Inequality is growing, exacerbating the risk of divisions in our society, and hampering economic and social development.

The high inflation in the last two years is hitting mostly the more vulnerable: the elderly, single parents, the working poor, and their children.

The income and wealth gaps are the most serious threat to the cohesion of our society.

A study of the Caritas Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living report identifies the cost of a basket of goods and healthcare services needed by three types of families with a low income to be able to live a basic but decent quality of life in Malta.

According to this report, elderly couples are the worst hit by the high inflation, with an increase of almost 30 per cent in food prices between 2020 and 2023.

While imported inflation is difficult to control, more can be done to introduce social support policies that help the most vulnerable.

Admittedly, when the Ukraine war erupted, subsidies on imported grain were of great help to ensure that basic food products like bread and pasta remained affordable for all.

But other subsidy policies are only making the wealth and income gap more painful for those living on the fringes of society.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has often repeated that the subsidies on energy products and services will remain the government’s main strategy to counter imported high inflation.

Today, this subsidy that does not discriminate between those who really need it and those who do not because of their relative affluence no longer makes sense. It only leads to the wasteful use of energy priced at unrealistic levels and prevents the channelling of more financial support to those struggling to put bread on the table. 

A brief observation of so many fuel-guzzling seacrafts near our shores shows how the indefinite commitment to subsidising fuel for all is insensitive and socially unfair.

It is no wonder that the IMF and the European Commission have advised the government to redefine the policy so that public money is used to support the weakest in society and not the affluent who can cope with the market forces in the energy market.

Special consideration should be given to older people, many of whom incur extra healthcare expenditures to deal with the challenges of old age.

Sadly, the waiting lists at our public hospitals are getting longer, and those who have no financial means or support from their families often have to wait too long to have surgery that can improve their quality of life.

Cataract and orthopaedic surgery waiting lists are unacceptably long, and older adults suffer the most because of this failure in public health effectiveness.

Growing inequality can exacerbate political dysfunction and undermine faith in political and economic systems.

It can also erode principles of fairness and democratic norms of sharing power and resources.

Unfortunately, many children living in financially distressed families risk being caught in the poverty trap as they suffer malnutrition that invariably affects their ability to progress in their studies.

NGOs are vital in highlighting the risk of growing income and wealth inequality.

The proposed solutions must include new taxes on those who can afford to pay them, revised subsidy regulations and policies, and philanthropic strategies to promote community-based investment to dismantle inequality.