By Marcello Condemi
The inflationary phenomenon, the effects of which are aggravated by its “strong acceleration”, has led, among other things, to heavy repercussions on the already meagre budgets of the less affluent Italian population. ISTAT, in its Report on Poverty in Italy in 2022 published on 25 October, recorded the devastating impacts of this phenomenon on the economic level of the population, noting the presence of over 2.18 million households (8.3% compared to 7.7% in 2021) and over 5,6 million individuals (9.7% compared to 9.1% in 2021) in a condition of absolute poverty (i.e. a condition in which consumer spending is “less than or equal to the monetary value of a basket of goods and services considered essential to avoid serious forms of social exclusion”). These conditions, far from being concentrated only in certain areas of the country, are instead widespread throughout the whole territory, so much so that in Central Italy the percentage of households experiencing it is 6.4 % (against 7.5 % of individuals), while in the North it is 7.51 % (against 8.51 % of individuals), and then dramatically settles at 10.71 % in the South (against 12.71 % of individuals). Among the factors affecting the composite mosaic of absolute poverty are age and educational qualifications, with the former being found in 6.5% of the over-65s, in 9.4% of the 35-64s, in 12% of the 18-34s and, last but not least, in 13.4% of the minors (who, in absolute terms, amount to 1.27 million), and, with regard to educational qualifications, in the 4% of those with a high school diploma, in the 12.5% of those with a middle school diploma and finally in the 13% of those with only a primary school diploma or no diploma at all. The dramatic nature of this scenario is quite evident, especially when one considers that it pertains to the eighth largest economy on the planet. Hence the need for an urgent political intervention aimed at re-establishing, through an articulated programme of specific and effective measures, conditions of economic decency that can no longer be postponed for the country's disadvantaged population groups, thus also making the message of the Supreme Pontiff Pope Francis his own, in which he recently reminded us to ’Do not look away from the poor“, also emphasising that ”A river of poverty flows through our cities and becomes ever greater until it overflows“.
Published in the newspaper “Il Tempo” on 31 October 2023
