MALTA’S LOST DREAM: HOW FAMILIES GOT TRAPPED
by Anna Marie
Not so long ago, one salary in Malta covered everything. A house. A car. A good life for the whole family. Things were straightforward. Families felt secure. Then, a quiet change flipped everything upside down. That golden era vanished for good.
Society pushed women into jobs, calling it freedom. Feminism was dressed up as a win for all. But who really came out on top? Wages, when you account for rising costs, started shrinking in real terms. One income wasn’t enough anymore. Families now needed two paychecks just to scrape by. Then, Malta welcomed waves of immigrants. Their cheap labour dragged local wages down even further. Ordinary Maltese workers got hit hard.
The government loved it. It even bragged about it. Two working spouses meant twice the taxes in just a few years. Big companies grinned, too. More workers, same costs. Banks locked families into decades of debt. Landlords and real estatetycoons jacked up house prices. Owning a home became a fantasy for most young couples.
To keep everyone distracted, society sold a lie. Happiness? It’s in shopping. Credit cards, quick loans, and fancy getaways were pushed as the good life. But this wasn’t wealth; it was a trap. Families worked non-stop, chasing a fake dream. They drowned in debt, not prosperity. Social media added pressure, flaunting perfect lives that nobody could afford.
In addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023, the Maltese prime minister said that “one of our government’s proudest achievements [was] the introduction of free childcare that… enabled” parents to join the workforce. With both parents at work, who looked after the kids? Nurseries, schools, and screens took over. Strangers raised the next generation. Family traditions faded. Kids grew up glued to devices, shaped by influencers and ads, not parents. TikTok hooked kids with endless, addictive content, eroding their attention spans and critical thinking. It promotedshallow trends and instant gratification, weakening family values and real-world connections. Malta’s tight-knit family culture started to crack. Schools taught new ideas, often clashing with old values. A generation drifted from its roots.
Big businesses and banks kept cashing in. Families didn’t climb any ladder. They were stuck running in circles. The cosy life of an earlier generation evaporated.
Today, Maltese families are exhausted. They juggle multiple jobs, sky-high bills, and crushing loans. Rent eats a good part of their income. The dream of stability is out of reach. Technology, from apps to algorithms, pushes more spending, keeping the cycle going. The system with its politicians, companies, and banks, wins. Families don’t.
Archbishop Scicluna described how in his childhood, in a carpenter’s home, “Christmas was simple for my family, but full of love.” Can we bring back Malta? A life where one job was enough? Or are we doomed to chase a mirage, working harder for less? And with less children at home? Maltese families deserve better.
