As the Russians say, free cheese is only in a mouse trap. This wise and accurate adverb reminds me of all time the next promises of social transfers give emergence to the enthusiasm of Polish residents*. "At last, you are giving something" – we hear a stud mosque of beneficiaries of social programs. The problem is that the state, and even more so the government, does not have its “own” money and to give someone, has to take individual away. Just realize this simple fact so that the mouse trap becomes abruptly completely visible.
Of course, young (sometimes only by spirit) corvinists are mistaken, who claim that the government buys voters with their own money. With the large caution that I talk of the values of the intellect of our people, I must stand here in their defense. Even they wouldn't fall for that apparent scam. The votes of the PiS voters are not paid only by the PiS voters themselves, but by everyone else. Those who do not have the chance to be outraged, for example, due to the fact that they have not yet been born. It's not a mistake. The social publishing of Kaczyński and the company is mostly carried out on loan, which will pay off our grandchildren.
Not only, of course. A convenient origin of financing for its own firing concepts is the looting of its own citizens. We can separate 3 basic types of this activity. The first – direct, is manifested in taxes and charges, which the government of Mateusz Morawiecki generously grants us. The second, camouflaged, is made up of overpriced prices for goods and services supplied by state monopolies. We pay it by buying fuel and energy, for example. The 3rd kind is simply a hidden tax, which is inflation.
The second requires a broader discussion. As a consequence of inflation, money is losing value and our portfolios are in crisis. With the same earnings , our income is actually reduced . If we have savings, their value falls by the inflation factor. According to CSO data, in 2022 consumer goods and services prices increased by 14.4%. This means that if you had 100,000 zlotys hidden in a jar, now you already have only 85,600. That is the acquisition value of your 100 1000 on 1 January 2023 compared to their value on 1 January 2022.
It's the same with salaries. If your monthly wage is PLN 5000 stable, the real value of your wage has fallen to PLN 4280, counting the purchasing power from January 1, 2022.
It's just a year's perspective. Follow the long-term position on the 500+ benefit. During the first year of operation its value decreased by PLN 10, in the following year by PLN 8 and in the next year by PLN 11. Unfortunately, from 2020, inflation began to take on dynamics. In April 2020, the real value of the 500+ benefit was already PLN 456, in the following year PLN 437. In April 2022 500 plus was worth little than 390 PLN, and now little than 340 PLN.
So, as we see, all consumers, regardless of their political preferences, become victims of inflation. How does this affect the state budget? Paradoxically in the short term, it is beneficial. More money is added to the budget (e.g. due to rising commodity prices VAT is besides increasing). The benefits paid are actually little valuable, but price changes in this case do not apply to the government. In addition, the State's debt is losing its importance as the circumstantial amounts of debt stay unchanged and its value is decreasing. Therefore, inflation itself is simply a hidden taxation and profit for the state. But this is only in the short run. Excessive inflation leads to a failure of economical competitiveness. The alleged stagflation is arising, i.e. the phenomenon of inflation combined with stagnation of the economy and advanced unemployment. This, however, must at most be taken care of by another team, who will drink beer brewed by their predecessors.
We can compose that long and ambitious. Well, if the wisest argument does not defy the force of the argument specified as “Lord, the wombs all steal, and the Law and Justice will at least divide.” In this situation, we can either put our hands out of control or take up sisyphic work. The simplest thing to do is to offend the reality and say that "it is possible for Poles to do something good sometimes, but never with Poles". It is much harder to educate, talk, and convince. Not necessarily recalling immediately learned fishing or Taylor. Not necessarily referring to a sense of community and civic responsibility.
To begin with, it is adequate to teach Poles that free cheese is only in a mouse trap. The remainder will figure it out.
Przemysław Piasta
* “Locals” not “citizens”. A citizen's name must be earned.