The intersection of housing crisis and poverty/poverty line reached more than 85 million tomans

Field estimates indicate that the poverty line is more than 85 million tomans. According to experts in the field of work and employment, this figure shows a deep gap between wages and living expenses.

Chronic inflation in Iran's economy has gradually increased the gap between income and real living expenses. This situation has pushed parts of the middle class to poverty. When wage growth fails to keep pace with price increases, housing and food costs eat up a larger portion of household income, denying many wage earners the ability to maintain their previous standard of living.

According to Ferraro's report, field estimates indicate that the poverty line is more than 85 million tomans. According to experts in the field of work and employment, this figure shows a deep gap between wages and living expenses.

In the last five decades, the inflation rate has generally been higher than the global inflation rate

In an interview with Ferraro, Hamid Haj Ismaili said: "Inflation has always been a part of Iran's economy. At least in the last five decades, Iran's economy has been facing inflation and the inflation rate in this country has generally been higher than the global inflation rate.

Referring to the structural factors and economic policies affecting the continuation of inflation, he added: "Iranian economy has always faced inflation, intentionally or unintentionally, due to structural conditions, approaches and economic policies. After the revolution, due to the sanctions and problems that arose in Iran's relations with the western countries and we were sanctioned, the economic pressures intensified. "Especially in the last seven years, we have experienced very high inflation of 40-43 percent, which has continued continuously."

Chronic inflation has brought the economy into recession

This expert in the field of labor and employment stated that the continuation of high inflation has led to the aggravation of the economic recession and said: "Worst of all, it is the inflation that has continued in the country for the past seven years with high figures and in an unprecedented way and has caused Iran's economy to enter a recession. In the past year, the war was added to these conditions and led to an extraordinary jump in inflation. "Economic indicators were affected by war conditions and the government and the central bank faced major problems to manage and control inflation."

We will probably continue to face an increase in inflation in the next five years

Haj Ismaili continued: "Willingly or unwittingly, due to war conditions and the tightening of sanctions, inflation has increased sharply. According to forecasts, this trend may continue in the coming months and year. If the war does not continue and the government can remove the sanctions, maybe the rate of inflation will decrease; But even in the absence of war and the removal of sanctions, it is predicted that we will continue to face an increase in inflation in the next five to six years, although its intensity may decrease."

He considered inflation as one of the main factors of disruption in the economic development process and added: "Inflation is a scourge of the economy." Any economy that suffers from inflation will face many problems and it needs difficult and sometimes austerity mechanisms to control it. These conditions both put pressure on people and negatively affect economic development and general well-being."

Pre-war inflation also caused recession

According to this expert, inflation along with recession reduces people's purchasing power and leads to the shrinking of the economy. He explained: "Inflation before the war also caused stagnation. Recession disrupts the natural mechanisms of the labor market, affects economic growth, and reduces people's purchasing power. This process can cause a lot of damage to the economic infrastructure and general welfare of the country."

Referring to the consequences of high inflation for investment and economic activity, Haj Ismaili said: "High and uncontrollable inflation, along with budget problems, creates the basis for a decrease in investment in the economy." These issues lead to an increase in costs and prices of goods and create a situation where natural competition in the market is lost."

In response to a question about the gap between wages and the real cost of living, this labor and employment expert said, referring to the experience of the past years: "We have been caught in a vicious circle since the past to support wage earners, including workers, employees and retirees. Every time inflation has increased, we have increased salaries; But after a short period of time, even less than five or six months, inflation has risen again and wage increases have lost their effect. As a result, we are forced to raise wages again and this cycle has repeated itself."

Haj Ismaili said: "This vicious circle has been an ineffective mechanism; But if we want to leave this issue and do not provide serious support to wage earners, another problem will arise and that is the spread of poverty."

Our middle class is getting poorer every day

Referring to the increase in poverty in the last five to six years, he added: "During this period, the government has not increased wages as much as the inflation rate, and this has caused poverty to spread." Our middle class is getting poorer every day because we haven't been able to compensate for the decline in purchasing power and the drop in real income of this group. In such a situation, the main priority should be to control inflation."

According to this expert, the management of inflation at the macro level is the responsibility of the government, and the central bank, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, and the Planning and Budget Organization must also play an effective role in this direction. He considered maintaining the value of the national currency as one of the main requirements for curbing inflation and preventing the continued decrease in the purchasing power of households.

In response to a question about the estimation of the poverty line in Iran, Haj Ismaili criticized the lack of accurate and transparent statistics in this field and said: "In Iran, due to the fact that we do not have accurate statistical data and there are limitations for extracting some indicators, such as the poverty line, the official statistics in this field are not very accurate." Governments have also usually avoided defining and announcing the poverty line. This issue has caused policy making and planning to face deviation."

Referring to the role of housing cost in determining the poverty line, he explained: "Field and thumb estimates, based on the examination of the situation of different households, show that housing rent has had a great impact on the increase of the poverty line. "Housing is one of the main items in the household budget, and the growth of its costs puts a significant pressure on people's livelihood."

The increase in the price of cars also affects the price of other goods

This expert in the field of work and employment considered the increase in the cost of food and other goods to be another factor in intensifying the pressure of living and said: "The cost of public food has also increased day by day. After housing, food price growth puts a lot of pressure on households, and in some items, the price increase has even exceeded 100%. The increase in the price of goods such as cars also quickly affects the price of other goods in Iran's economy.

Haj Ismaili stated that the field estimates show that the poverty line is currently more than 85 million tomans, adding: "This figure is at least three times the average salary in Iran." "When the poverty line in the country reaches more than 85 million tomans and is several times the average wage, one can realize the huge gap between the income of wage earners and the real cost of living."

80% of workers and employees are on the verge of poverty

According to Haj Ismaili, the continuation of this gap has also affected the class structure of the society and pushed parts of the middle class towards low-income groups.

He said: "Our middle class usually consisted of employees, educated people and skilled workers; Groups that had acceptable wages at times. But now there is a situation in Iran where a large part of salary earners are in the poor groups of the society and only a limited group, including managers and some senior and educated employees, have a different income status.

This expert in the field of labor and employment continued, referring to the situation of the labor force in the labor and employee sectors and said: "In the employee and labor sectors, more than 80% of the forces are now close to the poverty line; Because the salary they receive is very far from the real cost of living."