Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) announced the results of the second quarter of 2022 on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Accordingly, the Turkish economy grew by 7,6 percent in the second quarter. According to the data announced by TURKSTAT, growth contributes 13,6 points to household expenditures. However, it has been controversial how much the citizens, who have been bent by the economic crisis for years, benefited from this growth. While the sector with the highest growth rate of was the finance sector with 26,6 percent in the 7,6 growth, it is seen that the growth in the economy benefited the banks and therefore the interest. Economists, who evaluated Turkey's second quarter growth figures for the Milli Gazete, commented on the data announced by TURKSTAT.
THE PEOPLE WHO CANNOT SURVIVE; OWE!
Stating that the economic growth data are not reflected to the citizens, economist Assoc. Dr. Oğuz Demir said, “Turkey's economy is growing, yes, but the data shows that the income of the employee is gradually decreasing. Turkey's economy grows above and beyond the worker. It is not possible for the average employee to live on the money he receives today. So what is happening? The employee enters into a continuous debt cycle to make a living. There are millions of people in Turkey who have to live on minimum wage and they are constantly in debt to make a living despite the economic conditions. We see that the economic policy is not correct here.”
“THE NUMBERS SHOW THAT THE CAKE OF A CERTAIN GROUP IS GROWING”
Evaluating the data on the Turkish economy, Demir said, “Yes, Turkey's economy has been growing for the last 5 years. But the economy is growing on debt. After the pandemic, employment increased, exports increased, yes, but this should also be reflected on the citizens. It is not correct to say that the Turkish economy does not create employment. Employment was provided, but only minimum wage employment. In this environment, there is no equivalent for the income of the minimum wage earner. We all see the damages of this economic model insisted on by the government. These growth figures show that the cake of a certain segment is growing. The citizen's pie continues to shrink.”
“WORKER AND EMPLOYEE PAYMENTS ARE THE ONLY THING SHRINKING IN GROWTH”
Journalist, writer and economist İbrahim Kahveci drew attention to the details of the growth and said, “We need to look at the details of the 7,6 percent growth in the second quarter. According to the data, the sector that grew the most in the second quarter was the financial sector. In other words, banks have grown and therefore the interest system has grown. In the second quarter, the sector that grew the most after the finance sector was the service sector with 18,1 percent. Here, too, there is the effect of the summer months. Summer tourism is also slowly ending now. The only thing that shrinks in the 7,6 growth is worker and employee payments. While 30 TL of every 100 TL earned by Turkey in 2020 went to employee payments, today this has decreased to 21,4. This means that all employees who receive salaries above the minimum wage are shrinking.”