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Unemployment
The fixed income groups feel the pinch of rising prices the most as their real income gets eroded. The government grants dearness allowance from time to time but it can’t match the rising prices. Rising prices exert physical and mental pressure on the people in general. Many households find it difficult to afford balanced and nourishing food and this tells upon physical and mental health of the members of families. The poor remain ill-fed and ill-clad. Poor parents are forced to chuck out their children from schools and seek employment for them. Child labor gets a boost. Employers prefer to employ children because they give them less salary. This increases unemployment for the grown-ups. Moreover, huge amount spent on school- buildings goes waste as they remain empty or only a few children turn up for education. Young girls from poor families and even from middle class families become household helping hands to earn extra buck for their parents. Their employers many a time exploit their helplessness and degrade them physically. We see tiny tots and somewhat grown up children roaming streets, picking rags and empty plastic bottles from the filth. These children should have been in the school.
Cracks Family life
Family life gets cracks. Joint families get crude jolt. Earning members of the families leave their old parents to fend for themselves as they can’t afford them because they have no money to spare after utilizing it to buy necessaries of life. In these days of high prices, a guest, once regarded as an image of God, is unwelcome. 1e are becoming selfish, money- minded and unhelpful to others. We are losing our virtues. Families disintegrate because of rising prices. After buying necessaries of life parents are left with no money to send their children to good schools as they cannot afford the expenses. As a result of this talented children sulk and go against their parents but they are too little to realize the hard and harsh realities of life. Rising prices have compelled many ladies to work and this keeps them away from their home for hours at a stretch. Maidservant they can’t afford, so they leave their tiny tots in creches. When these tiny tots grow up they remain all alone without the company of their parents. This shatters the bond of love between the children and the parents. This affects the children psychologically and many of them fall in bad company. The root cause of all these disturbances is rising prices
Create Agitations
Rising prices give birth to agitations, strikes and lock outs. People demand increased wages and salaries. When these demands are not met they resort to pressure tactics like strikes, agitations and demonstrations. Such tactics decrease production. If a salary-raise is given it pushes up the prices to new heights. All benefits accruing from additional income are nullified. If the employees are not in a position to raise salaries and wages they resort to lock-outs and this ultimately increases unemployment and gives rise to many other social vices.
Political upheavals
Rising prices bring about political upheavals also. Not many years ago we saw the downfall of a popular government and it was all because the high prices played the villain. Opposition parties get a valid chance to criticize the party in power and they hold it exclusively responsible for rise in prices. They organize demonstrations and agitations and in this way thousands of working hours are wasted. But who bothers?
Compel human beings
Rising prices compel human beings to resort to illegal practices. Nobody leaves an opportunity to get hushed up money. People ignore the voice of their soul and kill their conscience to get illegal gratification. Once taken bribery becomes an addiction and ultimately all round degradation of society becomes imminent. Profiteers and black- marketers flourish; people lose faith in the administration. People employ illegal means to go to foreign lands to earn more. They are be fooled by unscrupulous elements and are caught and have to spend years in jails.
Businessmen and corrupt officials do not feel the pinch as they give by one hand and take by another. They spend their time in clubs, enjoy their evenings in five star hotels, their children study in the expensive schools and their palatial buildings tease the slums and the hovels. A silent volcano simmers and waits for a soft outlet to erupt into smoldering lava to destroy everything. Deprived can be easily misled and revolution can occur.
Numerous factors explain price Rise
Numerous factors can be cited to explain price rise.
Firstly, our economic planning could not achieve targeted production while public expenditure increased manifold. Deficit financing was adopted. Paper money in abundance and paucity of goods led to inflation.
Secondly, defective tax regime has encouraged tax evasion and increased black money. The parallel economy encourages rise in prices.
Thirdly, more mouths but scarce goods give opportunities to the trading community to sell their articles to the highest bidder. Moreover, black - marketers and profiteers create artificial scarcity to push up prices.
Fourthly, unprecedented hike in oil prices has aggravated the situation. Transportation has become costly and this influences overall price structures and makes price rise inevitable.
Fifthly, slow increase in agricultural and industrial production and faulty distribution has further tilted the balance of demand and supply. Heavy demands have pushed up prices to new heights. No way out.
Sixthly, people get scared by the rumours of scarcities and start hoarding as much as they can and this leads to real scarcities of essential goods. Prices shoot up.
Seventhly, Multi-national Corporation are also responsible for this malady. They sell their branded goods at exorbitant price and getting a clue our domestic manufacturers too increase the prices of their products.
Take a simple example we used to get potato chips at the rate of Rs 80 per kilo. Came the MNCs and they started selling their potato chips at the rate of Rs.300 per kilo and their Pakistani brethren too increased the prices. These MNCs did something more. They took over many domestic productions and arbitrarily increased prices.
Government awareness about rise prices
Thank God our government is quite aware of the magnitude and implications of this problem. Steps are being taken to boost production and streamline distribution system. Recently we saw unprecedented, increase in the price of essential commodities. This government stepped’ into and through properly managed distribution strategy brought down the prices. Consumers have grown vigilant to keep a watch on the unethical practices of the trader community. Multinational corporations have been warned to behave and not to indulge in unethical practices to earn more and undue profits. People themselves should not indulge in wasteful expenditure and should give up ostentatious living. Anti-social elements must be awarded exemplary punishment People should change their priorities. Recently people in general stopped using tomato when its price touched unprecedented height. After all tomato is not our staple food. Its price came down in no time. Corrective steps by the government and cooperation of the people only can check rise in prices.
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