On February 28, the state-run Shargh daily, referring to the dire economic situation of the people and the government’s solutions, wrote, “It seems there isn’t much distance to getting loans for buying bananas, flour, or milk.”
Shargh added that in recent years, people have moved from loans for buying houses and cars to loans for down payments on housing and purchasing household goods.
According to the newspaper, with the worsening of people’s economic and living conditions, the situation has escalated to buying meat, chicken, and even installment plans for clothing. Today, people have to take loans to buy nuts and fruits for the Persian new year (Mars 21).
Shargh referred to the news from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade about a 200 million rial (approximately $337) loan for buying new year necessities.
The newspaper added that the bitter narrative of the decline in purchasing power has reached a point where on the very day the inspector of the Supreme Council of Workers’ Representatives announces the poverty line for a four-person family is at least 250 million rials, on the other side, the head of the Public Services Office of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade announces the allocation of loans to Eid buyers.
Earlier, Hamidreza Emamgholitabar, an inspector of the Supreme Council of Workers’ Representatives, had stated that in the current conditions, the poverty line for a family of four has exceeded 250 million rials (approximately $425). The minimum monthly wage for married workers with children in the current year is about 80 million rials (approximately $136).
The author of the mentioned report recalled that when the idea of a down payment loan for housing was introduced, people found it an unpleasant event, indicating how hope and expectations in society have reached a level where people not only cannot afford to buy a house but also face difficulties in renting a basic shelter.
Referring to the down payment loan for housing is, in fact, a review of a trend that Shargh has chosen to illustrate the unfortunate trend in society.
The newspaper noted that people have become accustomed to seeing billboards with the phrase “installment sale” in butcher shops, clothing stores, dried fruit shops, and even cosmetic and hygiene products.
According to the regime’s Mehr News Agency, Mohammad Hossein Ghamary, the head of the Public Services Office of the Ministry of Industry, said that people can register for the Eid sale through banks with credit verification in March and pay the money later.
He announced zero interest in the credit plan and promised that after credit verification, no checks or promissory notes would be required as collateral.
This approach by the Ministry of Industry, along with continuing subsidy payments, living expenses assistance, and electronic food coupons next year, as well as assistance plans under the title of “Fajr Assistance,” is seen by experts as the government’s anticipation of worsening economic and living conditions. They believe that the continuation of these policies will be ineffective in alleviating some of the pressures.
