Consequence of the economic policies is the failure of middle class to step up from their already down-trodden state
KARACHI: Pakistan is facing an economic crisis. The repercussions of the economic policies are both tangible and intangible in nature. The resultant monetary crisis that people face may be a tangible crisis, but the way this crisis is going to affect the society is intangible and its effects might show up in a couple of years. The main consequence of the economic policies is the failure of the middle class to step up from their already down-trodden state. More specifically, the lower middle class bears the brunt of inflation. Not only that, this salaried class has to face inflation without increase in their salaries. Consequently, they fall in the poverty trap — meaning that they demote to lower middle class from upper middle and middle class. This crisis situation translates into what is known as invisible poverty. The salaried class will not withdraw their children from school to make ends meet. Instead, they will likely run up debt that they will not be able to pay back anytime soon. In attempts to pay back their debt, they start by selling whatever little assets they possess. First they sell gold, then the small plot they managed to buy in the hope of making a house of their own someday. Later, desperation calls for selling furniture. This kind of poverty has many names: World Bank’s 2003 report on poverty described it as white- collar poverty. It is invisible because people rely on ‘how things seem’, which is more noticeable than ‘how things are’. From the outside, it seems life is going as it is supposed to. However, the reality is very different. Remedial measures are needed. The remedy, however, should not turn out to be worse than the malady.
Sassi Bhutto
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2019.
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