Vulnerable middle class? Fragile middle class? Middle 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 consisting of a couple with two children must have a combined income of at least $175,080.
However, between that income and $215,244.44, more than the middle class, the City ranks them as “poor not vulnerable”, that is, they are on the verge of falling into poverty. In the latter sector are the families whose income fluctuates between $98,186.22 and $175,080.05, 9.3% and 7.1%, respectively, up from January.
Below, one is already destitute (families that can’t even pay for the basic food basket), according to the Buenos Aires statistics department.
Being in the industry “half brittle”household income must be between $215,244.45 and $269,055.55.
Finally, belong to the calling “middle middle class” you need to earn between $269,055.56 and $860,977.79 between both parents. This typical family consists of a 35-year-old married couple with two children aged 6 and 9.
Above $860,977, the family is already considered to be of the “well-to-do class.” To belong to the richest section of the City, the members of this small group must have increased their income by 7% compared to January. If they haven’t, they will have “dropped” into the middle class.
The speed of the price increases of basic foodstuffs is the most relevant characteristic of the current inflation, rather than the cancellation of the bonuses and/or income reinforcements that the Government grants from time to time to vulnerable sectors. and that is why it is needed to a new increase in destitution and poverty in early 2023, above the high values of 2022.
The basic basket for a typical family renting a modest home costs about $250,000a value that is very difficult to achieve even for heads of households who have a registered job.
The 11.7% increase in the City’s poverty line in February exceeded average inflation by 6.6% because the prices of basic foodstuffs which, in proportion to their meager incomes, are consumed more from families in extreme poverty – especially minced meat and common fruit – have had increases of between 10 and 35%.
In March these values continue to rise, due to the redials of prices and also due to the drought which has limited the supply of vegetables, fruits and vegetables.
Source: Clarin
