Whilst a report from Oxfam Intermón highlights that the number of poor in Spain has doubled, the Government refuses to exclude its minister from a pay rise.
It’s a bit more complicated than that, but it’s a good starting point.
The report, entitled, Europe for the Majority not the Elite, points out that Spain has three million people with “severe material deprivation,” whilst at the same time there are 20 with personal fortunes of over one-thousand-million euros – that’s one billion for the Americans, French and the BBC.
In 2013 Spain occupied the 15th slot in the list of countries with the greatest disparity between the rich and poor – in now occupies the 4th slot.
The Director General of Oxfam Intermón, José María Vera said, “it is incomprehensible that in a moment of crisis, when the most vulnerable should be protected, the measures being taken are achieving completely the opposite.”
He also claimed that the present fiscal system “favours those that have more and impoverishes the majority.”
The report author, Teresa Cavero, pointed out the 90% of taxes levied, both direct and indirect, fall upon normal Spanish citizens whilst the big Spanish companies only account for 2% of the total.
Furthermore, another spokesperson claimed that the 2016 General State Budget did not reflect any willingness to correct the growth of poverty in Spain, which brings us on to the second topic.
The Government, with its overriding parliamentary majority is pushing through the said 2016 Budget, rejecting proposed amendments to it from the opposition.
For example, the chief opposition party, the PSOE, called for Government Ministers, top political-posts holders, Congress members and Senators to be excluded from the 1% rise envisaged in the 2016 Budget for public workers. This was thrown out by the Government.
Similarly, the Government rejected the amendment proposed by the UPyD to stop ex-PM’s from receiving public salaries whilst at the same time earning salaries from private activities.
Go figure.
As further food for thought, but on a European level, 123 million Europeans live in poverty whilst the continent has 342 billionaires (one-thousand million)
(News: Spain)