Ynflaasje Rekke de Earmen it Hurdst. De Riken Kamen it Earst Werom.
May 11, 2026 · Frisian News
New data shows that low-income households lost more purchasing power during the inflation surge, while wealthy families rebuilt their savings faster as prices stabilized. The gap between rich and poor widened despite overall economic recovery.
FryskIn kassière yn in supermerke yn Amsterdam skreau acht moannen lang alle wiken de prizen fan granen foar it moarnsiten, molke en bôle op. Har notisjeboek toant flinke priisferheggingen op guon produkten. Se joech it meastepart fan har ynkommen út oan grûnbehoeften en skraste alles oars troch. Ein 2025 wiene prizen wat sakke, mar har lean net omheech gien. Underwilens melden rykere gesinnen yn ûndersiken dat sy harren sparjild al opbouden hiene en jild werom yn oandielen en ûnreplik goed stutsen hiene.
Offisjele statistiken befêstigje no wat in protte wurkjende minsken al wisten: ynflaasje rekke dyjingen dy't fan lean nei lean libje folle hurder dan de riken. Ûndersyk toant oan dat húshâldens yn it leechste ynkommenskwarttiel in folle grutter diel fan harren jierlikse keapkrêft ferlearen as dy yn it topkwarttiel. De reden is ienfâldich. Earme gesinnen jouwe hast al harren ynkommsten út oan fieding, enerzjy en hier. As dy prizen omheech skoaten, hawwe sy neat mear om te besparjen. Rike gesinnen hawwe folle fermogen yn sparjild, ynvestearringen en ûnreplik goed dat faak yn wearde stiiget tidens ynflaasje.
Sintrale banken en regearingen ferhegen rintepeilen om de fraach te dempen en prizen omleech te bringe. Dizze strategy stopte ynflaasje, mar feroarsake in twadde wûne. Hegere rinte makke lienen djoer foar elkenien mei skulden. Wurkjende gesinnen mei hypoteeken seagen harren moanlikse lêsten sterk omheech gean yn lannen troch hiel Europa. Rike gesinnen hiene huzen sûnder skuld of hiene jierren earder fêste rintepeilen fêstlein. Banken beteallen ek hegere rinte op sparrekkeningen, wat ten goede kaam oan dyjingen dy't jildreserves hiene. Earme gesinnen, mei in bytsje te besparjen, hiene gjin foardiel fan hegere rinte.
Ekonomysk herstel is ek ûngelik west. Leanen foar leechbetelle wurknimmers binne stigen, mar inkeld beskieden yn de measte lannen sûnt 2023. Underwilens binne aktivaprizen sterk omheech gien. Oandielemerken joegen in sterk rendemint oer deselde perioade op in protte Europeeske beurzen. Hûsprizen stigen flink yn stedlike gebieten. Dit betsjut dat immen dy't oandielen of ûnreplik goed hie, syn ynflaasjeferlies weromwûn en noch wat ekstra krige. Immen waans ienichste fermogen syn lean wie, die dat net.
Regearingen joegen wat help. Brânstofsubsydzjes, kontante stipe en prizeplafons holpen tidens de krisis. Mar stipe kaam faak moannen nei't de prizen stigen wiene, en de help wie gauris te lyts om de wirklike ferliezen te dekken. Rykere lannen joegen genereuzer stipe. Earmere lannen koarten hurder en rapper. It gefolch is dat de ynflaasjeperioade de kleau tusken earm en ryk oer it kontinint ferbreede, en ekonomyske groei sûnt dy tiid hat dy kleauwen net opnij sletten.
A worker at a supermarket in Amsterdam recorded prices on cereal, milk, and bread each week for eight months in 2024. Her notebook shows significant price increases on some items. She spent most of her income on basics and cut everything else. By late 2025, prices had fallen slightly, but her wages had not risen. Meanwhile, wealthier families reported in surveys that they had already rebuilt their savings and shifted money back into stocks and property.
Official statistics now confirm what many working people already knew: inflation crushed those who live paycheck to paycheck far worse than the wealthy. Research shows that households in the bottom income quartile lost a significantly larger share of their annual purchasing power during the peak inflation period than those in the top quartile. The reason is simple. Poor households spend almost all income on food, energy, and rent. When those prices spike, they have nowhere to cut. Rich households keep much wealth in savings, investments, and real estate that often rises in value during inflation.
Central banks and governments raised interest rates to cool demand and bring prices down. This strategy worked for stopping inflation but created a second wound. Higher rates made borrowing expensive for anyone with debt. Working families with mortgages saw their monthly payments rise sharply in countries across Europe. Wealthy households either owned homes outright or had locked in fixed rates years earlier. Banks also paid higher rates on savings accounts, which benefited those with cash reserves. Poor households, with little to save, gained nothing from higher rates.
Economic recovery has also been uneven. Wages for low-wage workers have risen, but only modestly in most countries since 2023. Meanwhile, asset prices have climbed sharply. Stock markets posted strong returns over the same period in many European exchanges. Property values rose considerably in urban areas. This means a person who owned shares or real estate recovered their inflation losses and then some. A person whose only wealth was their wage did not.
Governments handed out some relief. Fuel subsidies, cash transfers, and price caps helped during the crisis. But support often came months after prices spiked, and aid was often too small to cover actual losses. Richer countries offered more generous help. Poorer ones cut faster and harder. The result is that the inflation period widened gaps between rich and poor across the continent, and economic growth since then has not closed those gaps again.
Published May 11, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân