If the Catalan economy is growing, why don't I notice it?

In most countries, when a country's economy grows, the wealth of its inhabitants also grows, and therefore, they live better. Not here. In the last 25 years, Catalonia's GDP has grown by 50%, but in the same period, per capita disposable income has stagnated. The Catalan economy has grown, as has demographics, but we Catalans are stagnating. And that's very unusual. Why is this happening to us? I'll add one more thing: in the last plenary session on infrastructure, President Illa said he was working to prepare for a Catalonia of 10 million. We hear this aspiration more and more. I think that before thinking about the Catalonia of 10 million, we should stop and understand how we got to a Catalonia of 8 million.

Today, there's a gap between the country's macroeconomic figures and the daily lives of Catalans. Between the triumphalism of politicians and the stagnation of the people. We hear about record economic growth, employment, and population growth. And all of that is true, but most Catalans notice on a daily basis that shopping at the supermarket, having a coffee, or going out to dinner is more expensive, or that mortgages and rents are rising, well above wages. And there's a reason for that.

Growth based on low wages is unsustainable

Catalonia has opted for a growth model based on generating more wealth, not by producing better or strengthening value-added sectors, but by maintaining low wages and increasing the population. The growth of recent years, rather than raising wages, has actually increased the number of salaried workers. And so we have reached the Catalonia of 8 million. Growth based not on improved productivity, the promotion of competitive sectors that generate skilled jobs, or increasing the salaries (and wealth) of Catalans, but on importing low-wage workers. Obviously, in sectors with little added value.

We've reached the Catalonia of 8 million without talking about the economic model. And it's clear that before talking about the Catalonia of 10 million, we would have to address the Catalonia of 8 million. Today, the income of the highest-earning 20% of Catalans is almost five times that of the lowest-earning 20%. Today, the cost of living has skyrocketed, and housing takes up a third of a household's resources. According to the latest CEO, 9 out of 10 Catalans find it very difficult to access adequate housing. In fact, 1 in 3 Catalans has cut back on their spending on food or transportation to address the housing problem.

Life is getting a little more difficult every day. These are symptoms of an economic model that doesn't work. Or only works for a few. The problem isn't people earning low wages, but rather growing as a country based on uncompetitive economic sectors that generate low-skilled and precarious jobs. Because growth based on low wages is unsustainable. In fact, it's growth, inevitably, subsidized by public institutions. In other words, we all subsidize them. Because low wages, if they barely provide enough to live on, clearly don't support pensions, nor will their taxes and contributions cover public services.

The result: we have grown according to an economic model that has served only to enrich a few thanks to low-wage jobs in uncompetitive sectors of the economy. Therefore, rather than preparing for the Catalonia of 10 million, we need to renew the economic model. We have done well in recent years, and Catalonia is a leading country in many areas. Now, the key is to continue advancing with high-value-added sectors, diversifying the economy and rebalancing the country, and growing based on skilled jobs and fair wages.