Sinkies are those couples made up of people who, despite having a job, cannot afford to start a family due to low wages.
Last update: February 14, 2022
The financial crisis that devastated the world a few years ago, and which has not yet exhausted its consequences, brings with it a series of current phenomena that seem to have come to stay. One of these concerns the so-called sinkies.
Sinkies are young people who are in a couple relationship, but who have ruled out the idea of ​​having children. This, however, does not mean that they do not want them, but that they receive too low a salary to be able to support children.
The harsh reality of the sinkies
This social phenomenon, born only recently, affects three out of ten young Europeans. That is to say that thousands of people between the ages of 20 and 30 are at serious risk of social exclusion, despite having jobs.
The term sinkies was coined by Caritas Europa, responsible for a study on 17 European Union countries, aimed at analyzing this phenomenon and identifying possible ways to counter it.
Sinkies is a sort of acronym born from the combination of English-derived terms: Single, Income, No Kids. That is, single with income, but without children, and not necessarily by their own will, but by necessity or obligation due to specific circumstances.
The study on youth poverty in Europe
Not long ago Caritas presented the report at the European Social Summit. This document states that, following an in-depth study, it was observed that the new generations enjoy fewer opportunities than the previous ones. They live in worse conditions than those of their parents and, in some cases, even their grandparents.
This study reveals the difficult situation faced by so many young people with serious problems in accessing even the most basic civil rights. According to Caritas, these rights would be housing, training and social security. It should be noted that the Caritas study makes a clear distinction between sinkies and dinkies:
- Dinky is the term coined in the 80s to define those people who, despite having a double salary and earning enough, they chose not to have children.
- Sinky is the term coined for young couples who for personal and work reasons wish to have children, but cannot plan to have a family of their own because they are deprived of sufficient stability to allow them to do so.
The medium and long-term effects
According to authoritative sources, the new generations are the first in history to live worse than their parents. Several prestigious figures have denounced this situation.
As reported by Caritas Europa, the problem is that this will affect demographics in the medium and long term. An unflattering economic future for the old continent is expected, according to the judgment of Jorge Nuño, general secretary of this body.
The situation has worsened dramatically due to the 2008 crisis. Since then, wage levels in Europe have not only stagnated, but have even plummeted, creating a populous universe of precariousness, an aspect that increases the risk of predisposition to poverty.
According to this same study, young millennials between the ages of 21 and 30 in the UK have to wait an average of 5 years before receiving a raise, despite being forced to struggle against high inflation. This means that they are poorer every day.
The sinkies and overqualification
Jorge Nuño's words are motivated by the fact that this generation not only earns less than the previous one, but he also faces a reduction in his salary. In short, it goes from an average salary of around € 1000 to wages that are around € 700-800.
The culmination is that we are talking about a generation with extreme overqualification. Cases such as Greece and Portugal are particularly serious, given that thousands of young people with university degrees struggle to exceed non-responsible and poorly paid roles.
And in this universe of precariousness and little hope, sinkies are forced to navigate, trying to fight their frustration at work by emigrating and looking elsewhere for opportunities that they cannot find in their own country.
Here, to conclude, these generations are facing serious difficulties of financial autonomy. They lose their motivation, find it hard to have access to a home worthy of being called such and can fall prey to populist speeches, in the face of lack of hope for a better future.
Youth has its struggles, which is to bring down the runaway oligarchies, the leaders who disorient and the shady interests that exploit us.
-Arturo Jauretche-
