The Latvian middle class is surprising with its poverty

Associate Professor of the Faculty of Social Knowledge of the University of Latvia Baiba Bela stated in Dienas Bizness that even the most affluent part of the residents of Latvia have more financial problems than the poor in Denmark. “It’s not as if there wouldn’t be any economic difficulties at all. Of course, also among the relatively wealthy population there is this economic tension and they cannot afford even many of the generally accepted things of material security.” “In addition, gaps in the state’s infrastructure and the inability to get to big cities also contribute to backwardness, which is why people choose to leave rural regions and often leave the state.”

In studies of the middle class, “income, education, and other criteria are measured, but less attention is paid to the content of work, which … is an essential value.” “The size of the middle class is directly related to positive demography,” also notes Liga Rasnacha, an associate professor at the Faculty of Social Knowledge of the University of Latvia. -In its sense, it is also evidence of the middle class and its capabilities. Most of all we have at the moment are families with one child.”

“In developed countries, we are talking about great pressure on the middle class and its actual reduction,” notes L. Rasnacha. – This is not only a Latvian tendency that the part of society that can identify itself as representatives of the middle class in a particular territory is decreasing. The reason for this is global changes that are changing the very sources of material stability.”