In Iran, under the rule of the ayatollahs, prices have changed, and inflation is constantly rising so severely that it is literally suffocating the people. However, it is amazing that the government of President Hassan Rouhani claims there is an abundance of goods in the market.
In its November 10 edition, Jahan-e Sanat daily wrote about the pressure of high prices on people’s lives. “A recent report by the Statistics Center shows that the engine of price growth has been activated, and if policymakers fail to curb inflation, we will see prices rise in the coming months and more households fall below the poverty line. According to the statistics provided, the point-to-point inflation rate in October reached 41.4 percent,” the daily wrote.
“Thus, Iranian households have spent more than 40 percent to buy the same set of goods and services compared to October of last year. Obviously, this rate targets the consumption basket of households and has caused the income of people to not cover their daily expenses.
“If we look at the inflation rate of edible and non-edible goods, we find that the livelihoods of low-income deciles are more affected by recent inflation than other groups,” Jahan-e Sanat added.
“We had a lot of hardships and problems throughout 2018 and 2019, but our food shelves were not empty, and people were not in dire need of basic necessities,” Rouhani had claimed on May 27, according to state TV.
In April, Rouhani also claimed that the shelves of stores in Western countries were empty and everything could be found in Iran.
Those statements aroused the hatred of all the people because the shelves of stores were not empty due to their growing poverty and they could no longer afford to purchase basic necessities.
“The momentary increase in the price of basic goods and the lack of basic goods have led to citizens’ dissatisfaction. In the meantime, the lack of supervision is heard more than ever among the people’s grievances, and the weak strata of society have no choice but to reduce their daily purchases,” according to a report wired on October 23 by the Tasnim news agency.
“The market has been abandoned in the true sense of the word, and the heavy pressure of this abandonment and carelessness by the officials is on the people, especially the weak,” the report added.
The same news agency, according to the Statistics Center, published the inflation rate in September of this year, in which it acknowledged the crushing inflation and its growing trend.
“The inflation rate in October reached 4.41 percent. In other words, households in the country have spent an average of 4.41 percent more than September 2019 to buy a ‘set of identical goods and services,’” the Tasnim report concluded.
According to the Statistics Center, the inflation rate has been increasing compared to the last few years. The state-run Eghtesad Online website, in October, acknowledged the highest inflation rate in the last ten years.
“Monthly inflation recorded in the first month of the autumn season is the highest monthly inflation since the early 2000s. Also, average prices in October this year compared to the same month last year increased by more than 41 percent,” the website wrote.
These conditions have doubled pressures on the Iranian people, a burden that is literally preventing people from making ends meet.
“Point-to-point inflation was still above 20 percent. All this shows how much more pressure the inflation spill we are facing this year has put on the household,” the Eghtesad Online website wrote on October 24.
“People are confused due to various economic problems. It is as if no one is thinking about dealing with high prices and we do not know why wild horses have left prices alone. People, especially those with a fixed monthly income in front of inflation, do not know how to make a living,” Arman daily wrote on November 10.
However, the government is doing its best to hide the cause of this inflation, which is caused by the sharp growth of liquidity due to the budget deficit.
Citing a report by the Central Bank, Vatan-e-Emrooz daily on November 5 exposed the government’s obvious theft from people’s pockets.
“According to the latest Central Bank report regarding the major monetary indicators at the end of September this year, the volume of liquidity has reached 28.95 trillion rials [$115.8 million]. Thus, the liquidity index in the first six months of this year has increased by 17.1 points, and in September of this year it has increased by 36.2 points,” the report reads.
