 |
|
Populism and Rising Inflation! |
Inflation is always and
everywhere a monetary issue, which basically goes back to the wrong
monetary and financial
policies of governments.
|
We want to address some common mistakes and fallacies in economic policy.
Fallacies that are abundantly repeated and promoted among policy makers and
even some academics and media people. One of these fallacies, which
ironically the then government was very interested in at the time, is that
price liberalization causes inflation. What will be the results of insisting
on such fallacies for Irans economy?
This fallacy is not related to today or yesterday, but it has been repeated
in our country in different forms for at least 50 years. It is interesting
that the government officials and the designers of the countrys economic
policies are not willing to look at the past and the results of the
implementation of these policies. While if the past and history of such
works are examined, it becomes clear that these methods have always brought
harmful results. These methods were used before the revolution and during
the abundant oil revenues. In the early 1350s oil revenues had increased,
and in fact the government had become so-called rich and generous. At that
time, some politicians and policy makers, in the implementation of Mohammad
Reza Shahs recommendations, thinking that by relying only on these huge
financial resources, the economic growth process can be given the desired
acceleration, they started spending in all fields: from construction to the
establishment of new industries and, of course, extensive imports: All types
of goods from consumption to intermediate and capital goods. In this way, a
lot of money was spent in the economy and huge amounts were injected into
the society without the necessary infrastructure being prepared in advance.
As a result of these actions, the amount of liquidity in the country
increased sharply, and the natural result was rampant inflation. At that
time, economists and experts constantly warned the government that such
behavior would lead to harmful results. However, the Shahs regime turned a
deaf ear to these warnings. The Shah insisted that inflation is the same as
extortion and inflation is caused because some people are abusing and
intending to cause disruptions and... so at that time they started pricing
goods and controlling prices. If now it is assumed that the executive arm
has been mobilized to control the prices, at that time university students
and young members of the Rastakhiz Party had come to the square and lost
their lives. They insulted the tradesmen, sealed their shops. However, at
that time, we saw that such directive policies not only did not reduce
inflation, but also had a destructive effect on domestic production. After
the revolution, we saw that this issue was repeated regularly.
If I want to name which governments have done this, all the governments are
included: from Mr. Mousavis government to Hashemi, Khatami, Ahmadinejad and
Rouhani. Raisis government has shown that it is more interested in such
methods than his predecessors. It is interesting to know that none of these
governments have been successful in controlling inflation and have always
repeated the mistakes of the past. That is, by suppressing and controlling
prices, they have reduced the motivation of producers to work and in this
way they have damaged production, market and trade.
It is true that the methods used by the government to reduce prices are not
successful in practice, but apparently they are able to convince groups of
people. Anyway, many people apparently welcome the government to go to the
businesses and producers and hold them accountable. According to many of
them, the government should deal with unfair people. What do you think?
Yes, it is true, these methods used by the government to control prices,
although it is not possible to achieve its goals and prevent inflation, but
it still affects a part of the public opinion because people who are angry
about the high price, think If they punish some of the so-called high
sellers, they will be punished and they will not increase the prices
anymore. Or some people may think that the government, with its dealings
with the business, is unfair to the high street sellers.
 |
As long as this problem is not solved from the source, the
problem of inflation
will remain stable.
|
From this point of view, it can be said that the governments dealings with
the market players may be effective on a part of the public opinion, but the
fact is that such things the government does are not the solution to the
problem of inflation, but are considered populist methods, which, although
they may be temporarily pleasing to the uninformed strata society, but in
practice it is ineffective and ultimately harmful. I emphasize that
inflation can never be stopped by suppressing or so-called price control.
Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary issue, which basically goes
back to the wrong monetary and financial policies of governments. Inflation
means an increase in the general level of prices and has nothing to do with
extortion of one or more businesses. In order to prevent inflation, the
excessive and disproportionate increase in liquidity compared to the real
growth of the economy should be curbed. The excessive increase in liquidity
is rooted in the governments budget deficit and the existing imbalances in
the banking system.
As long as this problem is not solved from the source, the problem of
inflation will remain stable. Of course, economists have repeatedly pointed
out these issues to the governments, but they have not heard from the
governments so far. Every time the officials act as if these issues are new
and there is no previous experience or history in this regard. Its as if
they came from Mars or another country and they dont know about the history
and results of these repeated policies in our country.
Another common fallacy we often hear from officials, especially government
officials of the time, is that liquidity should be directed towards
production. Sometimes the decision-making system deals with the issue of
liquidity in such a way that it is as if the unbridled growth of liquidity
is not so much criticized and it is only necessary to think of ways to guide
it. Please explain what the implications of such an approach are?
As mentioned earlier, the problem of inflation in our country, like any
other country, is caused by an excessive increase in liquidity, which in
turn is rooted in the state of the budget and the imbalance in the banking
system. Since the governments budget is in deficit and is unable or
unwilling to provide the resources needed for its expenses from
non-inflationary methods such as debt securities, it has to resort to the
resources of the Central Bank or, so to speak, print money.
On the other hand, due to the wrong monetary policies of the government, the
banking system transfers its deficit and imbalance to the Central Bank,
which has no other meaning than increasing the monetary base and, as a
result, increasing liquidity. In fact, the problem of deficits in Iran is
solved through the banking system and by creating money. Now the Iranian
decision-makers are playing the trumpet from its broad head. Currently, we
see that the companies are all criticizing as to why in a situation where
there is so much liquidity in the society, they are still facing a lack of
working capital and liquidity?
Some decision makers do not want to accept that the creation of liquidity is
the result of wrong policies, policies that show the officials have always
looked for easy solutions to solve the complex problems. The easiest
solution to compensate for the budget deficit is to print money. This is the
way that decision makers in Iran have always preferred it to any other
solution. Then they explain and justify that liquidity should be directed.
While I emphasize that the main problem is the excessive increase in
liquidity and talking about its direction is pointless. In other words,
increasing liquidity is the problem, not the solution, because the inflation
created in this way makes everyone, including producers, need more money.
Excessive liquidity is like a foundering flood that covers and destroys
everywhere. The inflation we have been facing in recent years has been the
result of the governments wrong monetary and financial policies. The
chronic inflation of Irans economy is never related to the high prices of a
certain group or trade. Instead of correcting their wrong policies and
solving the inflation problem, governments have often projected and blamed
others.
I remind you that when Ebrahim Raisi was a presidential candidate, he went
on provincial trips. During those trips, the question was usually raised as
to why companies in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy were not being
injected with money, when if they were re-lent, their problems would be
solved. Later, we observed that when he became president, he implemented the
same policies.
In fact, bankrupt companies that were professional debtors were re-lent. Do
you think production will start as a result of these policies? No, the
result of such policies is once again an increase in liquidity. If these
firms were efficient they would not essentially become big debtors. Finally,
these debtors take the money, buy land, currency, and housing and disrupt
other markets. Unfortunately, in this government, there is a set of wrong
views that the officials have been implementing since the beginning of his
tenure. Now we see the result of those views in the current economic
situation. It is regrettable to say that until the wrong policies are
corrected, it will be the same soup and the same bowl, and we will be forced
to repeat the past issues and failed experiences.
I am asking you about the role of academics, media and social experts. In
many cases, we see that these people beat the drum of these fallacies
together with the government. Many politicians in our country tend towards
populism. They draw the image of a snake and deceive people. We have seen
many times that they say, for example, that rents have increased due to the
unfairness of landlords. This is despite the fact that inflation means an
increase in the general level of prices and it is natural that following the
increase in the price of all kinds of goods and services, the price of house
rent will also increase.
As you mentioned, these fallacies of politicians are sometimes raised by
some social experts and members of the press. Issues are introduced as if
some businesses and guilds in the society were to blame for inflation. For
example, lessors, businesses and owners of some companies, etc., while
everyone, even the lessor, loses from inflation .However , people have no
choice but to sell their goods and assets according to the market and other
prices. These fallacies are raised by some so-called social experts or
academics in a situation where the control of inflation by the government
should become a public demand. Otherwise, we will continue to be condemned
to repeat the previous failed experiences. |
