Iranians face a bleak outlook under the current regime. The horizon offers no hope of improvement, and the people’s well-being seems like a distant memory. Poverty widens its grip each day, fueled by rampant inflation and skyrocketing prices.
A basic basket of goods needed for basic living now costs a staggering 30 million tomans. How can people possibly make ends meet? With this regime in power, there’s no cure for the pain inflicted upon their livelihoods. This suffering only breeds further anxiety and despair because the regime remains oblivious to the harsh realities facing its own people.
State Media Echoing the Woes of the People
A state-run newspaper, Jahan-e Sanat, paints a grim picture: “Officials boast of abundant goods in the market, denying any shortages. But people aren’t fooled by such wordplay. Poverty casts a long shadow, and these claims are simply unfounded.”
The report continues, “Ordinary workers spend most of their meager salaries on basic necessities. Housing, clothing, and medicine become unaffordable luxuries. Year-end finances expose the harsh truth – most, especially nurses, struggle to make ends meet.”
Inflation Crushing Workers and Lower Income Families
Inflation has never been more brutal, squeezing the life out of people’s budgets, particularly those of workers. The regime seems indifferent to the people’s plight. Jahan-e Sanat highlights this by stating, “Officials deflect blame, pointing fingers at each other for the spiraling inflation.”
Food prices skyrocket, disproportionately impacting lower-income families. The regime’s leaders, however, seem detached from reality.
Jahan-e Sanat further criticizes, “Instead of solutions, some officials urge people to cut back, suggesting they skip meals! This implies the people are to blame for high prices. Experts offer no solutions to shield basic necessities from this price rampage. People wonder how long they can tolerate this relentless erosion of their livelihood.”
Statistics Reveal a Grim Reality
Data paints a disturbing picture. Inflation figures from February show an extremely concerning situation for people’s livelihoods.
Jahan-e Sanat reports, “The cost of the basic basket of goods in major cities exceeds 30 million tomans. Inflation and consumption data for the poor and lower-income brackets raise serious alarms. These numbers prove a significant decline below the poverty line.”
The state-run news agency ILNA adds to the grim picture, “Red meat and poultry have vanished from the tables of the poor. Eggs, a protein source appearing only a few times a week on the plates of workers and the underprivileged, are all that remain.”
A worker from Iranshahr echoes this sentiment, “Each month, we return home with even less in our shopping bags. We survive on eggs and bread only. Beans, once affordable, are now a luxury. Eggs are expensive too, but there are no alternatives.”
The Unsustainable Gap Between Wages and Living Costs
With inflation soaring, the standard of living, particularly for workers, plummets. The question arises: how much should workers earn to support their families and simply survive?
Jahan-e Sanat sheds light on this issue, reporting, “Independent calculations based on December’s inflation data in major cities show the minimum living wage for working families has surpassed 28 million tomans.”
The bitter truth: worker salaries hover around 7-8 million tomans, while the cost of the basic basket has exceeded 23 million tomans for months.
Jahan-e Sanat concludes with a haunting question, “The current cost of living likely exceeds 30 million tomans. The Labor Minister proposes a meager 20% raise to the current 7-8 million toman salaries. Wouldn’t this raise simply remove even eggs, the last source of protein for struggling workers, from their already empty tables?”
