Bülent Mumay on poverty in Turkey and Erdogan’s wealth

2023-12-14 15:43:03

Even as a child, I dreamed of becoming a journalist. I wanted to be like my father, whose clatter of typewriters woke me up in the morning. Anyone who saw my parents’ house and how we lived knew that journalism wasn’t a career you took up to get rich. When I went into journalism 27 years ago, it was clear to me that I wouldn’t have a life of luxury and that I would, at best, achieve middle-class standards in my dream job. That was around six years before the start of Erdoğan’s 21 years in power. As a student, I started working the night shift at one of Turkey’s largest newspapers. I was at the university during the day and then in the editorial office until 2:30 a.m. My salary was around minimum wage. Nevertheless, I was able to build a life in a central district of Istanbul and after two years I was even able to buy a small car with the savings.

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In Erdoğan’s Türkiye, such a career would be nothing short of a miracle. It has become virtually impossible for workers to rent an apartment in Istanbul city center. Even in the outskirts, rents are higher than the minimum wage. A car has become a luxury. The cheapest new car in Turkey costs around 22,000 euros. In Germany you can get the cheapest new car for less than half that. And this despite the fact that your minimum wage is about five times higher than ours. You can buy a car with the minimum wage for a maximum of five months. In Turkey, a minimum wage worker has to save for a car for five years, without eating or drinking, paying rent, heating or buying clothes during this time. And because real income is falling every day, the dream of owning a car will have become a distant memory again at the end of five years. That’s why more motorcycles are sold in Turkey than cars: if you don’t have enough money for four wheels, you have to make do with two.

Bülent Mumay: Picture: private

Thanks to Erdoğan’s economic policies, workers have become poorer. In 2016, workers generated 40 percent of national income. That rate fell to 25 percent in just six years. The share of labor in gross national income is at its lowest level in 27 years. Meanwhile, the palace regime multiplies the wealth of the wealthy. At 56.7 percent, the share of companies in the gross national product reached a new record. Thanks to Erdoğan, the middle class in Turkey has all but disappeared. The poverty line is four times the minimum wage. According to official figures, one in five people receives social assistance. Even in Istanbul, the country’s financial capital, meat sales have fallen by 40 percent since the beginning of the year. How not? Prices have tripled within a year.

The religious authority is growing

Citizens are going into debt to keep up with rising prices. Within a year, the rate of credit card payments increased by 122 percent. Cards with low credit limits, such as those issued by banks to low-income customers, are most commonly used. Do you know what was most bought in Turkey on “Legendary Friday”? Now of course you ask: “What is legendary Friday?” The shopping event “Black Friday” has been called “legendary Friday” in Turkey for a few years now. Why? Friday is a holy day for Muslims, which is why Friday became a “legend” for us due to pressure from the government. But back to the topic. There used to be a run on discounted clothing and electronic devices on such days. On the last “Legendary Friday,” citizens instead hoarded food that they could otherwise hardly afford. Sales of short-term discounted food increased by 110 percent.