The income distribution problem and politics

What is expected of politics and economic activities in a country is to meet the needs of the people living there with scarce resources, to further improve their material conditions, and to increase the welfare of society. These activities generally take the form of production, consumption, circulation, and distribution.

Social relations that determine how the national income, which expresses the total of goods and services created in a certain period, can be shared among individuals or social groups are called distribution relations. The income that falls to individuals and groups as a result of distribution relations is called income distribution. What is meant by income distribution is the distribution of national income. More precisely, it is fair distribution.

It refers to the distribution of income created within certain periods in a country among individuals, regions, and sectors, or in other words, the shares received from national income, that is, from production.

Income distribution;

? Reveals the relationship between income inequalities and social and economic institutions,

? The change in income disparity between the rich and the poor over time,

? The effects of changes in income inequality on wealth, capital accumulation, and growth, and

? Reveals resource allocation.

The monetary and fiscal policies implemented in the country directly affect income distribution.

Today, there is a positive relationship between income distribution, growth, and taxation. It is observed that there is growth stability in countries where income distribution is fair. High income distribution injustice, on the other hand, can lead to political instability on one hand, and less investment and lower growth on the other.

In our country, many income distribution studies have been conducted by various institutions, the first being in 1963, mostly to observe the development of personal income distribution. The most commonly used method in personal income distribution analysis is to show the rate at which income is distributed to percentage segments of the population. The results of various income distribution studies can also be evaluated with these methods.

The shares of the population's 20% segments from income are shown. Accordingly, while the lowest-income 20% segment of the population received only 6% of the income in 2003, the highest-income 20% segment of the population received 48%. In 2026, while the lowest-income 20% segment of the population received only 6% of the income, the highest-income 20% segment of the population received 49.0%. As can be seen, the income of low-income earners has not increased during this process.

The Gini Coefficient takes a value between 0 and 1 and expresses on whom the income distribution in the country is concentrated. The Gini Coefficient approaching 1 expresses injustice in income distribution, while approaching 0 expresses that the income distribution is fair, on the contrary. It also expresses the concentration of income.

According to the generally accepted criterion in the literature, social crises arise in cases where the share of the highest income group from income is 8 times the share of the lowest income group. In our country, the share of the highest income group from income was 8.1 times the share of the lowest income group in 2003, and 8 times in 2026.

The fact that the distortion and injustice in income distribution have not changed is also confirmed by the announcement of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) that 27.9% of the population is below the poverty line according to the 2026 "Equivalized Household Incomes".

In our country, 25 million people live below the poverty line.

With the redefinition of income in taxation, the taxation of previously uncaptured income, regulations to be made in favor of low-income earners regarding the taxes they will pay, and the regulatory role the state will undertake in resource allocation through tax policies and public expenditures will be a regulation in favor of low-income groups in terms of income distribution.

Income distribution injustice is the focal point of social welfare and sustainable development. The level of human development is one of the basic indicators that increase the quality of life of individuals. This situation is of critical importance in terms of reducing inequality in society and raising human development indicators to a sustainable level.

Politics must achieve social growth and development. The welfare obtained as a result of growth must also be distributed to society in a fair manner. Otherwise, the existing welfare becomes a matter of debate in society. The deterioration of income justice brings with it problems of both democracy and legal security. It is of critical importance that development policies aim not only at economic growth but also at increasing the level of human development and improving income distribution.

What politics must do is to implement egalitarian policies in the fields of education and health, strengthen regional development projects, and take measures to increase the participation of disadvantaged groups in the workforce. These policies will both increase human development and contribute to the reduction of injustices in income distribution. Politics also has an effective role in the effective use of social transfers and in eliminating income inequalities in the short term.

When we look at our country's position, especially among OECD countries, Turkey is in a very disadvantaged position in terms of income inequality and poverty. Since the 1960s, no meaningful improvement has been achieved in income inequality. It is observed that political powers in our country do not give enough weight to social policies implemented to ensure justice in income distribution and to fight poverty.

Income distribution inequality and poverty are among the most important socio-economic problems waiting for a solution in Turkey. Poverty rates in Turkey are quite high in rural areas and cities. As the household grows, relative poverty also increases. Poverty rates in our country are quite high. This situation is not sustainable.

This income distribution injustice and poverty problem also make democracy, justice, and legal security controversial.

Prof. Dr. Duran BÜLBÜL