The most hated people in this country are usually those who are being honest and speak the truth regardless of circumstances. If you think people will get upset anyway, just tell the truth.
I can answer to people for the things I say. That’s easy. However, if I don’t speak what I know to be true, I can’t answer to my own conscious. So, we must keep speaking the truth without attaching too much importance to those who are consumed by politics or power. History remembers those who speak the truth, not those who punish the people speaking the truth.
It’s really good news that inflation rate hits single digit for the first time since 2017. Now, let’s take a quick look at the details:
The goods and services that have been exposed to most price hikes in September are: housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels, clothing and footwear. Price hikes are around 2% in both groups. Food and non-alcoholic beverages as well as entertainment and communication prices on the other hand seem to have dropped by 0 to 1 percent last month.
While the price of 70% of 418 items in inflation basket has increased, the price of 84 goods and services fell in September, which means 20% of items that are being indexed. By the way, the price of 40 items remained intact.
Although I expected a sharp fall in inflation rate once the negative outcomes of the basis effect is over, I honestly did not expect such decline, especially after September hikes in energy and other goods and services prices. The fact that the gap between the cost of living and the inflation rate keeps growing does not go unnoticed either, which absolutely does not bring any positive impact on those who make ricing and purchasing decisions despite the falling inflation.
“We are not the ones who manage people’s perception, thus we are not here to fix it…”
Garlic, zucchini and cucumber were the champions of the hike in September by 30-40 percent. Among the other products with the highest increase in September are taxi and commuter rail fare with 20 percent. The other products with the most price decrease in September ae lemon, apple, onion, fish and 1-week or longer domestic tours since the tourist season is here!
I can see the price declines in some of these items first-hand when I shop for groceries. However, decline in inflation rate may go unnoticed due to the fact that people’s purchasing power has also declined. That’s why economy officials should the people reason why the gap between inflation rate and the cost of living is drastically large. Maybe this way, they can get to improve their perception of the government.
If Turkey is currently experiencing the phenomenon of “low inflation vs. high cost of living”, this will need to be analysed as soon as possible. If some of you get offended just because I’m telling this, I strongly suggest them to take a good look at their own perspective of Turkish economy. As we are not the ones who deteriorated perception so we are not the ones who should fix it.
