Prices hitting home
Vegetable prices have surged due to the cold weather over the past few days. Bok choy is selling for NT$50 per jin (600g), mustard greens are NT$60 per jin and water spinach NT$40 per jin.
The prices are also a result of serious inflation. Influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, almost everything has gone up in price. Prices that should have risen have surged, and those that should have remained the same have also risen.
When some retailers and companies start charging more, others follow suit and life gets harder.
A joke has been shared recently. A man walks past a homeless person with a begging bowl in front of him. The man has a NT$10 coin and he put it in the bowl. Shortly afterward, the man hears the homeless person murmuring: “That is not even enough for a tea egg.”
For most people, prices have surged, but incomes have not. Dealing with the situation and trying to get by, people smile wryly and shake their heads.
Nowadays, four braised eggs cost NT$50. For more than a year, the price of eggs has risen. Many have felt the sorrow caused by egg prices.
My daughter once asked me sheepishly: “Would it be too self-indulgent to eat an egg each day?”
Here is another joke. A man called his neighbor a pig. His neighbor was irritated and sued the man for using abusive language. The man was fined NT$2,000. He protested, telling the judge: “Your honor, last time when I was sued for calling another person a pig, the fine was only NT$1,500.” The judge replied: “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. The price of pork has risen.”
Pork imported from the US has caused a price hike in locally produced pork. Pork butt costs NT$200 per jin. Even Yulan magnolias have become more expensive, rising from NT$20 to NT$30.
Rent has also risen. A friend told me: “When the government announced some subsidies for renters, I dared not apply for it, afraid that the landlord might use it as an excuse to increase the rent, but the landlord has increased the rent anyway.”
The other day I went to a store to inflate a bike tire. Surprisingly, I was charged NT$20. It used to be free. Perhaps the store owner had no alternative but to charge me, for he seems to have a hard time running his business.
Government officials have been talking about how they will do their best to stabilize prices. Yet if we take a look at malls and markets, almost everything has become much more expensive.
Although some food is sold at the same price, the portions have shrunk.
Whenever the Lunar New Year approaches, people spend more on food and daily goods. Some businesspeople definitely take advantage of the holidays to force up prices.
The government should take the initiative to ensure price stability so that ordinary people can enjoy the new year in peace.
Li Yueh-chih
Taipei
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