Is there a difference between poor and needy?

Is there a difference between poverty and need? And to what extent is it useful to focus on it? These questions came to mind after we published this article : a beautiful story of solidarity, with a hypermarket recently opened in Mestre, named after Pope Francis, for people who don't have the money to buy groceries . We called them poor, simply and clearly. But many readers didn't like the definition, and they wrote to us, some quite indignant, asking us to change the title and refer generically to people who are "needy ." I disagree, and I'll try to explain, trying to narrow down the difference between poor and needy.

WHO ARE THE POOR TODAY?

There are certainly distances, both quantitative and temporal , that separate the poor and the needy. The former, perhaps, has been in this infernal circle of precariousness for a long time, the latter has suffered a temporary loss that he hopes to recover soon. The poor is completely destitute, the needy perhaps has some reserves to consume.

READ ALSO: Roberta Campani, a heroine of solidarity. Up and down Brianza in the midst of Covid, to help

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE POOR AND THE NEEDY

Having clarified these differences, I ask you: do they make sense? Do they change our attitude toward these people? I'll give you a very concrete example. A man in his 50s told us his story: he lost his job, his social safety nets, such as redundancy payments and solidarity payments, expired, and he no longer has the money to pay the rent, support his wife, from whom he is separated, and a child. Is he poor or needy? He's certainly someone who will bless the volunteers who opened the Papa Francesco hypermarket in Mestre, and he cares little whether he can be classified as poor or needy. Moreover, the context in which we live is such that sliding from need to poverty, with all its consequences, is a matter of very little. Otherwise, in Italy we wouldn't have to deal with 4,6 million poor people , according to ISTAT statistics and not based on the perceptions of some volunteer association engaged in social work.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POVERTY AND MISERY

This discussion takes us back to when we were discussing the difference between poverty and destitution. St. Thomas Aquinas said that poverty forces us to renounce the superfluous, while destitution forces us to renounce the necessities. This is another distinction that has become somewhat outdated. Poverty today has many faces (think of those who lack access to technology, good education, or healthcare), and they all coincide with the loss of basic necessities, and therefore with destitution. Much of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is dedicated, rather than to environmental issues strictly speaking, to actions aimed at eliminating hunger, defeating poverty, ensuring health, well-being, quality education, decent work, clean and accessible energy, and drinkable water for all. The UN Agenda is a major plan to combat poverty , which has become synonymous with destitution and horrific inequalities. In Italy, with 4,6 million poor people, approximately 75 percent of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of 5 percent of the population. And this phenomenon, unfortunately, has only become more accentuated in recent years, widening the gap between a few rich people and many, too many poor (and/or needy) people.

MEASURES AGAINST POVERTY

And here we come to public action , to what politics can do to effectively combat poverty and need. In this case, by making some distinctions. The fundamental error of the basic income , in fact, lies in this misunderstanding: the introduction of such a tool is necessary. But are we sure it reaches the right hands? In the Southern regions, especially those with highest unemployment , we continually hear stories of entrepreneurs, even simple hoteliers and restaurateurs, who cannot find available workers. They prefer to keep their basic income and work illegally. Not to mention the families of mafia and Camorra members who have had access to this form of bonus.

POVERTY, THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH

The government would have done better, in this case, to distinguish between the poor, with their chronic nature, and the needy, with their temporary nature. And this would have avoided so much absurd waste, allowing inequality to be addressed with more targeted and appropriate tools, based on the different conditions of the recipients. At the same time, we cannot remain hung up on the World Bank's now-outdated definition of poverty: poor is anyone who has to live on 1 or 2 dollars a day . In Italy, can one live on 10 euros a day without feeling poor? Once again, the responses must be targeted and well-funded, to ensure that incomes increase, wealth is better distributed, and more widely shared. And this is in everyone's interest: rich, poor, and needy.

SOLIDARITY STORIES:

• Coronavirus: The Solidarity Medicine clinic reopens in Tor Bella Monaca
• Coronavirus: Therapists take action against fear and isolation. To transform a crisis into an opportunity.
• Free pizzas for the needy: a charitable initiative from a Neapolitan pizza chef with a heart of gold.