The tragedy of the impoverished

What is the fate of poor people in Indonesia? A friend of mine has the answer. According to him, grass in Indonesia is much more respected than poor people. How is that? Well, we can see everywhere announcements saying "Do not step on the grass". We seldom see "Do not step on poor people".

Indonesia is an amazingly confused country, The five basic principles known as Pancasila, say that all people in Indonesia should benefit. The Constitution tells us more clearly that the poor should be protected by the state. Theory is one thing, while practice is another thing. What we see quite often is not consistent with the theory. Poor people are always trampled upon.

Take the fuel price hike, which started on March 1. It does not mean that if fuel prices go up, the rich people will be pained. In fact, the poor people will suffer the most. Why is that? Poor people are characterized by low incomes with a big proportion of their budgets for food. The rich people are simply the other way around. Their income is quite high with a small proportion on food and basic needs expenditures.

Therefore, rich people will have plenty of room to maneuver and will not feel the price increases. They would probably just cut back a tad on using the mobile phone, Internet, etc, while keep their consumption pattern of food as usual.

The poor people do not have such a luxury. Their ability to maneuver is limited or does not exist. Following fuel price hikes, they will face inflation, which eventually reduces their purchasing power. Food prices are now beyond their income. They need more money to make food more affordable. Their children will have to drop out of school and get in fight on the streets, or become street musicians or street newspaper sellers.

BARLEV NICO, Brussel, Belgium