Vulnerable middle class?
Fragile middle class?
Average middle class?
The barriers to belonging to one or another "middle class" are quickly being removed.
In the City of Buenos Aires, where in order not to be poor, a typical family of a couple with two children must have a joint income of
at least $175,080.
However
, between that income and $215,244.44, more than the middle class, the City classifies them as
"vulnerable non-poor",
that is, they are on the verge of falling into poverty.
In this last sector are families whose income ranges
between $98,186.22 and $175,080.05, between 9.3% and 7.1%, respectively, more than in January
.
Below, one is already indigent (households that cannot even pay the basic food basket), according to the Buenos Aires Statistics Department.
To be from the "medium fragile"
sector
, family income must be between $215,244.45 and $269,055.55.
Finally, to belong to the so-called
"average middle class"
you have to earn between $269,055.56 and $860,977.79 between the two parents.
This typical family is made up of a 35-year-old married couple with two children aged 6 and 9.
Above $860,977, the household is already considered to be of the "well-to-do class."
To belong to the wealthiest segment of the City, the members of this select group had to have increased their income by 7% compared to January.
If they didn't,
they will have "fallen" into the middle class.
The speed of increases in the prices of basic foods is the most outstanding feature of current inflation, more than canceling the bonuses and/or income reinforcements that the Government grants from time to time to vulnerable sectors.
And that is why it leads
to a new increase in indigence and poverty at the start of 2023, above the high values of 2022
.
The basic food basket for
a typical family that rents a modest home is around $250,000
, a value that is very difficult to achieve even for heads of family who have a registered job.
The 11.7% rise in the indigence line in the City in February exceeded the average inflation of 6.6% because the prices of basic foodstuffs that, in proportion to their meager income, are consumed more by households in extreme poverty – especially common minced meat and fruits – had increases of between 10 and 35%.
In March, these values continue to rise, due to price
remarks
and also due to the drought that has been restricting the supply of vegetables, fruits and vegetables.
NE
look too
Inflation among the poorest is the highest since April 2002: 11.7% in one month
Basic basket: a family needs 177,062 pesos to not be poor, 8.3% more in a month