THE inflation In Spain we seem to live a kind of dual reality. If the statistics speak of moderation, the daily lives of consumers tell a completely different story, since the basket, the rent or basic expenses continue to convey the … the feeling that everything costs a little more than yesterday.
This was reflected in “The Ana Rosa Program” of the economic expert Eduardo Bolinches. “There are people who say that inflation is decreasing. Lie. “What goes down is the uphill slope,” he said, suggesting that life continues to get more expensive, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. “Prices always go up”predicted for next year.
The specialist recalls that the National Institute of Statistics (INE) monitors nearly 1,000 products and services and that the average shows an increase of 3% over one yearand a 2.6% since Januaryalthough he insists that each case is different: “In the Community of Madrid, for example, inflation is 3.5%, in La Rioja it is 2.4%. Then, depending on the city, it’s very far.
It can even vary depending on each family. “Each household has its own CPI, its own inflation”he emphasizes. “A widowed retiree who will not need as much wealth is not the same thing as a family with four children, or even just one,” he argues.
Which products are growing the most?
The key to inflation is found in everyday life, and the expert explains it bluntly, marking the Russian invasion of Ukraine as one of the turning points: “People don’t have the feeling of inflation at 3% because What increases the most is what we buy every day: eating“.
In this sense, he emphasizes that food has skyrocketed 57% in a decade and 40% since the start of the war in Ukraine. “Special mention to olive oil. We bought it for 9 euros, now it’s four, but on the day of the invasion of Ukraine it was two, then we really went up, we went down, but it’s 100% more expensive than 5 or 6 years ago,” he sums up.
But it’s not the only stressed product. THE bananas increased by 36%, lemons 33%, and basic proteins such as eggs, meat either fish They have become prohibitive. The result, warns Bolinches, is that “we had the most expensive Christmas Eve dinner in all of Europe in comparative income terms. Furthermore, he predicts that next year the price will be even higher: “Rest assured.”
Housing, the other big economic fire
If the basket is tight, the accommodation already almost suffocating. Prices have increased by 11% and rentals cost on average 100 euros more that was a year ago. For the economic expert, this is “Spain’s second major problem”, just behind the pension system. And unlike the latter, that of housing is immediate, urgent and visible.
The analyst highlights several open fronts: 184,000 housing units promised who do not arrive, the lack of coordination between administrations and lack of tax measures suitable for the most stressed areas.
To alleviate the problem, he suggests acting at three levels: free the earth town halls, reduce or eliminate real estate transfer taxes of autonomy and, of the State, regulate late payments and adjust VAT in critical areas. “Only in this way will more housing come onto the rental market,” he says.
THE electricitydespite its bad reputation, is one of the most regulated sectors and, according to Bolinches, this is not the main driver of current inflation. The problem, he denounces, lies in salaries: “They increase your payroll to compensate for inflation, but half goes to the Treasury”.
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