Economist Duran Bülbül evaluates pension and minimum wage adjustments

Economist Duran Bülbül was a guest on the program Anında Manşet, broadcast on TELE1.

Stating that 70 percent of Turkey is at the poverty line, Bülbül said, "Turkey is now feeding off poverty. There is a choice that political powers have made over the last 20 years. The concept of a social state was abandoned, and a gendarmerie state was imposed. The financing of capital and the government was implemented on the backs of the poor."

"THE AKP GOVERNMENT IMPOSED NEOLIBERAL POLICY ON OUR COUNTRY"

Making observations regarding the recent hikes applied to retirees, Bülbül used the following expressions:

"Retirees' basic income security must be ensured. Secondly, an accessible health insurance must be provided. Thirdly, these retirees must be provided with security for their children. For the elderly, a basic income and health security must be provided. This is indispensable and is also fixed by the Constitution. It states that retirement and social security are fundamental rights. For this, I would like to remind you of the Constitution; according to Article 49, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, work is everyone's right. Article 56 of the Constitution states that everyone must live and be kept alive in a healthy and balanced environment. By whom? By the state. The fundamental problem here is this; under the name of transformation in health, the AKP government imposed neoliberal policy on our country and stripped social security of being a right."

"STEALING WOULD BE INNOCENT, THEY HAVE COMMITTED THEFT"

Bülbül continued his words as follows:

"A worker who retired in 2002 receives 1 million 750 thousand liras as severance pay. In 2023, the same worker receives 500 thousand liras. Another problem is that in 2002, the wage a worker received for severance pay was 838 thousand dollars. Now the same worker receives 25 thousand dollars. Look, I am explaining the impoverishment to you. The severance pay ceiling is 35 thousand liras right now. However, if the severance pay ceiling had not changed, a worker of ours would be receiving 150 thousand 18 liras instead of 35 thousand liras. Stealing would be innocent; they have committed theft.

After 2008, this rate fell to 38 percent. Look, this is the reason for the impoverishment. No matter how much you increase this, retirees will remain poor."

"PARLIAMENT MUST HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE"

Evaluating pension payments, Bülbül said the following:

"Another problem; the lowest pension has reached 10 thousand liras. In the 2024 budget, 2.8 trillion liras were allocated for personnel expenses. The amount allocated for personnel expenses in 2023 was 975 thousand liras, meaning it has been increased 3-fold. When we look at the personnel expenses in the 2023 budget, what should it have been? The lowest pension should be 22 thousand 500 liras. Why should it have been? Because it should be according to the government's own budget that it prepared. Parliament must hold them accountable for this."

"THE AKP GOVERNMENT CHANGED THE LAW AND USURPED PEOPLE'S QUALITY OF LIFE"

Criticizing the AKP's budget expenditures, Bülbül said, "The biggest problem here is this; we cannot determine where and how the political power spends money and which items they transfer funds to. This happens in authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Especially the political power put old age and retirement on the table. They changed the law and raised the age requirements. They stole people's retirements. What happened? The AKP government changed the law. It usurped people's welfare level and quality of life."