Spanish child poverty is an improper scourge of a good society

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By TP


Spanish society presents an absolutely anomalous feature: it is the European country with the greatest child poverty, with the only exception of Romania. One in three boys and girls live in a situation of poverty and social exclusion. And one in 10 suffers a situation of severe material lack, a situation of special gravity. This is an improper anomaly of a country like ours. The consequences are dramatic. First, for children themselves. Everything that will happen to a person throughout his life begins very early, between 0 and 3 years. Living childhood in socio -economic disadvantage implies a ballast that in most cases is insurmountable. If you have grown up in a poor home you are very likely to end up being poor. It is the intergenerational transmission of poverty. I cannot fail to associate the situation that an important part of our childhood to the «state of nature» that Thomas Hobbes spoke in his Leviathan published in 1651, in which he affirms that, in these circumstances, “the life of man is lonely , poor, coarse, brief and brief. ”But the effects are also projected on the country's economic progress. The OECD estimates that the macroeconomic cost of child poverty is in Spain of 4.1% of the GDP of the year 2023, higher than the average of European countries. Other reports raise that figure to more than 5%. In large part, they result from the loss of salary income suffered by people who have lived a childhood of poverty and then do not achieve a good job. The OECD itself indicates that the best investment a country can make in its future is to invest in childhood. The returns are superior to any other type of investment. If the best predictor of the future progress of a country is to see how it treats its childhood, we are not doing well. How to explain this Spanish anomaly? It is not easy for me. First, it is not a problem of economic capacity: Spain is the fourth European economy. Other countries of minor or similar income do not present this problem of child poverty. Second, even if it is tempting to think about it, we must rule out that it is the low political quality of our democracy: international rankings place Spain over other European countries that, however, do not suffer this problem. To my judgment, the root It is in Spanish society itself. An important part denies the existence of the problem, or considers that it does not concern them. I remember with unease that, at the end of a conference on economics in A Coruña, a lady approached me, of accommodated appearance, who after congratulating me told me that I had been wrong in a fact: in his opinion, it was not true that in Spain there was a High child poverty. I did not see cynicism in your comment. He believed, sincere, that this scourge does not exist in Spain. This is a fairly widespread perception among the well -off society. Why does the ethical meaning of Spanish society fail? It is probably a collateral damage of the deep inequality of income, wealth and opportunities that has been inoculating in society in recent decades. This inequality has produced a deep segmentation and social segregation. A person born in good crib in a rich neighborhood is very likely to be found throughout his life with another who was born in a poor home in a segregated neighborhood. The extreme inequality is a powerful solvent of fraternity and shared citizenship. In times as distant as 1776, Adam Smith already pointed out that «wealth corrupts the moral feelings of the very rich.» What to do? The first is not to fall into the false illusion of thinking that growth will end child poverty. The Spanish economy has been growing for several years and child poverty has not decreased: on the contrary. Nor can we make responsibility only in politicians. Without a society that pushes, childhood policies will not advance or do it slowly. To change things, you have to talk to society. Talk to society. The objective is to contribute to increasing the awareness and awareness of society about the importance of childhood poverty. In addition to a detailed diagnosis of poverty and an exhaustive analysis of policies, the report offers a set of proposals for debate. I want to highlight two. The first, to make investment in childhood a country target, both in the stage of 0 to 12 years and, especially, from 0 to 3 years. The second, strengthen family support and reconciliation policies. The objective is to ensure that the arrival of a child to a home is not an unbearable economic and care load, which can lead to the couple's break. Among other measures, the report defends the need to introduce into our country a universal benefit for parenting, a figure that already exists in most European countries. In this way, restoring the old aphorism, every child at birth will no longer bring a bread under the arm, but a sufficient benefit to attend to their upbringing. The significance of this proposal is that whoever does it is not a Think Tank, but an institution formed by 60 counselors and councilors representing the main Spanish unions, the large business organizations and other organizations of the agricultural, fishing, consumers and consumers sectors of the social economy. With this report, CES wants to speak to society, to contribute to create a shared sense of what a good society is. Good economists teach us that the existence of a good society is a prerequisite for the existence of a good economy; An economy that is oriented to the common good. The reading of Jean Tirole's book, Nobel Prize in Economics 2014, on the economy of the common good can help us understand this virtuous link between society and economy. Strengthening among us the meaning of what is a good society is the first step to eradicate the scourge of child poverty. Anton Costas is president of the Economic and Social Council.