Perspective - Perspettiva: Poverty in Our Country

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

3 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/europe_2020_indicators/headline_indicators, retrieved 24/9/2014

4 http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=47991, retrieved 24/9/2014

5 http://www.centraltelegraph.com.au/news/hockey-declares-age-entitlement-over-australia/2257954/, retrieved 24/9/2014

6 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-15/joe-hockey-poor-people-cars-claim-misleading/5671168, retrieved 24/9/2014

7http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4047130.htm

8Poverty in Australia 2012, 3^rd 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.