Line Johnsen Angelsen (32) lives in a small two-room flat in Horten. There, the kitchen drawers are full of pasta and canned vegetables from Eldorado and First Price. The pasta meals have become so numerous that Angelsen is sickened by the thought of yet another cheap dinner. She has had enough of being poor. – I think many hoped that Ap would do more than they have done, she says. Pasta from First Price is among the items that Line Johnsen Angelsen has eaten to reduce the food budget. Photo: William Jobling / news Gets 223,000 a year Angelsen says that she fell ill in her teens. In 2010, Nav concluded that she had less than 50 percent ability to work, but she is still under investigation for disability benefits, according to the decisions news has seen. She has therefore never worked beyond internships through Nav as part of the investigation. In the meantime, she has been entitled to the minimum rate for employment verification allowance. This corresponds to twice the basic amount in the national insurance, and amounts to NOK 223,000 annually before tax. After tax, Angelsen is paid NOK 7,346 every 14 days. Half goes to rent. The rest will cover electricity, food, clothes, telephone and internet bills. – About a year and a half ago I found myself in a situation where I was in the red every month if I were to buy all the things I really needed, she says. Line Johnsen Angelsen crochets in her spare time, but being able to afford yarn is worse than before. Photo: William Jobling / news Minimum rate recipients often live in poverty. In December, 46,440 Norwegians were in the same situation as Angelsen, according to figures news has obtained from Nav. The payments are so low that the recipients are often entitled to housing benefit. Angelsen receives NOK 2,046 in housing benefit, in addition to an extra NOK 1,500 to cope with more expensive electricity in the winter months. – It is more than nothing, but it is not enough, she says. – It hurts to see that the payments from Nav have largely kept pace with the general price increase. But the price of electricity and food has grown even more, taking a larger share of the income of people who can’t afford it. Increased food prices The comparison of food prices and the wage trend says something about whether you get more, less or the same amount for your money. When the development of food prices is higher than the development of wages, it means that food has become more expensive. Both figures are averages for the specified period. Read more about sources and reservations here. How much food prices have increased in the past year, compared to wage trends Throughout Europe, prices have risen sharply in the past two years. In Norway, the food queues outside private aid services such as the Salvation Army are growing. Two out of three in the queue are recipients of public benefits, according to a recent Fafo report. Benefits are so low that Nav case workers have accompanied people who can’t afford it to the food queues, according to Fafo. Angelsen says that the rates were just high enough to provide a reasonably decent life, but after the price increase in 2022, the money only stretches to a minimum to exist. – I’ve had some months where I might have NOK 500-600 for food, but then I have to skip meals. It will be crisp bread and First Price ham, she says. Line Johnsen Angelsen finds that prices are rising so quickly that she constantly has to find new ways to cut consumption. Photo: William Jobling / news Angelsen had to receive food boxes himself before Christmas, and otherwise gets some help from close family. She has found a receipt from a shopping trip in May last year. Then she acted as if she could afford to treat herself to something extra, because someone in the family picked up the bill. With news in tow, Angelsen put the same goods in the trade basket. The checkout slip shows that the shopping basket has become 16 per cent more expensive. Food prices have risen by 12 per cent in the past year, but Angelsen’s shopping basket has increased even more. Photo: William Jobling / news Angelsen is stunned when she goes through the receipt and sees how the prices have run from her wallet. – It hurts to see. I think it’s a shame that the government doesn’t do more than they do now, she says. Calls for answers from the government The rates for Norwegians like Angelsen are politically determined. She followed news’s Debate this winter. The politicians have explained that people like Angelsen cannot get more help because more money into the economy will drive up inflation and interest rates even further. The rationale has been rejected by a number of economists, and even the government’s own calculations show hardly any effect. Storting representative Tuva Moflag (Ap) describes Angelsen’s rate as low, and understands that the finances of people with low social security or wages become demanding when prices rise rapidly. – That is why it is an important task for us to keep prices as low as possible, meaning that we dampen price growth, but also that interest rates do not rise quickly, she says. Storting representative Tuva Moflag (Ap). Photo: William Jobling / news Want to solve the price crisis with urgent measures The government has come up with extra money for the disabled and minimum pensioners, while NOK 1,500 in extra housing benefit goes to people like Angelsen. The Labor Party sees the strong rise in prices as an urgent situation, and believes that the social security amounts that are adjusted each year should be enough to get by in the long term. – Then we have to see what we should do in terms of emergency measures in an emergency situation. Then Nav is the most important tool we have. The minister has been very clear that now Nav must use discretion and help those who are having the most difficulty, she says. – But is enough money allocated? The government wants to hold back on spending due to price increases? – The government will hold back on spending on a very large macro level, but that does not mean that people will go hungry. Here, Nav will stand up for those who need it most, she says. – But when some people apply and don’t get the extra help they need, what good is the insurance? – Then they have to say that here the minister has said that here Nav will stand up for those who are having the most difficulty. We find that many people give feedback that Nav does, she says. Angelsen is critical of the government being so concerned with the interest rate, and believes that the politicians are not setting up the benefits for other reasons. – I would say that it is simply because it is not profitable. Of course I understand that the sick are not profitable, but the alternative is to put the rest of us on the heap. We must have a fairly dignified life too, she says. Iced coffee is the luxury favorite of Line Johnsen Angelsen. She believes that people who can’t afford it should also be able to afford something extra in their everyday life. Photo: William Jobling / news The interview with Tuva Moflag was done before the Fafo report was presented this week.
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– Embarrassed to death that the government does not take more action – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
