Poverty and child poverty are stagnating at too high a level
If every fifth child, every third single parent and every sixth minimum pensioner have to live in poverty, we cannot be happy about maintaining the status quo. The government has not kept the promises it made to these people.
Erich Fenninger
Vienna (OTS) – The figures in the social report presented by the government today show that we are a long way from achieving the halving of poverty promised at the start of the legislative period. Volkshilfe therefore calls for action. “We cannot accept the poverty in Austria. We have an enormous need for action to combat poverty. This will be a mammoth task for the next government. The abolition of child poverty must finally be a priority,” said Erich Fenninger, Director of Volkshilfe Austria.
Poverty figures have been stagnating in Austria for years
The poverty figures mentioned in the report are not new: More than 1.3 million people in Austria are at risk of poverty, and around 200,000 Austrians are significantly materially and socially deprived. Both metrics have more or less stagnated over the last five years, or even increased slightly last year.
“We have been suffering from poverty rates that are far too high for years. The consequences of child poverty alone cost us as a society 17.2 billion euros every year. If every fifth child, every third single parent and every sixth minimum pensioner have to live in poverty, we cannot be happy about maintaining the status quo. The government has not kept the promises it made to these people.
“, warns Erich Fenninger.
It doesn’t help to pick numbers now and downplay the problem of poverty and the massive financial burden on families in this country. The 1.5 million people affected by poverty and material exclusion demonstrate that the measures taken by the government in recent years have not had a structurally sustainable effect. “Poverty is not a marginal phenomenon, we see it every day in our social work,” says Fenninger.
Basic child protection must come
The study by the Vienna University of Economics and Business presented with the report also states that there are gaps in the welfare state that urgently need to be closed. When it comes to measures to prevent poverty, the WU also points to the effect of monetary transfers and the importance of childcare facilities, which are a lever for avoiding poverty, especially for low-income households. “We have been calling for all of this for many years: the expansion of free child care and the introduction of basic child welfare that guarantees every child in Austria to grow up without poverty,” concluded Fenninger.
Questions & Contact:
Ruth Schink
Volkshilfe Austria
0676 83 402 222
ruth.schink@volkshilfe.at