The decrease in the level of life of inhabitants of Russia has become a major economic crash last year. According to official statistics, GDP fell by 3.7%, according to independent experts – twice as stronger. The main factor in this decline was the reduction of household consumption by 10.1%. This is the biggest decline in 20 years, surpassing even the total decline in household consumption during the crisis 1998-1999.
Real disposable monetary incomes of the population fell by 4%. But most of the inhabitants live on the salary, and she, in real terms, declined by 9.5%. This is almost three times more than during the last crisis in 2009. The fall in real wages began in November 2014, continues for the second year and proceeding to growth, it is clearly not going. At the real wage of the Russian Federation dropped to the level of 2012, and by the end of the current year may fall into the reality of five years ago.
On low incomes there is little that will buy, and retail turnover dropped by 10%. The situation worsens when the expenditures of citizens are being depleted faster than incomes, people are trying to create at least some “safety cushion” and not spend and save money. This becomes another reason for the enhancement of the economic downturn. In the best Soviet traditions in the “mnogonatsional” there are no beggars and the poor. Russian ones statistics is based on only politically correct euphemisms: “the population with money incomes below the subsistence minimum” and “poor households”. Rosstat complete these expressions even within speculative “Socio-economic indicators of poverty”, produced once a year and contains fairly outdated information.
The subsistence minimum decreased by more than 500 rubles for six months. These things before the “Kremlin” is not abused, and until 2012 the growth of the minimum has always been ahead of the consumer price index, even in the crisis 2008-2009. The current subsistence minimum is 9452 ruble per person on average, for retirees it’s lower – 7781 ruble. A lot or a little? The world Bank estimates extreme poverty 1.9 dollar a day per person and poverty 3.1 per dollar. The subsistence level in the Russian Federation above the poverty line by the World Bank only a quarter, and the average for the population – by 1.5 times. But the World Bank considers this to be its minimum for countries of Africa and Latin America, where, unlike the Russian open spaces don’t need no warm clothes, no heating housing. In addition, our average subsistence minimum includes about 7% on taxes and mandatory payments. So Russian ones, the level of poverty is not much different from poverty in Africa or Asia, it is scanty even by the standards of developing countries.
What is the portrait of a Russian beggar? The main factor of poverty in Russia is the presence of children. 64% of poor families with children. Moreover, the poverty risk increases with number of children: 1.4 times – for families with 1 child, 2.1 – 2 children, 3.8 – with three or more children. Now the share of households with children composition of the poor may reach 70%, this was even recognized by the Minister Topilin. And in 2005 it was 50%. It is obvious that in 10 years the children have become a key factor of poverty.
The second factor is the size of the settlement. The smaller the settlement, the higher the poverty risk: in the cities the poverty risk is 2.5 times less than the national average; in rural areas, in contrast, is 1.6 times higher; and in villages with a population up to 200 people – higher in 3 times. Burden for households is the presence of unemployed people and invalidity pensioners. But the presence of pensioners old-age is just a factor out of poverty. Households consisting only of pensioners, four times reduce the risk of poverty. Less risk of becoming poor “households consisting of one person” – it’s down 7 times.
But the most outstanding achievement of the liberal chekist “social” state is not representable in the West, the poverty of working people. Russian minimum wage is from January 1, 2016 6204 rubles per month for full time. It’s only 60,9% of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied population. The actual salary received at his hands, maybe even less. For comparison: the minimum wage in China in 2015 amounted to 2030 yuan, or $ 326, in the Russian Federation in February 2016 82 per dollar.
The main factor of growth of poverty is inflation. Jump number of the poor precisely correlate with jumps in consumer prices in early 2014 and 2015. This is understandable, the poor tend to receive fixed in RUB pay, and pretty good prices, they can only reduce their consumption. Affects the poor the cuts of budget expenditures on social needs: benefits, expenditures on health and education.
Another source of increase in poverty – increase in the cost of housing and communal services. Although it is often not recorded by official figures. For example, the introduction of fees for the repair did not affect the level of inflation in 2015, because before this Board was not, and compare prices are not to, since divide by zero is impossible. In inflation will only further increase this cost. But there is still reform of real estate taxation, which will lead to a sharp increase in this tax. Impact on poverty and nudeinterracial of pensions in 2016.
Meanwhile, “the Kremlin” found in the budget tens of billions to support foreign-owned business owners, such as “AVTOVAZ”, and the “class close” them banks. Their loss, as usual, will pay the pensioners and the poor.
