Latest update May 7th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 03, 2014 Editorial
The longer one lives, the harder it is for that person to survive in the world. And there are many reasons for this. The most adverse factor affecting people who enjoy longevity is inflation and unless that person was able to create conditions of affluence then that person would be reduced to a life of mendicancy.
Today, many old public servants have been reduced to such a state that one wonders if it was worth the while to actually pursue employment during their earlier years. People who commanded senior positions in the public service are no better than beggars today and largely through no fault of theirs.
The society would from time to time remind children of their obligations to their parents; that they should not deny their parents the right to enjoy their last years. However, because of the economic situation even many children are no better off financially. Today, the extended family for which Guyana prided itself is fast becoming a distant memory.
Only recently there was a teacher who retired in 1985 having attained the age of compulsory retirement age of 55. At the time she was earning $1,500 a month, a princely sum when one considers the cost of living in those days not so long gone. That sum would have been equivalent to US$400 per month on the money market but could have actually provided goods and services worth much more.
At the time of retirement she would have received a gratuity and a pension which at that time would have been a handy sum. But then inflation in Guyana steps in. This is the country where in one fell swoop, many people lost real money. This happened when the then government announced that the exchange rate to the United States dollar would be $10 to the US dollar.
It does not take much imagination to recognize what happened to people’s savings. A man who would have had savings equivalent to US$30,000 suddenly had money the equivalent of US$12,000. Many people cried bitterly and actually took to leaving the country for a place where their savings would have been better protected.
The pension of a $1,500 salary would have been no more than $600 per month and it does take much of an imagination for people in today’s Guyana to recognize the value of that sum of money. Indeed, the government takes measures to protect such people by granting them a certain percentage increase on their pensions. Today that former teacher gets $18,000 a month.
That money is buttressed by an old age pension of $12,500 a month and a National Insurance Scheme pension of about $8,000 per month. That should be enough money today to keep the person relatively comfortable until we start to recognize that the person never owned a home so the rent would devour about $30,000. If the person finds shelter in a senior citizens’ home then the cost of the room would be at least $15,000 per month.
This is most worrying for those who say that longevity is a desired thing when they have no supporting relative. Increasingly we are seeing single parent households which are reduced to the single parent as soon as the children are old enough to move on.
In poor communities the children attempt to supplement their income by remaining in the house and even raising their own families. Needless to say, living conditions deteriorate and this too has a cost.
The ideal thing would be for the government to apply a formula that helps earnings keep pace with inflation. There was a time when the gratuity paid to a retiree could have bought a home or a car. Today the gratuity is a fraction of what it should be and the pension is even worse.
For this reason, people continue working long after they would have retired; there is now no talk of enjoying the senior years except, if that person entered retirement well cushioned financially.
GRA catch EXXON trying to hunch GUYANA over 11 BUS dollars in one shot!!!!
May 07, 2024
‘One Guyana’ Beach Football Championship Kaieteur Sports – Young Gunners males and Speightland ladies are Kings and Queens of the Sand One Guyana Beach Football Championship which concluded...Kaieteur News – The PPP/C’s congress was characterised by a glaring disconnect from the realities facing Guyana... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]