Mecklenburg-Vorpommern District

Poverty in Germany hits new record

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Over 13 million people in Germany were affected by poverty in 2019, bringing the poverty rate to 15.9%, the highest measured poverty rate since reunification thirty years ago. These figures are presented in the latest poverty report from the German social protection association Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, published on November 20.

The resurgence of poverty is widespread. Eleven of the sixteen German states have rising poverty rates, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Lower Saxony. The state of Bremen is the most affected, one in four being poor, followed by Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia with poverty rates between 18.5 and 19.5%.

Collecting discarded bottles to refund deposits, a common sight in Germany (Image: Sascha Kohlmann / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Since 2006, the poverty rate in North Rhine-Westphalia has increased two and a half times faster than the German average. Poverty is most concentrated in the Ruhr Valley region, with a poverty rate of 21.4 percent. According to the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Germany’s largest metropolitan area is also the poorest.

Of the 5.8 million inhabitants of the Ruhr Valley, 1.3 million live in poverty. Since 2006, poverty has increased by 36%. In comparison, in Germany as a whole, poverty increased by an average of 14 percent over the same period. In the urban region of Duisburg / Essen, the increase in poverty during the same period reached 48 percent. Last year, the poverty rate reached 21.5%, reaching as high as 22% in Dortmund.

Rising poverty is also reflected in the number of people in Germany receiving social assistance, known as Hartz IV. While the percentage of those drawing Hartz IV was 8.4%, in Germany as a whole the rate in the Ruhr area was 15%, meaning that almost one in four children depended on the government assistance. In some cities and districts, this figure even exceeded 30 percent. In the city of Gelsenkirchen 40% of children depend on Hartz IV.

Regarding the geographic distribution of poverty, the report states: “In terms of geography, poverty in Germany is differentiated into two halves – but not between East and West, rather between North and South. In the affluent south, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have a common poverty rate of 12.1%. The rest of the republic, from east to north to west, has a combined poverty rate of 17.4 percent. Outside Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, on average more than one in six people live below the poverty line. “

Considering the massive reduction in working hours and the massive layoffs announced in the automotive and associated industries, which are highly concentrated in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, it is to be expected that poverty will also increase in these states. .

Of the 15 regions and cities with the highest poverty rates, a third are in North Rhine-Westphalia, mainly in the Ruhr Valley region. Another third is in Lower Saxony and Bremen and another third is located in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin.

Poverty also increased sharply between 2006 and 2019 in the Rhine-Main region, in particular in the cities of Frankfurt / Main and Offenbach and in the region around Darmstadt in the south of the state of Hesse. Here, the poverty rate fell from 10.5 (2006) to 15.3 (2019) percent.

The report notes: “High concentrations of wealth in a region or state generally coincide with high poverty rates.” Hesse has the second highest wealth rate in Germany and now has a poverty rate of 16.1 percent, above the national average.

Poverty is defined as income less than 60 percent of average income. Last year it was 1,074 euros per month for a one-person household and 2,256 euros for a family with two children under the age of 14.

The unemployed are the most at risk of poverty with 57.9 percent living in poverty. Among single parents, 42.7% live in poverty and among families with many children, the proportion is 30.9%. Low-skilled people are affected by poverty at 41.7% and people without German nationality at 35.2%.

For all groups considered in the study, poverty in 2019 increased compared to the previous year. The most significant increase in a long-term comparison was seen among retirees. Among them, the poverty rate has increased by 60% since 2006 to reach 17.1%. The majority of the poor work (33%) or are retired (23.6%).

Widespread poverty is the result of decades of anti-worker policies. The so-called Agenda 2010 and the Hartz laws of the SPD / Greens coalition of Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer, who ruled from 1998 to 2005, gave particular impetus to the development of the now vast low-wage sector. all the ruling coalitions, mainly with the participation of the SPD, have advanced these developments.

Figures in this year’s Poverty Report by Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband date from the run-up to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, social antagonisms have only increased and a further increase in poverty is foreseeable.

The report states: “The effects of the corona crisis are likely to further accelerate this trend. [toward inequality]. The impact of this crisis is not a general loss of prosperity, but particularly affects those working in the restaurant business or in temporary work, mini-jobs and the self-employed, which means that the corona crisis will contribute ultimately to greater inequalities and more poverty in this segment of society. “

The Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband warns: “There is therefore sufficient evidence that the corona crisis will lead to further growth in inequality and poverty. There is a lot to believe that the current record poverty rate of 15.9% in 2019 will rise again significantly in 2020. â€

The authors of the study criticize current social security systems for not being sufficient to protect people from poverty, homelessness, poverty among the elderly and other precarious living situations. The benefits of Hartz IV and other social programs are far too small to fund a decent existence. They also criticize the fact that of the hundreds of billions of euros the German government has spent to support the economy, nothing is reserved for those most affected by job losses and poverty.

No measure against poverty can be expected from the government. On the contrary, the policies of recent years have been and still are characterized by a frontal attack on the working class and its most vulnerable sections. Government action during the pandemic, as in every other country, has been characterized by massive bailouts to protect the rich and the super-rich at the expense of workers, who are forced to work despite the risk of infection and loss of life.

Schools and daycares remain open so parents can go to work and generate profits. The last week of November saw the number of people infected with COVID-19 in Germany surpassing one million. More than 15,000 people have died from COVID-19, with no end in sight.

The growth of poverty is the result of a gigantic redistribution of the wealth of society from the bottom up. Weekly Wirtschaftswoche of October 7 reported that the rich got even richer as a result of the coronavirus crisis: “In Germany, after a slump at the start of the corona pandemic, the net wealth of the ultra-rich rose to 594.9 billion dollars until the end of July. In the last survey (until March 2019), it was $ 500.9 billion. The super-rich club has since grown from 114 to 119 members. After the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of German dollar billionaires saw the strongest growth in tech (up 46%), healthcare (up 12%) and finance (up 12%). 11% increase). “

According to a ranking recently published by Magazine Director, the Reimann family, with assets estimated at 32 billion euros, are among the richest Germans. Second, Lidl founder Dieter Schwarz, with assets estimated at 30 billion euros. Third place goes to siblings Susanne Klatten and Stefan Quandt, who own almost half of BMW’s shares. Their assets fell from 1.5 billion euros to around 25 billion euros during the pandemic – a figure hardly less dizzying.

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