A
new report has shown the poverty rate breaking new records in
Germany, even as GDP continues to grow.
The
poverty rate in
Germany reached the new record level of 15.7 percent in 2015,
according to a report, entitled "Human dignity is a human
right."
German
Gross Domestic Product had also risen at the same time, by 1.7
percent on the previous year.
"Growth
is what the economy produces, but for years now that hasn't reached
the poor population," said Erika Biehn, deputy chairwoman of one
of the charities that presented the report in Berlin. "Because
they don't have the right education - I had the same experience
myself. I was poor, my mother was poor, so I had it harder in school.
It's been the same problem for the past 50 years."
Much
depends on how poverty is defined. Germany's official statistics
office, says a poor person is someone who earns 60 percent or less of
the country's median income.
Christoph
Schröder, senior researcher at the Cologne Institute for Economic
Research (IW), didn't agree with the report. “Of course, if there's
a high rate of people with a relatively low income, then there is a
social problem that should be taken seriously," he added. "But
I wouldn't put that in the same category as poverty. There is always
the question: what defines a minimum living standard - is it really
only proportional to income?" Critics say the fact that
certain social groups, such as students, are often included in the
standard definition of poverty even though their living standards are
relatively high. In other words, the poverty rate is artificially
inflated. In other words, the poverty rate is artificially inflated.
The
report's head Ulrich Schneider took issue with what he calls an
attempt to "reduce poverty to misery," by focusing only on
the lack of basic needs such as food, clothing and an assortment of
consumer items that define living standards, such as a TV. This,
according to Schneider, amounts to "an attack on an inclusive
society" and Germany's constitutionally guaranteed respect for
human dignity - which means participation in society.
"Poverty
is when people, because of an insufficient income, can simply no
longer take part in society ... and are forced to withdraw, and are
de facto marginalized ... into sub- or parallel societies."
Schneider's
response to that is that "hundreds of thousands of homeless
people, and hundreds of thousands of care patients and disabled
people" are not included in the statistics at all, which means
that there is really an "under-estimate of the real dimension of
poverty in Germany."
Each year between 2011 and 2015, electricity providers cut off power to at least 300,000 German households who could no longer afford to pay their bills, the government revealed on Thursday.
The number of houses which could not afford electricity payments varied between 312,000 and 352,000. The power cut-offs were normally due to poverty, with people on state welfare very often affected. Meanwhile in 2015, 44,000 households had their gas supply cut off.
"Energy poverty in Germany is a silent catastrophe for millions of people, especially in the cold, dark winter months,” said Eva Bulling-Schröter, energy spokeswoman for Die Linke.
While Germany is selling more electricity than ever before to other European countries, the government is turning a blind eye to the poor within its own borders who can’t afford their power bills, Bulling-Schröter said. “Many people are ashamed of the fact they can’t pay their bills. They are stigmatized and withdraw from society after their electricity has been cut, which is particularly damaging to children.”
"Energy poverty in Germany is a silent catastrophe for millions of people, especially in the cold, dark winter months,” said Eva Bulling-Schröter, energy spokeswoman for Die Linke.
While Germany is selling more electricity than ever before to other European countries, the government is turning a blind eye to the poor within its own borders who can’t afford their power bills, Bulling-Schröter said. “Many people are ashamed of the fact they can’t pay their bills. They are stigmatized and withdraw from society after their electricity has been cut, which is particularly damaging to children.”
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