IT IS not cold inside the Municipal Family Support Centre, but Barbara Choinska keeps her coat on, in the manner of people to whom the world has been hostile. The centre is the main social-services point in Siedlce, a town 90km east of Warsaw. Ms Choinska has five children, no husband and no job. “She struggles to make sure the children are dressed and do their homework,” explains Adam Kowalczyk, the centre’s director. “We send someone each week to help her maintain basic standards, so they don’t get taken away by the state.”
One thing Ms Choinska no longer worries about is having money for food and rent. In 2016 Poland’s new government, led by the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, launched the “Family 500Plus” programme, which pays a monthly stipend of 500 zlotys ($148) per child, starting with the second. Indigent parents like Ms Choinska qualify for their first child, too, so she gets a whopping 2,500 zlotys per month. In Poland, that is not far short of the median after-tax...Continue reading
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