Reported inflation is 70 percent, the Palace's spending increase is 170 percent

While TURKSTAT announced annual inflation at 70 percent, its own spending increased by 108 percent compared to the same period last year, while the Palace's spending rose by 177 percent and the Diyanet's by 137 percent.

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Reported inflation is 70 percent, the Palace's spending increase is 170 percent

While households in Turkey see their purchasing power erode day by day due to high inflation and struggle to make ends meet, the Palace continues to shine brightly. In an article titled “Caught red-handed by their own figures,” BirGün columnist Nurcan Bilge Gökdemir revealed that neither the inflation rate announced by TURKSTAT nor the 'public austerity projects' have reached public institutions.

According to the article, budget expenditures in the January-June 2024 period increased by 93.7 percent compared to last year, reaching 4.5 trillion liras. Budget expenditures in the January-June 2024 period rose by 93.7 percent compared to the 2 trillion 363 billion 577 million TL recorded in the same period of 2023, reaching 4 trillion 578 billion 549 million TL. General budget administrations, including the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), the Presidency, ministries, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the General Directorate of Security, and high judicial bodies, spent 4 trillion 467 billion 538 million TL in six months.

TURKSTAT ALSO CONTRADICTED ITS OWN FIGURES

The most striking part of the article is that TURKSTAT, which has been at the center of criticism due to the inflation rates it announces, contradicts these very figures itself:

“Among public institutions, there are almost none that have kept their spending at or below the inflation rate announced by TURKSTAT, which was 71.6 percent in June and 61.7 percent in July. The increase in spending for the majority is expressed in figures exceeding 100 percent. Leading these, as always, is the Presidency. The Palace, which spent 2.1 billion TL in the January-June 2023 period, increased its spending by 177 percent in the same period this year, bringing it to 6 billion liras. The TBMM's expenditures jumped from 2.2 billion TL to 4.7 billion TL with a 110 percent increase; the Presidency of Religious Affairs' expenditures rose from 19.6 billion TL to 46.7 billion TL with a 137.3 percent increase; and the Directorate of Communications' expenditures rose by 99.4 percent from 1.2 billion TL to 2.5 billion TL. Even TURKSTAT, which is debated over its announced inflation figures, increased its spending, which was 708.8 million TL in the January-June 2023 period, by 108 percent to spend 1.4 billion TL.”

News Source: 12punto