Minister of finance slams 'scare-mongering' poverty figures released by charity Cáritas
Sunday, March 30, 2014 @ 7:57 PM
FINANCE minister Cristóbal Montoro has criticised the Catholic charity Cáritas for stating that 1.5 million households in Spain live in actual poverty.
Cáritas also announced recently that the country is the second-worst in the EU for child poverty, beaten only by Romania and that the number of people living below the breadline in Spain is currently 69.8 per cent higher than in 2007.
Montoro slammed these declarations, saying they are based upon 'anecdotal' evidence and 'statistical measures' and not on hard facts.
“Cáritas' frequent statements on the subject are purely statistical, and when one speaks in these terms, one is referring to an income threshold which makes Spain look worse than other countries with a much lower level of income per capita,” stated Montoro.
He also criticised Cáritas for 'mixing concepts' of poverty, especially in light of the charity's comments that the money the government intended to use to bail out struggling motorway toll companies could instead be used to eradicate poverty.
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