18.02.2025 14:50
The Deputy Chairman of the AK Party, Mustafa Elitaş, stated that a raise of 10,000 lira for minimum wage earners would not lead to savings; on the contrary, it would disrupt the balance of goods and prices. Elitaş said, "When you give a raise of 10,000 lira, they won't say, 'I'll spend 3,000 lira and save 7,000 lira.' They will seek to cover their deficiencies."
While criticisms of the minimum wage continue, AK Party Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş made statements regarding the economy during a live broadcast he attended. Elitaş pointed out the effects of a high increase in the minimum wage on inflation, stating that while such a raise may provide an increase in the standard of living in the short term, it would lead to economic imbalances in the long term.
"IF YOU RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE BY 10 THOUSAND LIRA, THEY WON'T SAY 'LET ME SAVE WITH 7 THOUSAND LIRA'"
Speaking on the Başkent Kulisi program on Kanal 7, Elitaş said, "Let's say you give a raise of 10 thousand lira to someone who earns 22 thousand 100 lira or 30 thousand lira; they won't say, 'Let me spend 3 thousand lira and save with 7 thousand lira.' If it were 10 thousand lira or more, even if it were 15 thousand lira, they would immediately seek to meet their previously unmet needs."
"YOU WOULD DISTURB THE BALANCE"
Elitaş expressed that a high raise would disrupt the balance of goods and prices, creating a pressure factor on inflation, stating, "Therefore, by disrupting the balance of goods and prices, it creates a pressure factor on inflation and initially brings happiness to the standard of living, but in the coming processes, it brings unhappiness. With the decrease in inflation, the improvement should normally be distributed. If you do not distribute the improvement in that way, you would disturb the balance."