Pro-government Yeni Şafak columnist: 'The state is suffering from an obesity problem, and this ends in a crisis'

Yusuf Dinç, a columnist for the pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak, penned an article regarding the public sector austerity measures voiced by Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek.

Dinç directed his criticism, stating: "In economics, public sector austerity means halting government investments. It carries no other meaning. The state seems to be suffering from a bloated obesity problem. The end of this is a heart attack."

"AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2000S, THE PICTURE WAS THE EXACT OPPOSITE..."

Addressing the measures taken by the government in the economy, Dinç used the following expressions:

"Today, Turkey is one of the least indebted economies among the world's reputable economies. There are almost no economies left in the world where the ratio of debt to gross domestic product is below 100%. However, at the beginning of the 2000s, the picture was the exact opposite. It is as if states are borrowing today as if they are trying to make one last score from this monetary system. Normally, if Turkey were indebted relative to its output like these economies, or if it had a debt that could be considered high, then public austerity would need to be discussed."

"TURKEY IS DOING SOMETHING WRONG..."

"Turkey is doing something wrong. There is an efficiency problem in the public sector. I am not saying it shouldn't be done, but there is no significant savings to be gained from reducing the number of official vehicles, cutting the budget for representation and hospitality, or taking public personnel to meetings abroad. The issue is that despite all those cars, despite the representation and hospitality budgets, and despite this and that, the public sector is unable to resolve the apathy in the market. If you want the market to be unable to surpass you or bypass you, you can ride in whatever car you want, I am fine with that. But to both ride in the car and not protect the citizen, that is what corrupts the nation. And the biggest curse that has plagued the nation, which elevates the car in the eyes of the people, is what is called the SCT (Special Consumption Tax). As the saying goes, you reap what you sow."