2024-07-28 15:22:16
If there are objective and subjective reasons for inflation, it is one thing, but if it was possible to control it, another thing, economist MP Tadevos Avetisyan said in a conversation with Aysor.am reporter.
“Inflation causes people’s real incomes to decrease, that is, the purchasing power of wages or benefits decreases. Prices are rising, the purchasing power of income is decreasing, and this is a direct and immediate factor that creates poverty and worsens the quality of life.
In other words, when people’s real incomes decrease, this leads to the impoverishment of the moderately poor, the extreme impoverishment of the poor, and even a decrease in the quality of life of those with average incomes,” Tadevos Avetisyan said.
According to him, the average consumer price index in Armenia is already 7.1 percent and is continuously growing, on the other hand, there is inflation approaching 20 percent in the food market, and the average salary has increased by about 6 percent.
“To all this, if we add that the pensions have not increased, the amounts of unemployment allowances have not increased, everything becomes clear. This creates complex social problems for people, and no matter how much they try to explain, manipulate and promise that they failed now, they will control inflation next year, it is an obvious lie. Because next year’s state budget also presents a fairly high average inflation target, higher than the one set for this year. If we had 7-7.5 percent real inflation in the conditions of the 4-4.5 percent target, they set a higher target for the next one,” Tadevos Avetisyan said.
The economist MP raised a question: what does the government do in the conditions of inflation, when it is the number one responsible for the sustainable development of the economy and investments?
“The government is also responsible for social problems, and the most affected by inflation are the socially disadvantaged classes. It is a serious problem for the recipient of family benefit of 35 thousand drams, when the price of oil increases by 500 drams in one year, and this is the government’s doing. The government should start to increase the social payments. It is not a gift that they give to the citizens, but they just redistribute incomes,” said the deputy.