City: The cost of the household basket of poverty has risen more than inflation

In August, the poor Buenos Aires family basket of a typical family (married couple and 2 young children) increased by $ 8,393. That’s $ 280 a day. It went from $ 112,766 to $ 121,159, not counting the rent, according to data from the Buenos Aires City Bureau of Statistics and Census. It represents a 7.4% increase, above the average inflation (7%) reported by Indec on Wednesday.

Compared to a year ago, this is a 78.8% increase, or $ 53,379 in 12 months.

The total basic or “poverty” basket of Buenos Aires, in addition to basic foods, includes other items but not the rent of the house.

Thus, the basic Buenos Aires basket for a typical family renting a modest home would exceed $ 180,000, which is very difficult to achieve even for heads of households with registered jobs.

The engine of this climb is explained by the basic foods which in 12 months had an increase of 84.1%: from 35,700 dollars in August 2021 they “jumped” to 65,738 dollars last month.

In August, the foods that grew the most in the city of Buenos Aires were bread and cereals (7.1%), milk, dairy products and eggs (7.5%), vegetables, tubers and legumes (11.4%) and meat and derivatives (4.0%).

Thus, the increase in the prices of food, other goods and services that consume the most destitute and poor do not give up. And due to their size and impact, they continue to drive inflation.

With incomes of between $ 121,160 and $ 186,136, the Buenos Aires management considers these families a vulnerable or fragile middle class. And what to consider “Middle class,” the income of a typical family should have exceeded $ 186,136 in August which, adding up a modest fee, without expenses, would exceed $ 240,000.

Due to inflation and the recession, the middle class in Buenos Aires was shrinking, increasing those at either end of the income pyramid.

With the data of the first quarter of 2022 and relative to a year ago, “in the general structure by income strata, the greatest variations compared to 2019 are observed in the composition of the non-poor segment: greater weight of the intermediate segment According to data from the Department of Buenos Aires, the “medium-fragile” and the affluent sectors, to the detriment of the medium sector and the one in a situation of vulnerability.

Thus, the middle class has shrunk in recent years and from representing 52.8% in the second quarter of 2015, it has fallen, due to recession, inflation and pandemic, to 45.8% in the second quarter of 2021. The data Q2 of this year will be available next Friday 23.

Compared to the same period of 2021 – when poverty reached 26.4% of porteños (815,000 people) of which 9.8% are destitute (303,000) – and despite the increase in inflation, a reduction of both indicators due to higher economic activity and higher employment. But also for state aid.

For example, in the second quarter of this year, there was a $ 18,000 bonus for retirees with minimum income and vulnerable sectors that helped reduce the period’s highest inflation.