The number of beggars in Russia refutes claims about the reduction of beggars

The words of officials about the number of poor people can be regarded in such a way that there are even more poor Russians

The number of poor people in our country has reached a historic low: according to Rosstat, the number of Russians who do not receive even the most miserable wages has fallen to 15.3 million people, which has not been observed over the past thirty years. True, one should not rejoice that the economic health of our country, even against the backdrop of the fight against Western sanctions, is strengthening by leaps and bounds: the general income of the population continues to decline, and the statistical optimism of officials regarding the poor is rather caused by a change in the state approach to identifying the count people from this category.

Now all those Russians who receive no more than 13.5 thousand rubles a month can officially declare themselves beggars and shamelessly reach out for alms. It is at this level that the basic poverty line is set in our country. Moreover, over time, the statistics that spoil the eye are smoothed out: exactly a year ago, the number of those at the very extreme line of financial prosperity, there were almost 21 million people.

In 2022, the number of poor people in the country decreased by about 2-3 million people per quarter. According to Rosstat, especially the drop in the number of our compatriots with incomes below the poverty line was observed in the fourth quarter, which happened “due to the growth of nominal incomes of the population, including through social payments, targeted targeted support from the state, an increase in average wages and income from entrepreneurial activity.”

It should be noted that when determining the poverty level, Rosstat applies the “poverty line” parameter introduced at the end of 2021. It corresponds to the value of the consumer basket value in the fourth quarter of 2020 (the so-called basic poverty line), multiplied by the consumer price index for the past period by the fourth quarter of 2020. Until 2021, as a criterion for the poverty line, the subsistence minimum was used, based on the cost of the consumer basket at the corresponding point in time, taking into account mandatory payments and fees.

It is worth noting that for Russia, which is under total sanctions of almost the entire collective West, such indicators can be considered almost Stakhanovite records: for example, in England, real wages fell by 3% over the past year, which, according to British trade unions, has become the sharpest pay cut since 1977 and the second-most painful pay cut in history since 1945.

And in Russia, the decline in the number of people living below the poverty line can be considered a historically significant success. Not every stable world economy is capable of reducing the number of beggars by about 6 million people in a year. Already in the II quarter, according to the calculations of Rosstat, the average nominal accrued wages in our country grew to 64 thousand rubles, being higher than last year’s similar results by more than 10.5%. “The salaries of point IT specialists, pizza delivery men, hired house workers, medical experts, as well as people providing additional services have increased: in wiring electricity, plumbing or setting up parallel equipment,” believes Mikhail Belyaev, candidate of economic sciences, financial analyst. “However, at the same time, real disposable incomes of the population in the second half of last year decreased by 0.8%, and inflation, due to a significant surge, then jumped to almost 16%.”

According to the national development goals of Russia, by 2030 the poverty level in our country should decrease to 6.5% of the population (twice compared to 2017). “How to achieve such an indicator? the expert asks. – The easiest way is to set a new poverty threshold: if in the country, according to a qualified assessment of the official department, you can live worthy for at least a week on $ 10, then you have passed the poverty level. Such assessments of arithmetic may soon become a widespread response in Central Asian, and, it is possible, even in European gymnasiums,” believes Belyaev.

However, according to Igor Nikolaev, Doctor of Economic Sciences, philosophically speaking, each of the potential tax payers needs to assess their future in advance. “The federal budget deficit may exceed 5 trillion rubles. This will be a record for the state as a whole, but the treasury has always been selected from the most difficult circumstances, the expert believes. – For ordinary, but the most diverse categories of the country’s inhabitants, the need for financial resources will also be different: for a billionaire, the current damage may unpleasantly delay the purchase of a new yacht; for the owner of the store “near the house” – to increase the cost of passing the sanitary and epidemiological station, and for the average layman – it will require compressing the costs of the next “fattening”. Therefore, the words of officials that the number of beggars has decreased in Russia can be regarded as even more poor people who are barely able to pay off housing fees, but not investment in development.”

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28987 dated March 13, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Ten beggars – one well-fed!