Purchasing power: for the middle classes, "the impression of being the cash cows of the State"

Maximilien Carlier 6:15 a.m., July 19, 2022

Debates on the purchasing power bill began on Monday in the National Assembly.

The government plans various measures to help the most modest households, very affected by inflation.

Among the ideas mentioned: the revaluation of retirement pensions, the means-tested food check of 100 euros, to which will be added 50 euros per child, or the abolition of the TV license fee.

“We give a lot, we receive little”

If this will mainly concern the most modest French people, the middle classes, who may not be affected by this aid, feel "forgotten".

This is particularly the case of Guillaume and Alice, parents of two young children.

She is a nurse, teaching him.

Together, they earn 4,500 euros per month, pay taxes, but also feel a little neglected. 

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“We feel like the cash cows of the state. We give a lot, but we receive very little. The only aid we are entitled to is 134 euros per month for our two children, from the Caf", regrets this couple from Lille.

In particular, they were not entitled to the birth bonus, nor to the conversion bonus for the purchase of an electric vehicle.

"Nothing", summarizes Guillaume. 

"With 4,500 euros, we are not to be pitied, but we are not doing what we want"

Moreover, according to him, "it's always the same people who make the effort. We want to pay, it's normal to have a redistribution policy except that it has to be consistent. At 4,500 euros, we don't is not one of the poorest, we are not to be pitied, but we cannot do what we want".

Especially now with rising fuel and energy prices.

Last renunciation of the couple: go on vacation near their home to save money.