Russian demographer suggests Russian authorities encouraging divorce via child poverty allowance, divorces now outpacing marriages
May 22, 2023
By introducing a unified allowance for children, which is tied to the criterion of need, the authorities themselves encourage spouses to formally dissolve their marriage so that the mother and children fall below the poverty level. Then she becomes entitled to payments for each child. This is the real effect that this measure had. This was stated by the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Demography, Migration and Regional Development Yuri Krupnov . And it seems that his position is not without foundation.
From January 1, 2023, the rules for paying child benefits have changed. Instead of several types of social benefits for children and pregnant women, a single benefit was introduced, which was tied to family income. If the monthly income per family member during the last 12 months did not exceed the regional subsistence level per capita, then the family has the right to pay 50%, 75% or 100% of this same subsistence minimum for each child.
If 50% is enough for the family to exceed the poverty threshold, then 50% is assigned. If this is not enough, then 75%. And only if this is not enough, then they will pay all 100% of the subsistence minimum. This is done so that the family does not greatly exceed the poverty level, but only gets out of poverty.
But by doing so, the Government of the Russian Federation "successfully wages war against the family and demography," Yuri Krupnov is sure. He draws attention to the sharp increase in the number of divorces in the North Caucasus over the past two years, linking it to receiving payments. After the divorce, the father is not formally related to the family, and his income is no longer taken into account. And a poor mother with children gets the right to payments.
Until 2020, the total number of divorces in the North Caucasus Federal District was just over 20,000 per year. In 2021, it rose sharply to 34 thousand, and in 2022 to 55 thousand. In two years, the growth is 2.5 times. Over the past year alone, it has doubled in Dagestan and Ingushetia, and 2.4 times in Chechnya. The unified allowance began to be paid there last year. There is no doubt that the news quickly spread in these regions.
"In absolute terms, it's even more beautiful: for the first time in the history of Russia (and in world history) there are more divorces than marriages. That is, the countdown has begun. The causal relationship here is very simple: social payments (benefits and social contracts) and benefits ( mortgages) are made on the basis of a means test and assistance to single mothers. Accordingly, it is more profitable for families to dissolve a marriage in order to obtain the correct means test," the expert wrote.
He adds that the authorities are actually introducing economic tools to destroy marriages. And after that they are surprised at the catastrophe with the birth rate.
Krupnov believes that the authorities, as it were, are telling people with a single need benefit: if you want support, become beggars. “And for those who nevertheless fall below the threshold of extreme beggary with the birth of children, the state will extend a helping hand and“ pull up ”the family to the very threshold of poverty, but in no case higher,” the Parents’ Chamber emphasized .
The authorities talk about the uniform allowance as a great help for families. So, the other day, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced this . Families with more than 10 million children have the opportunity to receive it.
And Nakanune.RU has been writing for many years that all measures to support families with children are social, not demographic measures, and have no visible positive effect on the birth rate, which continues to fall.
Nothing strange from Khazarian inbreds and Neo-Bolshevik scum. Great work, Timothy.