In recent months, in order to woo the voters, the political authorities have been distributing widespread aid at the expense of the budget. But before the elections, the social situation in Armenia worsens. The growth of salaries has slowed down significantly, instead, inflation has intensified to a great extent.

The official statistics recorded that this year the growth of nominal average wages is far behind the rate of inflation.

The increase in salaries does not catch up with the price increases, which means that people have started to live worse than they did last year.

Until recently, Nikol Pashinyan considered one of the main achievements of his government and political power to be that wages are growing much faster than inflation. Based on that, he said that people live better now. This year, we see that inflation is growing at a much faster rate than wages. But Nikol Pashinyan does not say that people have started to live worse.

In the first 3 months of the beginning of the year, according to official statistics, the average nominal salary in Armenia increased by only 2.9 percent.

We are talking about the increase of the average salary recorded during one year.

Admittedly, this is a rather modest increase, which indicates that the pace of wage growth has slowed down significantly. It happened in conditions of no less high economic growth. The growth of economic activity in the first quarter was 7.1 percent. Much higher than last year. But that growth has bypassed working citizens. The rate of growth of their wages has weakened.

In March, even nominal wages fell.

According to official data, the average salary in Armenia in March was lower than in March last year. A 1.2 percent decrease was recorded.

This is a very bad impulse. Especially, if we take into account that this decrease is not a seasonal decrease, from which we can be calm. If it continues, serious problems may arise, and not only from a social point of view.

A decrease in wages can have many other related negative consequences, and first of all, for the banking system. It is known that in recent years, many citizens have found themselves under loans, and many of them somehow manage to pay off the loans and solve their social problems on the other hand. The decrease in wages will increase the financial pressure on them. Many people may face the fact of insolvency, not being able to fulfill their obligations.

It doesn’t take much imagination to understand what will happen after that.

The decrease in wages is one of the biggest risks that have been placed under the country in the form of a bomb in recent years. Due to this, they can cause many problems in different fields.

It is noteworthy that the decrease in wages took place mainly in the economy.

The official statistics recorded that in March, compared to March of the previous year, the average salary in the economic sector was reduced by 4 percent. And it happened against the backdrop of inflation activation.

Average inflation in March was 4.5 percent. Compared to March of the previous year, consumer goods rose in price by 4.5 percent on average.

During that same period, the nominal or “dirty” salaries of almost 600,000 citizens employed in the economy decreased by an average of 4 percent. After taxation, the reduction will be greater.

Now let Nikol Pashinyan be kind enough to say whether these people lived better last year, or whether the social condition of these people has improved or worsened compared to last year.

Another thing in the case of the state. the social condition of those employed in the state system and especially high-ranking bureaucrats has improved. The rate of growth of their salaries has been much higher than the rate of inflation.

While the salaries of citizens working in the economy and creating good have decreased, the average salary in the state system has increased by 9.8 percent in March.

Do you know at what expense, the millions that are taken from the budget and from the taxes paid by taxpayers, are divided among themselves under the name of incentive money? At the expense of those millions, such salary increases were registered in the state system.

The salary of a working, productive, tax-paying citizen has decreased, and that of government officials, who are fed by the taxes paid by these people, has risen quite sharply. It increased because they decided to encourage themselves with millions.

The growth rate of the average salary in the state system was more than double the rate of inflation.

They started to live better in the state system, and those who fed that system started to live worse. And it didn’t happen only in March.

In the first three months of the beginning of the year, the average salary, including the state system, increased by only 2.9 percent, and inflation during that period was 4.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Inflation exceeded the growth rate of the average nominal salary by 1.3 percentage points.

Privately, in the first quarter, the average nominal salary increased by 1.7 percent, inflation was 4.2 percent. The average salary in the state increased by 6.9 percent, inflation was 4.2 percent.

In the state system, which survives at the expense of the private sector, life has improved, and private life has worsened. Privately, people work so that CP bureaucrats feel better and live better.

HAKOB KOCHARYAN

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