By Abdularazag Al-Dahesh, a Libyan journalist and writer

It's easy to flatter people's emotions, to talk about a salary increase, decrease the dollar exchange rate, and open the tap of employment. 
But can you gain people's approval in streets without losing your conscience? 

A salary increase must be absorbed by an increase in prices. According to this fact, the salary increase will be resorted to every time, in an attempt to absorb the high prices. And in this way we will continue to run rings around "Increase salary, increase price of flour" until we find neither water nor flour. 

A salary that exceeds 20.000 dinars, and another below 500 dinars, this is injustice in a country that depends on oil, the gift of geology. The salary of a driver in one of the regulatory agencies is equal to more than three times a driver in education, also prejudice and injustice.

The presence of more than 1.750.000 employees, in a country with a population of less than 8 million, is a threat to national security. Increasing salaries and increasing employment in the government is not the best solution, but it is the easiest.

However, that is just as if someone could not pay the hotel bill, and resorted to extending the stay. 
Poor salaries does not mean only a poor, complaining, and frustrated employee, but rather an employee who is able to be corrupt, lazy, and even a thief, for additional income that secures him a desired or even acceptable standard of living.

Increasing salaries means increasing the demand for foreign exchange. It means raising the consumer appetite in a country that depends on the foreign market for everything from the pin to the Airbus. And the final conclusion, we will find ourselves, between just three options, or necessities.

The first option is to place restrictions on foreign exchange sales. We have tried the dollar price gap between the Musher open street market and the Central Bank, in addition to the corruption of funds, a severe liquidity crisis, the rest of the distortions, and the tragedy preparations.

The second option (the best of the worst ) is to adjust the exchange rate every time, painful devaluations of the Libyan dinar, search for a safety net that is often miserable, and a flabby economy. 
And the third worst option is to lift restrictions, raise wages, and take the fastest highway to the station of bankruptcy.

The government's mission should be to improve the labou market, not to be the Labour market. 
The government's mission is to improve the quality of life, by raising real income, not raising salaries. 
The government's mission is to transform the mental image of people, from a culture of safe pay, to a safe economy, and from pay for a job, to pay for work.

The salaries way is a red line that will take us to the most dangerous situation.

 

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Libya Observer

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