During Crisis - Rich Got Richer... Poor Got Poorer

Poverty (Photo credit: Teo's photo)

The gap between the rich and poor in Greece has widened to such alarming rates. In 2009, when the crisis began, one fifth of the population enjoyed incomes that were five times more than the poorer fifth, but today this has all changed. The same one-fifth (or the upper class) have increased their earnings by more than 7.5 times.

According to a conference that was organised by the Parliamentary Budget Office earlier this week, approximately 42% of the incomes of Greek citizens can now be characterized as being below the poverty line (set at 60% of the median household income – as it existed in 2009).

Manos Matsanganis, an associate professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business said that the poor are now 56% even more poorer in comparison to those who were in financial difficulty in 2009. He added that the hardest hit were the unemployed, private-sector workers, a large section of the self -employed workers as well as the younger generation. Farmers and employees in state-owned utilities, were less affected.

     "The vast majority of the unemployed have been out of work for over 12 months, while only 15% of them are receiving unemployment benefits," he added.

Matsanganis noted that the conditions for the elderly have also deteriorated significantly (in terms of income), since they are now obliged to pay for their hospital care and medicine.

The general climate has also been worsened on account of the reduction in unemployment benefits and the special property tax levied through electricity bills.