The PTI government has increased petrol prices by Rs 42 per liter in the last three years. Additionally, a substantial depreciation of the currency against the dollar is followed by an upward price surge. First, the imported goods become expensive, and subsequently, all those locally manufactured goods that depend on imported input also show a surge in the prices, thus unleashing an inflationary trend.
A high level of inflation might be justifiable in extraordinary circumstances. Inflation follows whenever economic activity is in high gear for a significant amount of time. Put in other words, there is a tradeoff between the level of inflation and unemployment.
A recent PIDE report shows that while the government estimates 6.5 percent unemployment, as many as 24 percent of the educated people (those with a university degree) are unemployed. As many as 40 percent of the educated women are unemployed. This phenomenon is called stagflation; it features both a high level of economic stagnation and inflation.
This begs the question of why there has been an unprecedented increase in the prices. The official explanation is as predictable as it is unhelpful. The government asserts that the corruption of the previous governments has been responsible for the current economic mess. For starters, this does not absolve this regime of its responsibility to deliver, especially more so because the sole agenda of the current regime was to curb the corruption by public office holders.
Even if the previous regimes’ corruption has contributed to the current economic mess, the diagnosis is not sufficient to fill empty stomachs. No one has ever contested the claim that Pakistan has sufferd from corruption by holders of public office. Ironically, corruption has significantly increased under the current regime. This is reflected in the country’s downward journey on the transparency ladder.
One might ask what the PM has done in the last three years to stem the tide of corruption? How effectively he deals with the individuals named in the Pandora Papers might provide a measure.
Other official explanations of a spike in the inflationary trend are essentially an exercise in the race to the bottom. When the government spokespersons compare the price levels in Pakistan to the price level in other countries and take satisfaction of sorts that prices in Pakistan are still lower than some, this contradicts the long-held and oft-repeated claim of the current regime that prices increase on account of corruption by their rulers.
Even if the previous regimes’ corruption has contributed to the current economic mess, the diagnosis is not sufficient to fill empty stomachs. No one has ever contested the claim that Pakistan has sufferd from corruption by holders of public office. Ironically, corruption has significantly increased under the current regime. This is reflected in the country’s downward journey on the transparency ladder.
One might ask what the PM has done in the last three years to stem the tide of corruption? How effectively he deals with the individuals named in the Pandora Papers might provide a measure.
Other official explanations of a spike in the inflationary trend are essentially an exercise in the race to the bottom. When the government spokespersons compare the price levels in Pakistan to the price level in other countries and take satisfaction of sorts that prices in Pakistan are still lower than some, this contradicts the long-held and oft-repeated claim of the current regime that prices increase on account of corruption by their rulers.
fck the kike,s............n, brilliant puppetier