Inflation and the commoner - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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Inflation and the commoner

Vivek Koul

8/7/2018 11:15:31 PM

It is the irony of Indian politics that the ruling parties as well as the opposition are least bothered about the real issues concerning the common man. Inflation has become an ever growing problem but the current government seems unwilling to address its causes. Instead they dig up old graves to rake up emotional, sensitive and non-issue only to divert the attention of the masses from the more mundane issue of bare living and development. But the rulers as well as opposition parties try to score political points only and leave the general issues unattended. Inflation simply means rise in price and this occurs only when the demand for a commodity is more than the supply. If big retail stores are allowed to maintain huge storages, there will be continue scarcity in the market and prices will rise. In an inflationary situation, either the prices of goods and services are rising or the money supply is rising. However price rise is associated with increase in the supply and circulation of money. According to classical view when a situation of full employment is reached, inflation follows if the money supply increases. However this view of classical economists' stands rejected in case of developing countries like India where unemployment and inflation go side by side. In fact inflation is the situation where the aggregate pressure of demand of goods and services exceeds the aggregate supply of output. Coulborn has rightly said, "Too much money chasing too few goods". Whatever be the meaning, the hard fact is that it adversely affects the purchasing power of the poor and middle income classes and the wage earners. Inflation usually makes prices to go up far more quickly than devaluation makes them come down. When prices go up the consumer has less exposable income and so he has to make sacrifices.
During inflation, the commoners find it very difficult to make both ends meet and they face economic hardships as they fail to purchase their daily requirements of life due to constant rise in prices. This situation has enveloped the average India today as the prices of the essential goods and services have skyrocketed and have troubled the average consumer who finds it hard to manage their daily requirements. Rise in prices of the food grains when production is enough to meets the demand of food grains in the country mainly occurs due to Hoarders and due to inefficient government policies. Hoarders store goods to sell in future when price rises. The government is blind to their contribution when they are sitting in the front of their eyes-big name retail stores are the culprits. These companies store products directly from manufactures and store them in their warehouses. Due to this, these products are available in the open market in small quantities only. This creates artificial scarcity of products in the open market where the prices on these products automatically rise. This is a cruel fact planned by both govt. and businessman. The prices of essential commodities like fruits, vegetables, edible oils sugar etc have increased to a substantial extent. Although common man is fighting this never stopping price rise, while our politicians are finding ways to get over the same issues in AC and other luxuries. Government is busy in solving internal conflicts by supporting other party. And the question that arises here is that who is thinking about the problems faced by the common man. Indian government is just as responsible for the rising prices because of its poor and outdates strategies. There should be some limit fixed on the quantity of food grains these big stores can store. The government officials do not aim ground level when dealing with such situations. Instead of getting control over the current conditions they are making them worse. If we look at the statistics 2010-11, India had more rich people than china but that is not a matter of pride because it shows how much inequality exists in the country, a disparity that is existing day by day. The government is making rich people richer when they should try to make the poor less so. If the government can't stop the rise in food grains prices they should at least prevent its rise.

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