Minimum consumer basket, cost of living in Russia - these terms are well-known to everyone. These concepts are briskly operated by officials and presenters of television programs, and ordinary people often do not even know what numbers are hidden behind these concepts.
In principle, the essence of the terms is hidden in their name. Minimum consumer basket - a list of goods and services necessary to meet all the needs of a citizen. And the minimum cost of living in Russia is the same basket, but expressed in monetary terms. For different categories of citizens, for different areas, it is calculated differently. On average, the cost of living in Russia in 2012 is 6307 rubles. Moreover, for an adult, able-bodied population it is slightly higher - 6827, and for pensioners - significantly lower - 4963. If the average per capita income of a family is below the subsistence level, then the family can be recognized as poor.
Periodically, television companies, magazines or just volunteers conduct experiments on the topic "How to live on the minimum cost of living in Russia?". As a rule, a person simply allocates the necessary amount put by the government for food and tries to keep within it. The experiments end in different ways, many just do not reach the end of the month, and despite the fact that people do not have to buy clothes during this period, and they have a certain supply of food.
People living at the minimum cost of living in Russia, constantly, have a hard time. Despite the fact that, in principle, the minimum consumer basket takes into account most of the needs, the quantity of goods and services leaves much to be desired.
For example, a child has 3 units of outerwear (both autumn and winter) for 2.6 years. And if a 5-6 year old child can meet these standards, then the three-year-old obviously does not fit in the same suit in which he was dressed two years ago. The same can be said about adolescents during the period of intensive growth. Haberdashery and upper hats are supposed to be bought by children every 2.8 years in the amount of 4 pieces. Given how quickly children's clothes wear out, how quickly children grow out of them, and how often they lose gloves, scarves and mittens, it becomes clear that the costs and standards used to calculate the cost of living in Russia are too small and do not reflect reality .
The situation is no better with drug provision. The amount allocated to medicines is calculated as a percentage of the non-food part of the basket - respectively 10 for working adults, 15 for pensioners and 12 percent for children from the non-food part of the basket. Tentatively, this amount will amount to 300 rubles per month. Despite the fact that some medicines cost 500-600 rubles, the cost of often ill children and pensioners can reach 1000-1500 per month.
Unfortunately, it is precisely from the size of the living wage that they are repelled when calculating benefits and subsidies, including for large families, single mothers and women on maternity leave. If the average per capita income for all family members is at least 10 rubles higher than the cost of living in Russia, then compensation for this family will no longer be due.
If families of two, three or more people can still somehow reach a living wage - the youngest children carry the older ones, the products are bought in bulk, cheaper, utility bills are paid from the whole family, and not from each person. That lonely living citizens have the hardest time. They have to pay utility bills depending on the meter, and not even the largest apartments are 24, 36 meters in size (while the law contains 18 squares per person). Which exacerbates the already plight of man.