We're almost all middle class here, but the impoverished middle class, and we continue to get poorer

We need at least one division and at least one tank so that we don't get drunk from frustration. Well, that's a problem, there is no money for that either, everything is stolen, the Landsbergiai and others, who got rich for one euro, the robers just sit and look at us angrily.

 

"According to the OECD definition, the middle class includes the population whose income is between 75 and 200 percent of the national average income.

 

Swedbank's Chief Economist Nerijus Mačiulis said that last year the median salary before taxes was 1,473 euros, so according to this definition, the middle class should include residents who received between 1,104 and 2,946 euros before taxes.

 

"Based on this definition, we have a record high middle class in Lithuania, as it makes up as much as 62 percent of the population.  Unfortunately, these statistics also hide less encouraging trends - the Lithuanian middle class has become poorer."

 

During the year, the average income increased by more than 12 percent, but when the average annual inflation reached over 19 percent last year, the purchasing power and opportunities of many residents decreased by approximately 7 percent," commented N. Mačiulis.

 

He explained that it can be said that the opportunities for the middle class are lower in all aspects this year than they were a year ago.

 

The main reason for this, as he claimed, was the price jump.

 

"This was the reason that few people can say that their opportunities have increased," the economist added.

 

He also emphasized that it is not really the case that those who earn the least suffered the most. As he emphasized, they received many benefits, heating was compensated.

 

In addition, the economist drew attention to the fact that last year the most expensive commodities were food and energy resources.

 

"Many families had to spend a larger part of their income on food and housing, so less funds remain for leisure and other non-necessary goods and services, which is an important attribute of the middle class.

 

The opportunities of those with loans were also cut by the jump in interest rates - for an average family with a home loan, these expenses increased by approximately 3,000 euros per year," said N. Mačiulis.

 

It's not just income that matters

 

As it was explained, Swedbank customer data shows that even 62 percent residents have funds in their bank accounts, the amount of which does not reach 2000 euros. Over three years, this indicator has hardly changed and shows that wealth inequality is higher than income inequality.

 

"The habit of saving regularly and having a sufficient level of liquid savings is also an important characteristic of the middle class. Unfortunately, according to this criterion, we cannot classify more than half of the country's population as middle class," said Swedbank's chief economist.

 

N. Mačiulis also pointed out that although a large part of the Lithuanian population lives in their own housing, its quality often does not meet expectations, and other property indicators also do not show positive trends.

 

"In Lithuania, there are still more than 7 percent of the population use an outdoor toilet that stinks to the Heavens, and there are only three countries in the EU where this indicator is worse. In addition, housing affordability has fallen to its lowest level in the last ten years due to the spike in housing prices and increased interest rates in recent years. The number of cars per thousand inhabitants increased to 574, but even 27 percent. of cars are older than 20 years, which is one of the worst indicators in the EU. Unfortunately, seeing such statistics, it is still difficult to talk about the strengthening of the middle class", - summarizes N. Mačiulis."

 

The way they calculate that middle class here is pure fraud: they pick one idiot who is in the middle among us and compare us all to him. If you get something like this idiot gets - you are middle class. In reality, our prices are the same as elsewhere in Europe, and salaries are twice as low on average. Therefore, we do not reach our neighbors at the level of the middle class, even if you hit the ground with you most soft body part.