuljum.
Hawnhekk
fl-Awstralja, qamet daqsxejn ta' għagħa meta l-gvern il-ġdid ta'
Koalizzjoni Liberali-Nazzjonali ħareġ il-baġit għal din is-sena.
Li kien se jissikka ċ-ċintorin, biex nuża espressjoni komuni
tal-ex Prim Ministru Malti Dom Mintoff, naħseb li kulħadd kien qed
jistennih.
Imma
li kien se jipproponi miżuri daqshekk ħorox fuq in-nies l-iktar
vulnerabbli tas-soċjetà, filwaqt li l-persuni mhux fqar jintlaqtu
relattivament bilwisq inqas, ma kontx qed nistenniha żgur.
Ir-retorika li ħarget mill-fomm il-ministri tal-gvern, bħas-soċjeta'
maqsuma bejn min jerfa' u min iserraħ5,
jew li l-fqar m'għandhomx karrozzi jew ma jsuqux 'il bogħod6,
turi faqar ideoloġiku u nuqqas ta' empatija ma' min qiegħed
f'sitwazzjoni mwiegħra.
Ftit
ilu, inzertajt nara fuq il-programm ta' diskussjoni Q&A fuq
l-ABC7
lil persuna ta' nisel Malti, Dr John Falzon, li huwa CEO
tal-organizzazzjoni St Vincent De
Paule. Il-messaġġ tiegħu kien simili għal dak li kiteb f'rapport
tal-2012 fuq il-faqar fl-Awstralja, u xtaqt nagħlaq billi nikkwota
parti minnu:
“Il-problema
fl-Awstralja mhix l-għażż tal-fqar. Il-problema hija
l-inugwaljanza. Din hija kwistjoni soċjali, mhux ta' imġiba.
Nagħmlu ħsara rreparabbli meta nibdluha f'kwistjoni ta' imġiba
individwali, u nwaħħlu fin-nies għall-faqar tagħhom”8.
1
Sustainable Governance Indicators - 2014 Malta Report; Pirotta,
Calleja & Colino; Bertelsmann Stiftung
2Statistics
on Income and Living Conditions 2013: Salient Indicators; 164/2014
National Statistics Office Malta, 3/9/2014
4http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=47991,
retrieved 24/9/2014
7http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4047130.htm
8Poverty
in Australia 2012, 3rd Edition; Australian Council of
Social Service (ACOSS); p8
