Economist appreciated Putin’s proposal to pay child benefits with an increase in income

“There will be money, this is our future!”

In his speech at the SPIEF 2023 plenary session, Vladimir Putin proposed, and, in fact, instructed the government to pay benefits for a child up to one and a half years, as well as a unified child allowance “regardless of whether the family income has increased or not” – that is, “in throughout the period for which they are appointed.

MK discussed this statement by the President of Russia with economist Georgy Ostapkovich.

Vladimir Putin drew attention to the fact that now payments for children are tied to family income, and if it increases even slightly, then payments are reduced or stopped altogether. And this means that a person has no incentive to look for a new job and a higher salary.

“Work should be profitable, and state support should serve as an additional income to the salary, and not its replacement,” the president stressed. And he offered to pay child benefits regardless of the increase in income.

Since January 2023, we recall that a single allowance was introduced in connection with the birth and upbringing of a child. However, only those whose average per capita family income does not exceed the subsistence minimum established in the respective region on the day of applying for benefits can count on the payment.

“Speaking without any preliminary calculations, an additional hundred billion rubles or more will be required, but I would not raise the question of the amounts here at all, the state will find money for these purposes,” said Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the HSE Center for Market Research. – We now have one of the primary economic problems – the demographic problem. The birth rate is falling catastrophically, the number of children per conventional woman today is 1.45 children. And for the reproduction of the population, at least 2.1 children are needed. If we keep this figure of 1.45 children per woman, then by the 2030s and 40s, out of 146 million, 130 million will remain in Russia. By the end of 2100, there may be less than 100 million of us left. This is a question of the economic sovereignty of the state, because it is clear that the economy is created by people… Children are our future labor resources, our competencies, our opportunities for the next 20-30 years.

Therefore, it is not even necessary to count the money, the very fact of this statement is important. This money will pay off handsomely. Now we need to do everything possible to increase the birth rate.

Plus, in this case, parents are allowed to earn, but at the same time they will receive additional income for the child. And it is my deep conviction that if there is more money in families, this will make it possible to raise a child better. Give him a better education, provide him with health care… And, most importantly, give him more in terms of cultural development.

Will there be money for these purposes?

– Of course, there are. Well, they will cut off from some budget items – for example, from civil servants, from public administration. Or they will take it from the reserve – we have more than six trillion rubles in the National Welfare Fund … Well, they won’t build, in the end, excuse me, any new route or they will build it narrower. Child benefits are a much more important item of expenditure. This should have been done yesterday…

… In December, “MK” wrote about this problem: the appointment of a single allowance led to far from rosy consequences. The director of the Accounts Chamber department, Olga Samarina, then reported that the spouses began to massively fictitiously divorce in order to fall under the necessary criteria. Because with a divorce, the total income of the family falls – after all, only one parent remains in it. This trick has become especially popular in the regions. “We went to the regions and saw how the family submits an application to the relevant authorities, and they are denied benefits. They get divorced, apply for the second time, and this application is already approved and the allowance is assigned,” Samarina said. “Divorce allows families to divide and reduce the total income, after which they receive monthly payments for each child up to 17 years old.”

Recall that in 2023 the cost of living in Russia is 14,375 rubles, but it differs in the regions. In Moscow, for example, in 2022 it was 23,508 rubles. On average in the country, a single allowance ranges from 7,000 to 14,000 rubles. per month per child.