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Save us from the brunt of price hikes
THERE was a time, not long ago, when Bangla news editors would use the phrase “like the price of water” to connote the low cost of an item. Even last year, raw cowhide during the Qurbani Eid was sold for the lowly “price of water.” Aggrieved dairy producers are often heard of throwing away their products in protest of the parity found between milk and water. With the Dhaka Wasa increasing the water tariff 14 times over the last 13 years, the newspersons would have to look for a new analogy. How about using “like the price of a citizen—by extension, a human being,” then?
I wish water was the only pricey commodity. Gas, electricity, fuel and food items are all on a price enhancement frenzy. The cost of living has gone up, and the worth of life has come down. People die for trivial and avoidable reasons. They receive mercy packages in some news-making accident cases. The price tag is as low as the cost of a funeral.
According to a news report, a typical middle-class resident of Dhaka needs more than Tk 50,000 a month to meet the basic needs of a family of four. The sad reality is that the majority of Dhaka residents don’t make that amount on their own. To afford a berth in the concrete jungle that we call home, Dhaka residents must either live on household income, where they have partners or other members of their families share the expenses, or they must take up a second job or adopt spurious means simply to survive. The system is draining out our essential human attributes. I don’t have facts and figures to support my suspicion. But the dire state of the Bangladeshi middle class, which is struggling as living costs outpace their income, is a fact beyond suspicion.
The lines at the backs of the Open Market Sale (OMS) trucks snake through the city to hiss at the crisis. Although intended for the poor and low-income groups, the trucks selling products with controlled prices are now frequented by people from middle-income groups. They wait for hours to get everyday items such as rice, flour, lentils, edible oil, and onions. The long queues for food items are symptomatic of inflation. It is probably indicative of the class of “new poor” atrophied by the unemployment and financial losses caused by Covid-19.
I came across a meme recently that showed an oversized man with a hefty kitchen bag, from which fish and poultry items were poking out, teasing a poor beggar, saying, “What happened to your share of the per capita income?” Somehow, the facts that we are told don’t correspond with the reality that we experience. They do in theory, and statisticians can prove it to us mathematically. In practice, however, middle-class households are failing to solve their daily arithmetic, notwithstanding the GDP.
Is it true that the middle class is making compromises in their daily diet charts to make ends meet? How can we make the most of our demographic dividends, if our next generation doesn’t get the right amount of nutrients? For instance, for the optimal brain development of children, we need to ensure the required portion of proteins. A diet rich in protein helps children to think clearly and be more focused on processing information, thereby increasing their learning abilities. We have become self-sufficient in our meat and egg production, in our crops production. What good is this data if we cannot afford to consume the goods that it speaks of?
With the distant war drums, the oil price is likely to be revised to influence a wide range of products even further. And soon enough, we are going to have the holy month of Ramadan, when historically the costs of essentials rise to unfair levels due to a boost in demand. During the month of abstinence, we will manage to overindulge, allowing the businessmen to engage in “price gouging.” We will hear about government intervention, but with no effect. Middle-man will remain middle-man, extortionists will behave to prove their mettle. And the prices will soar higher to dehumanise the middle-class consumers.
For sustainable growth, the motto of leaving no one behind is often chanted. But more and more, we are witnessing a forked growth in which the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting even poorer.
The policymakers must acknowledge the elephant in their AC room. For quick relief, bank deposits and lending rates need to be adjusted to control commodity prices. More incentives should be given not only to the production side of the agriculture sector, but its distribution side, too. We need the stringiest action against the syndicates who create artificial crises in the market. Import duties on fundamental goods need to be reduced. The government is already targeting the corporate sector for heftier taxes. Instead of creating fear, the number of taxpayers should be increased. If the long queue before the truck sale is any sign, there should be more government-regulated mega shops.
More importantly, we must not lose focus on population control and unemployment issues. And corruption, the core of all evil, needs to be checked. I left this issue for last because it is corruption that creates a vicious cycle of supply and demand. Most people are corrupt because they cannot make their ends meet. Imagine a city where 98 percent (according to a report) struggle to manage their everyday lives with their official income, and then imagine the consequences of discomfort. The answer is blowing in the wind.
ILLUSTRATION:
BIPLOB CHAKROBORTY
I wish water was the only pricey commodity. Gas, electricity, fuel and food items are all on a price enhancement frenzy. The cost of living has gone up, and the worth of life has come down. The system is draining out our essential human attributes.