Public become cash cows<\/p>\n
From Koran Tempo<\/p>\n
The almost simultaneous increases in the rates of the state
\nelectricity company PLN, fuel prices and telephone services from
\nstate telecommunications company Telkom in January 2002 have
\ncreated the impression that the government does not care about
\nthe dire economic state of most Indonesian people today.<\/p>\n
With barely enough income to survive and without any increase
\nin earnings, they have been treated as cash cows by the
\ngovernment, which has ignored their fate in striving to reduce
\nthe budget deficit.<\/p>\n
I wonder why the government has not learned from previous
\nexperience the impact that those rate hikes can have on the price
\nof daily necessities.<\/p>\n
The government will be unable to stem increases in the price
\nof essential goods and transport costs following the rise in
\nelectricity rates, fuel prices and telephone rates.<\/p>\n
Even in the New Order period, when domestic security was
\nrelatively stable and controlled, the then government was unable
\nto curb increases in the price of goods.<\/p>\n
The present government should direct the impact of the
\neconomic crisis toward the major businesspeople who have failed
\nto repay trillions of rupiah in debt arising from Bank Indonesia
\nLiquidity Assistance (BLBI), not on the majority of ordinary
\npeople, who have been most severely hit by the effect of the
\nprice hikes.<\/p>\n
IWAN TAURUS<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/public-become-cash-cows-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }