**Pakistan's Unending Struggle: The Cycle of Poverty*
*Pakistan’s Struggle with Poverty: A Never-Ending Crisis*
As Pakistan is facing a lot of problems in every sector of Pakistan, especially in politics, education, economy, and health infrastructure, these issues have worsened significantly in the past two to three years.
Why Pakistan’s Lower Middle Class is Shrinking in 2024"**
Pakistan has laws, but their implementation remains a major issue. These circumstances affect the people of Pakistan profoundly, especially the lower middle class, which has been severely impacted by the unstable conditions.
*White-Collar Struggles in Pakistan: Rising Inflation, Stagnant Salaries*
The majority of people in the lower middle class are white-collar workers. They have a fixed income to meet all their expenses.
Daily Struggles of Pakistan’s Lower Middle-Class Families"**
> **Key Challenges in 2024**:
★ 📉 **60% of income spent on rent and utilities** (up from 45% in 2020).
★ 📈 **Food inflation** hitting 35%, forcing families to skip meals.
★🏥 **No access to healthcare**: 70% lack insurance coverage.
★ 📚 **Education costs**: 1 in 3 children drop out due to school fees.
In well-developed countries, when taxation policies increase, salary adjustments are made accordingly. Additionally, governments provide allowances for the unemployed or elderly. However, in Pakistan, the situation is the opposite. Prices of basic commodities, utility bills, car prices, and education expenses are skyrocketing. Salaries, however, remain stagnant.
*Why Pakistan’s Lower Middle Class Is on the Brink of Collapse*
How can the lower middle class survive in Pakistan under such conditions? Due to these challenges, cases of suicide among the lower middle class are reported almost daily. This reflects the hopelessness of people crushed under the burden of rising expenses.
5 Policy Solutions to Rescue Pakistan’s Lower Middle Class"**
*The Cost of Living Crisis in Pakistan: Who Is Responsible?*
What is going on in Pakistan? Is there no one seriously thinking about the welfare of society? Will Pakistan ever compete with other nations in the economy, health, education, or implementation of laws? Who will take the initiative to address these rising issues? And who will take responsibility for the lives lost to poverty and hopelessness?
*IMF Loans and the Burden on Pakistan's Middle Class: A Grim Reality*
It is not wrong to say that a majority of Pakistanis are trapped in the cycle of poverty. Job salaries remain stagnant, even as taxes and essential expenditures rise. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands Pakistan to increase taxes in exchange for more debt, further worsening the financial burden on the people. Why should we accept this? Are we slaves? Are we mere puppets?*
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: Can Pakistan’s Middle Class Survive?*
Poverty in Pakistan has been recorded by the World Bank at 39.3% using the lower middle-income poverty rate of US$3.2 per day for the fiscal year 2020–21. In September 2021, the government stated that 22% percent of its population lives below the national poverty line set at Rs. 3030 (US$10) per month.
My answer to this is no. We are not slaves, and we deserve better. This is a heartfelt appeal to all policymakers and higher-ups in Pakistan: stop or at least reduce the suffering of the lower middle-class people. Let us not forget that their lives matter too.
Gulsher Hashmi
Lahore
