The middle class and abstention
A large part of society continues to define itself as middle class, but income levels belie this claim. However, there is a socio-political fact that speaks clearly: the lower the income, the greater the abstention (https://correccioencatala.cat/com-estructura-text-catala/).
The extreme right and the middle class
It is well known that many far-right voters come from the working class and used to vote left. However, it is now necessary to go further and recognize that the extreme right also attracts an impoverished and disaffected middle class. This phenomenon can be observed in the case of Donald Trump.
The influence of Obamacare
During his first campaign, Trump promised to eliminate Obamacare, a social security system based on subsidized private insurance. However, he changed his mind when he discovered that many of his constituents, impoverished white workers, actually benefited.
The effects of the extreme right on the financial markets
The far-right election results in Europe have had a negative impact on financial markets, including the German bond. In addition, other stock markets and public debt of different countries have also suffered consequences. However, the German bond continues to offer more profitability and safety, attracting investors (https://materials.campus.uoc.edu/contents/PID_00294231/index.html).
The Bank of Spain and its relationship with Catalonia
Since its foundation in 1856, only two of the 70 governors of the Bank of Spain have been born in Catalonia. This fact highlights the relative historical irrelevance of Catalonia in the Spanish economic power.
Pharmaceutical poverty in Catalonia
About 300,000 people in Catalonia are in a situation of pharmaceutical poverty, that is to say, they cannot afford the cost of the medicines they need. This situation has a direct impact on their health and life expectancy. It is necessary to analyze how this problem evolves, bearing in mind that the price of medicines is not the only factor, but also the co-payment system that does not differentiate between income levels.
Labor insecurity in the hospitality sector
A study reveals that the real salary of hospitality staff, taking into account unpaid overtime, holidays and unused breaks, is equivalent to one and a half euros an hour. This has caused many employers in the sector to complain about the difficulty in finding workers (https://ateneu.xtec.cat/wikiform/wikiexport/cmd/bib/bebl/modul_4/tema_2).
Labor transformations during the pandemic
During the pandemic, many workers in the hospitality sector and other commercial activities chose to retrain, anticipating that face-to-face businesses had no future. However, the situation has changed and the same lifestyle as before has been recovered, but many workers have not returned to their previous jobs, creating a significant hole in the labor market.
The peculiar business of North Korea
One of North Korea’s main export products is natural hair wigs, including eyelashes and beards. This industry generates an annual income of 135 million euros, a considerable figure for this country. The production process is curious, since North Korea imports hair from China and then sells the final products to China itself, which is the one who markets them globally.
