- There are citizens who think that in our country they receive much more than immigrants give them, and there are not few who complain that they receive public services (housing, social benefits, health care…). Unfortunately, you will also think about the Minimum Vital Income (IMI) that the Spanish Government is going to implement. However, actual and official data deny these perceptions. Immigrants contribute more than they receive.
That is what Ikuspegi, the Basque Immigration Observatory, says, an institution that deepens the incidence of immigration in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. It has just published an analysis of the relationship between economic input and expenditure on GDP in 2018. This study shows that the money offered by public administrations, around EUR 750 million, is lower than the economic injection (EUR 1.525 million) that immigrants receive into the Basque economy, which accounts for 2.06% of the GDP of the CAV. Therefore, Basques of foreign origin contribute almost twice as much to the community as they receive from the public purse.
Consequently, and in the light of these official data, it would be appropriate to break the stereotypes that exist around this group, which is neither subsidized nor dependent on the public treasury. Furthermore, their contribution to our economy and well-being, as well as the maintenance of our pensions by social security contributions, should be acknowledged and appreciated.
All this should also contribute to the improvement of human, social and cultural coexistence among all. Here they work and live, and therefore they are Basques and of this people. With all rights.