Tackling poverty is about Policy Choices

Each time segments of civil society, academics, charities and professionals in the social sector put poverty issues in the public limelight; they trigger a barrage of skepticism and criticism.

"We must recognise that poverty is almost always the result of the wrong policy choices by those at the helm of States and other powerful national and international economic institutions ... If the global human rights system does not tackle this seriously, it will soon be left facing a political, moral and legitimacy crisis that it may not be able to weather," wrote Vijay Nagaraj, the Executive Director of the International Council on Human Rights Policy on opendemocracy.net.

This statement is an eye-opener and in Malta we desperately need a reality check. Each time segments of civil society, academics, charities and professionals in the social sector put poverty issues in the public limelight; they trigger a barrage of skepticism and criticism.  Just look at online reader comments, each time the news or columnists mention this matter.

We often get a range of responses: Why should our national budget feed numerous addictions that range from gambling, smoking and drug abuse? Why should we permit lazy butts to suck at our national coffers? Why should the hard working, efficient and honest workforce permit an army of dependents to shackle our national targets?

In spite of this we still maintain a clean conscience through a Christian sense of solidarity. Most of us readily dig into our pockets to help chosen charities. Nevertheless, charity is not the same as insisting on the human rights of the poor.

A recent Eurostat study revealed that 15.5% of the Maltese population is living in poverty or on the brink of poverty. This means that they earn less than 60% of the national median income. Eurostat also noted that almost one fourth of the Maltese population would be at risk of poverty if they did not receive some kind of social assistance.

Yet, there are some very misleading perceptions of people who end up in dire straits. Those of us who can make ends meet often feel uncomfortable whenever the realities faced by poor people shake our comfort zone. Moreover, I strongly suspect that popular stereotypes may suit some policy-makers. Negative public perceptions, together with our state of denial, tend to reinforce the status quo as decision-makers are under less pressure from constituents to push for reform. They also make it harder for those organisations fighting for the rights of the poor, as these have to swim against the tide whenever they call for action.  

One common question is: Why should we support irresponsible 'welfare queens' who bear children when they can hardly support themselves? Participants at a recent seminar organised by the political think tank Fondazzjoni Ideat challenged myths such as this.

It is true that single mothers, divorced, separated or widowed women are among the most vulnerable groups but little do we know that only one fourth of them are actually entitled for social welfare, even when 56% are living below the poverty line. There are also a growing percentage of couples with two or three children who are also unable to make ends meet.

Statistics and percentages are clear indicators but they often conceal the real life severity and misery of these individuals' daily struggles. "I had a middle class background. My husband was a lawyer", confessed one woman. "I initiated separation proceedings because of physical and psychological abuse. He refused to contribute for the maintenance of the kids and court litigation lasted for many years. During that time I was not entitled for welfare assistance. To feed the family I bought food by the bulk because it was the cheapest; sack-full of pasta and lots and lots of tuna cans. Once the pasta became infested with bugs but I could not afford to throw it away because we had nothing else to eat."

"I work 52 hours per week" said a middle aged mother. At the end of the month I earn 700 Euros. I do not earn enough even though I work long hours". This woman belongs to a growing category of people who describe themselves as the "working poor". GWU President Victor Carachi gave further evidence of the working conditions of these people. Some earn even less than the minimum wage. "On Friday they cash their pay cheque, on Monday they are expected to return some of that money to their employer". If they refuse, they are sacked. Each time the state fails to monitor the practices of private contractors who are awarded public tenders, it becomes an accomplice in these people's exploitation.

Precarious workers are often self-employed and the employers have no obligations whatsoever to guarantee their job security. Prospects for precarious workers are dim; they do not even qualify for bank loans to be able to buy a humble property. Consequently, most of what they earn is spent on rent and they can never invest in their own homes. Whenever they fail to pay the rent, they immediately run the risk of homelessness.

"There are seven pockets of poverty in the Maltese islands" said researcher Leonid MacKay, from Caritas. Poor people tend to congregate in particular areas. The rest of the community may not be aware there exist people in misery in their midst. Very often poor people struggle hard to retain their dignity and in some instances they suffer their problems in silence behind closed doors. In the past, it was the South that was associated with sub-standard housing inhabited by poor people. Now we have similar poor areas in the north like Qawra and Bugibba. "It is a shame that our society still tolerates rat-infested slum areas like Okella Agius in Hamrun", he concluded.

School and education may help lift the coming generations out of a cycle of poverty. At a theoretical level we are all aware of optimistic visions, such as that of Paolo Freire, that education can help people cope with their social reality and learn how to improve and transform their condition. But in reality this is hard to achieve and it necessitate holistic and coherent policies. Our recurrent expenditure on education is high but the results are poor. The unacceptable level of early school-leavers and illiterate teenagers implies that the system is not breaking the cycles of poverty.

Children from poor backgrounds start to lag behind in their education at a very early age; differences are noticed as early as when they are two years of age. Those poor families who make efforts to encourage their kids to study, still face great challenges to succeed, noted psychologist Profs Angela Abela.

Sociologist Dr Josanne Cutajar and researcher Mario Cardona both claimed that local communities could take positive initiatives to respond to poverty. Dr Cutajar pointed we must be aware what is happening at a cultural level too: "Whereas middle class women now tend to assert themselves through education; in poor areas young women can only assert themselves when they become mothers". In the past decades teenage pregnancies have fortunately become less of a taboo, but Profs Angela Abela insisted that society now also needs to send a clear message that teenage pregnancies "are not good for the babies" as this is contributing to the cycles of poverty.

If poverty is on the increase it may be that our structures are failing us. There was a time when we all believed we were middle class but we were wrong. For too many years now, the invisible hand of the market used its magic wand to diminish our commitment towards the values of social solidarity. This current debate is a wake up call that economists cannot tackle poverty only. Poor individuals may not be in a position to break the cycles of poverty on their own. A welfare society needs coherent and a holistic effort to take the bull by the horns.

 

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Poverty is brought on by the poor. Fathers and mothers who for one reason or another do not push their children to do well at school, to carry on schooling and get a degree or at least learn a trade . They are first and foremost to blame. It is not society as a whole that creates the poor. In the early 19th century, few were able to go to school and children were forced to work in horrible conditions. There is no excuse today for anyone not to do their best at what tehy are capable of doing.
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The thing I find worrying is that there is a well provided segment of the population who do not even realize there is poverty all around them. When you raise the problem of the poor in Malta they quip back on not seeing beggars anymore in the streets. Worse still they mention shops stocked with goods, people well dressed, well patronized restaurants and person taking frequent holidays abroad. What we managed to achieve is to hide poverty behind the front door and in the process went merrily ahead to opening up a scandalous gap in the income concertina. We must find a way to outing poverty in a way to force people to touch and see it on a day to day basis. Perhaps in this way their conscience will be touched and rather than shrug the problem realize we have to help much more the unfortunate in our community.
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Luke Camilleri
Tackling Poverty is about Policy Choices - and choosing AND identiying PRIORITIES! Anew parliament building and a bridge leading to nowhere , and planting trees at Valletta entrance costing thousands of Euros are not PRIORITIES!
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L-aqwa li ghandna l-ixkafef tal-hwienet u supermarkets se jixpakkaw bl-ghazla tal-prodotti. Progress innegabbli f'dan is-sens, imma qeghdin tassew nifhmu libil-progress kollu li nghidu li sar miz-zmien ix-xehha ta' Duminiku Mintoff fis-snin tmenin, in-nies f'riskju ta' faqar kibru ghal 15.5%? Ghandhom in-Nazzjonalisti cifri li juru li anki dak iz-zmien il-faqar kien gholi, jew tant kellhom rashom mistrieha li l-kaxxa ta' Malta kienet mimlija bil-liri, li qatt ma ndenjaw ruhhom jaghmlu studji simili? Taf x'naf li waqt li llum kellna lill-Caritas titkellem dwar il-faqar, fis-snin sittin kien hemm il-Moviment ta' Kana li kien jilmenta mis-serq li kienu qed jiffaccjaw dawk li riedu jsibu zewgt ikmamar biex jinghaqdu fis-sagrament taz-zwieg, billi kien ikollhom ihallsu rigal ghac-cavetta. U prominenti f'dawn il-protesti ma kien hemm hadd hlief l-ex Ministru Louis Galea, li maz-zmien kien ukoll Segretarju Generali tal-Partit Nazzjonalista, u ghall-PN pilastru fil-glieda ghal-liberta u demokrazija li ggieldu ghalija b'kull mezz, lecitu jew le, tul is-snin 80. Illum diga' ilna tmien snin fl-Unjoni Ewropea, u m'ghandi xejn kontra dan, imma li l-istess Ewropa turina f'liema riskju kbir tinsab faxxa tas-socjeta' fih hafna xi jqanqal thassib. Biex issa qed naraw lill-Gvern ta' Gonzi PN jiehu mizuri biex inaqqas l-budget extravaganti tieghu, halli jara kif se jiffranka l-40 miljun euro li qaltlu bihom l-Unjoni Ewropea. U min qed ikun vittma ta' dan l-ezercizzju jekk mhux l-iktar nies vulnerabbli? Iva, wasal il-mument tal-bidla, wasal il-mument li jerga' jkollna Gvern b'fibra socjali bhalma kien il-Gvern Laburista tas-snin 1970-80 immexxi mill-Perit Duminiku Mintoff. Carmen kellek opinjoni bilancjta u fattwali.