"We criminalize the poor, as if poverty were the responsibility of the poor." The phrase is from the president of the Economic and Social Council (CES), Antón Costas, and he pronounced it this week at the presentation of the report of this advisory body of the Government , when he pointed out that we are experiencing an unexpected economic spring, but that not all of us are enjoying it the same way.
Those who take advantage of it the least are the poor, of course. This is what the CES denounces in its report on the economic and social situation in Spain: the problems of poverty, especially among children. Spain is the second country in the OECD that invests the least in children, which should be corrected not only for moral reasons, but also for its economic consequences, with a great loss of jobs, income, productivity and growth. The CES will create a specific commission to encourage more investment in children.
According to Costas, everything is complicated by this criminalization of poverty. "The person who requests a benefit is criminalized, and on the other hand it looks very good that companies request aid," says the president of the CES, adding that the first problem is accepting a reality, that we have a problem of poverty in Spain, as a first step to later correct it.
The CES report collects data to illustrate this impact of poverty. For example, according to Foessa, in 2022, the year of high inflation, while 6.7% of households reduced expenses related to education, this percentage almost tripled in exclusion households (to 23.2 %), and it was five times more in those with severe exclusion (it reached 32.8%). Percentages that illustrate the denial of the principle of equal opportunities.
The CES report acknowledges the government's efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and inflation, but also points to deficiencies and major problems in processing aid. He denounces the existence of a black market for electronic appointments to access aid processing and access public services and the obstacles to obtaining the minimum vital income (IMV).
Regarding the black dating market, Costas warned of the risk of damage to Spain's reputation if, due to this type of low-intensity corruption, Spain ends up appearing in international corruption rankings. A complaint from the CES to which the Minister of Inclusion and Social Security, José Luis Escrivá, responded this Friday, stating that when the sale of appointments was detected, his ministry acted “radically”.
Escrivá explains that when they detected that 1% of the appointments were made through robots, they established a blocking of these IP addresses and the identification mechanisms were reinforced. The minister affirms that whoever has an urgent problem can go to the Social Security office without an appointment and that they will be attended to.
Another element that the CES criticizes is the operation of the minimum vital income (IMV), which it considers was called to be the main economic instrument in the fight against poverty, but denounces that its implementation "has not proceeded with the agility that it would demand the situation of the risk of poverty in Spain”. Initiatives are recognized to bring this service closer to the population that could benefit from it, but with insufficiently satisfactory results.
"The minimum vital income does not reach everyone," says Antón Costas. Whether due to ignorance of the law or bureaucratic difficulties, many potential beneficiaries do not request it. And furthermore, some innovations, such as making payment of benefits compatible with work, come up against unclear regulations. "Its complexity may raise doubts in the interpretation of the scope and duration of the incentive that discourage access to employment of the beneficiaries," according to the CES.
