Monday’s report based on the results of the 2015 Household Budget Survey raised an eyebrow or two. It said the average family had annual expenditures double that of a decade earlier.
Certainly the amount going up from 40 to 80.5 thousand Antillean guilders begs the question whether the combined inflation during that time was really 100 per cent or people just bought relatively more. And did salaries go up accordingly to make it possible?
After all, a household that spends NAf. 80,500 per year would also need a net income of at least NAf. 6,700 per month. This is much more than a large segment of the population earns.
The idea is not to place in doubt these figures of the Department of Statistics STAT that are ultimately gathered with questionnaires for which persons voluntarily provided the information. Experience has shown that, for whatever reason, people aren’t always completely honest or forthcoming.
One factor mentioned is that since 2004/2005 St. Maarten has updated methodologies to mirror international standards and increased the number of expenditure categories from nine to 12. If one looks at what was spent on accommodation (almost 40 per cent) back then and on housing, including water, electricity, gas and other fuels, now (32 per cent) there was actually a decrease.
In another example, the average 20 per cent spent on “transport and communication” in 2004/2005 was separated a decade later into 17.5 and 6.5 per cent respectively, which adds up to 24 per cent.
So, as STAT readily admitted, it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges, but the data do seem to confirm that both the current minimum wage and AOV old age pension are insufficient to ensure a decent existence.
