From March 5th when the campaign commenced until March 31st I had to hear such a flood of speeches comprising promises by work that I now need a few months to forget them. People switched their populist record on and span it with such speed that it was impossible to stop it. In my opinion the optimal duration of per interview is 1-1.5 minutes. When the interviewee speaks longer it becomes boring even if s/he is a genus. But before the elections the candidates speak in long “portions”, each answer for 5 minutes. For example if you ask a representative of the “Armenian Renaissance” party, conditionally, what the weather forecast for tomorrow is, s/he will surely answer “the 200th law authored by us”, “the contributions distributed by us”, “we have always removed splinter from people’s finger” and this monologue will last for not less than 5 minutes.
And what did people say in essence? If we define it in short then they suggested reducing the prices of everything – not only goods and foodstuff but also fines, money, medical services, education. No being an economist I understand that this goes contrary to logic. The calculations of the populists are to attract ignorant, lumpened mass. Nevertheless, everything has its price which comes from supply and demand. If there is a service list posted on the wall of the hospital according to which this or that surgery costs let us say 100 AMD in particular, and the market price is 1000 AMD then this speaks of another thing: the remaining 900 AMD will go the doctor’s pocket instead of going to the cashier’s office. This is why we should be afraid of the low prices instead of the high ones, I believe. If the market price of tomatoes is 1000 AMD and miraculously someone appears who sells tomatoes for 100 AMD for months and for years, then during these months or years tomato production will collide and if the one bringing it for 100 AMD ceases his/her “charity” we will remain without tomatoes. Or will bring them from anywhere else with 2000 AMD.
If it is so in the case of tomatoes then why should it not be the same in the case of money, loans, etc. (banks sell money instead of tomatoes)? If anyone does what was suggested during the pre-election turmoil, it will simply lead to the collapse of the banking system. The same is regarded to every other field where the things are not as bright as they seem to be but will eventually collide if crowd pleasing steps are taken.
This assuredly does not mean that our economic issues are impossible to solve. It is possible. But here we need a jewelry work and not a flood of populist words.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
