A recent book worth reading is Poverty Made in the USA, by American sociologist Matthew Desmond (Capitán Swing, 2024). It paints a well-documented portrait of the problem of poverty in the richest country in the world and proposes some quite imaginative possible solutions, although not always applicable to other places. But, in my opinion, the book's great virtue is its successful attempt to give visibility to a group as numerous as it is hidden: the poor.
For most of us, when we hear the talk of the poor, the image of the beggar in the doorway of the church or someone queuing at a food dispensary comes to mind, but poverty is much more than that. Poverty is not only going hungry but also not being able to buy a computer for the children or replace a broken washing machine. That's why the most common indicators speak of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion to refer to those who lack the basics to live with a minimum of guarantees.
Within the islands, according to official data, we're talking about 16% of the population, about 200,000 people. Paradoxically, despite being twice the population of Menorca, the social and political weight of this group is insignificant. The focus of political discourse is almost always the middle class or certain specific groups: young people, women, the elderly... the poor never come to the fore, possibly because they have little incentive to vote or are unable to do so.
Some will say that it's not necessary, that if you help the middle class, you indirectly help the poor. That if the former can buy houses, the latter will see rents drop. It's the same rhetoric that maintains that when companies make large profits, this means higher wages for workers, but we all know that, in the end, the bulk of the profits end up in the pockets of investors and, quite often, in tax havens.
Poverty can only be combated with policies aimed at the poor. If the concern of public health was to ensure that the middle class had a hospital bed when they needed it, the poor would never see a doctor. But let's not make the mistake of blaming politicians. If there are no policies aimed at the poor, it's also because most people don't want to be around them or know of their existence.
If there's a group targeted for segregation today, it's this one. Unconsciously, we avoid mingling with the poor. We tend to corner them in certain neighborhoods and build others, with gardens and single-family homes, because we know they'll never be affordable. And that only makes the problem worse: poor neighborhoods have worse public services, deficient schools, and greater insecurity on the streets. It's the fish that eats its own tail.
The question is whether it's worthwhile to remedy this, despite the sacrifices it would entail on everyone's part. The answer must be positive, given that we know that poverty causes public health problems, generates low-skilled labor, and collapses public services, among other things. But the fight isn't just played out from an economic perspective. Recovering the old evangelical concept of "neighbor," it would also be important to stop looking at the poor with a straight face and get closer to them. I'm sure this proximity would help us become better people, even among those of us who live comfortably, and would make us see things differently. We would all win.
