‘More Comprehensive Economic Measures Should Have Been Introduced'

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Economist Dr. Murat Kubilay has spoken to bianet about the economic stability measures against coronavirus pandemic announced by President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday evening (March 18).

CLICK - President Erdoğan Unveils Economic Measures Against Coronavirus Outbreak

Referring to the "economic stability shield against coronavirus", as the measures are called by Erdoğan, Kubilay has said that Turkey was late for announcing these measures when compared to other countries.

The amount, rather than the problems, has been prioritized in preparing the economic package, according to Kubilay.

Noting that Turkey had to announce this package because it was pressured by other countries, Kubilay has indicated that he sees it as a matter of public communication management. Kubilay has briefly stated the following:

'Companies were considered'

"It looks more like a package that is announced to the public to give them the message that the state and the presidency are dealing with the issue.

"The most striking thing about the content of the package is that it has targeted business world. It is - of course - acceptable to a certain extent because there is a problem with the global supply network and, so, there is a risk relating to export. This risk was intended to be eliminated.

"With this outbreak, the payment system of businesses is having difficulties. Shopkeepers, traders, small and medium sized enterprises and holdings are having difficulties. They can be financially strong, but in the event of any precarity about their debts owed, they can have problems with the companies they work with. They were considered in preparing this package.

'Public should have taken the responsibility'

"There are also pensioners and students in the package. These are its positive aspects, but there are also some forgotten aspects.

"Things are good for those who have the opportunity to work flexibly or can just stay home without working for a while. But, in that case, the ones who have less qualified jobs will suffer a considerable amount of income loss. Because as companies have been - very plain and simple - in a crisis for two years, they will not give their employees paid leaves that easily.

"And, on top of that, we do not know how long this crisis will last, maybe it will continue for months. That being the case, it was the public institutions that should have shouldered the responsibility.

"The income losses or substitutions of people should have been provided by the public. Now, we see that it was not done for the ones who will not receive any wages. Therefore, this package will not solve our problems.

'Government can get advance from Treasury'

"Though the postponement of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Accommodation Tax till November seems to be an insignificant contribution, a direct injection of cash to the market will give much more beneficial results when we consider the state of the sector.

"In such cases, social demand falls abruptly, people do not do shopping, they do not go out, production falls. Because income gets meagre.

"A more comprehensive package should have been unveiled here. The government can get an advance from the Treasury, which we colloquially call 'issuing money.' If a law is passed on this and if it is said that it will only be used for coronavirus, it will be possible for us to overcome this crisis.

'Only employers will benefit from it'

"That is why I think social media comments like 'The Government has saved the big companies and the capital, but has not considered employees' are right. Housing benefits, loans, invoice payments have not been taken into consideration, they have not been postponed. The state should have directly taken responsibility by handling these issues.

"In its current condition, only the employers having difficulties with payments will benefit from this package. And only little crumbs have been left for citizens, again." (HA/SD)