Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-15-Speech-2-029-000"
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"en.20111115.5.2-029-000"2
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"Madam President, I, too, would like to thank the rapporteur for this extremely comprehensive report, which I think should be compulsory reading for every Finance Minister. As my colleague, Ms Harkin, has just been saying, what we are seeing at the moment is a disconnect between macro-economic policy and the effect that it actually has on people’s lives on the ground.
I want to respond to one or two points made by other colleagues this morning – it is a pity they are not still here. The bailouts are not charity. They are about solidarity, and they come with interest rates attached. The ESF itself is about solidarity, and that is why many of us in this House would like to see an increase in the monies going to other countries to help them combat poverty.
In terms of the root causes of poverty, I for one do not believe that it is about a lack of opportunity. In some Member States where, for example, every job vacancy is being pursued by at least five unemployed people – before you even begin to look at skills mismatches and geographical mismatches – I think it is a little bit difficult to say that we are going to cut the benefits of people who have not found a job when those jobs are not there.
Investment in social protection, as this report makes very clear, makes sound economic sense. It is an economic stabiliser; it helps recovery; it reduces future costs where we have to pick up the pieces of people whose health has deteriorated and whose educational opportunities have been lost; and it keeps the local economy moving.
But I also want to see a reduction in the gap between rich and poor. That is what the ‘Occupy’ movement is about – the power of the 1% as against the other 99% – and that is why issues about a living wage and adequate income are essential in this debate."@en1
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