Regular
reports on the growing Poverty, Unemployment, Debt and Inequality of
the neo-capitalist world
Greece:
“Greece
ranks first in the eurozone and fourth among the 28 members of the
European Union for the percentage of its citizens living on or below
the poverty line, according to a new report.”
“The
study, conducted by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial
Research (IOBE), found that just over a third (34.6%) of Greeks –
some 3,795,100 individuals – were living on less than 60% of the
national median income in 2013. This percentage has risen steadily
since 2010, when the country began implementing austerity measures,
increasing from 27.6% in 2010 to 27.7% the following year, 31% in
2012 and 34.6% in 2013.”
“Elstat’s
data showed that the risk of poverty has increased significantly in
Greece since 2010 and the percentage of relative poverty increased by
17.3%, or 3.4 percentage points. In the same period, the poverty gap
increased by 24.1% and the risk of poverty and social exclusion by
seven points, or 25.4%.”
“Greece's
poverty rate also outstripped other EU countries that have entered
austerity programmes. In Ireland the rate is 30%, in Spain 28.2%, in
Cyprus 27.1% and Portugal 25.3%.”
France:
“Unemployment
in France rose to a new high in May, according to official data
released on Thursday, with 24,800 more people seeking jobs, bringing
the total number of those without work to a record 3.388 million.”
“The
number represented an overall 0.7 percent increase during the month
of April, the country’s Labour Ministry reported. The news doesn’t
bode well for the government of President François Hollande, who
pledged to stem rising unemployment in France during his 2012
election campaign. The promise, however, has proven difficult to
keep.”
“'The
unemployment numbers are bad, but at the same time they are not
fatalistic,' Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. He also stressed the
importance of the government’s so-called 'responsibility pact,'
which seeks to shave 50 billion euros off the budget* and
stimulate job creation, in reversing the trend."
China:
“About
one percent of Chinese households own one-third of the nation's
wealth, raising concerns about income inequality in the world's most
populous country, according to a study by Peking University.”
“Chinese
households on average had a net worth of 439,000 yuan (about 71,000
U.S. dollars) in 2012, up 17 percent from the 2010 level, the
university's Institute of Social Science Survey said Friday in its
latest report on China's livelihood development. However, income
inequality rose rapidly during the period, the report said, as the
top one percent of Chinese households held more than one-third of the
nation's wealth, while 25 percent of households at the bottom owned
only 10 percent of the country's property value.”
Comments
Post a Comment