Don't worry. Be happy.

The government is trying hard to assure everybody that impending disaster is not around the corner, despite all the evidence to the contrary. The PM is saying that the effect of lifting subsidies on the economy will not be significant. Of course, the biggest worry is not how this will affect the economy, but how it will affect people.

It is hoped that the removing taxes on food will be an appropriate placebo. The head of the food merchants association, Khalil Al Haj Tawfiq, is vacillating, saying that stocks that have already been taxed need to be depleted before consumers feel the change. According to Haj Tawfiq, this should take a couple of months, which is long enough for people to have forgotten. Not to worry. Haj Tawfiq promises that if the merchandise was already exempt, then consumers will feel the effect of the 0% reduction right away.

Of course, when taxes are raised, merchants swiftly raise prices, even on stocks that were not taxed.

The prime minister is asking the private sector (nicely) to lower prices and raise salaries for their workers. Obviously, this is meaningless. Jamil Nimri suggests that the government goes back to fixing prices. I believe that a better solution is to activate anti-monopoly laws. Free markets can work only if mechanisms are used to enforce such laws, and jail a couple of fat cats found to be fixing prices. Right. Like that will happen.

The government also wants us to take solace that they promised not to raise the lowest category of electricity use, which are residential users who consume less than 160 kilowatt hours per month. The problem with this is that many people have gone to heating with electricity instead to diesel, LPG or kerosene. This means that few people will be able to meet the low consumption requirements needed to take advantage of the government’s generosity. After 160 kilowatt hours, all bets are off, and nobody knows how high the tariffs will go.

Even the ministry of agriculture is trying to make people feel good. Today, they are assuring people that the lack of rain will not affect crops. I never knew that.

Anyway, don’t worry. Be Happppy!