Nationalism beyond politics: Low inflation rate and rising costs - Series III

Read Comments Comments (1)

• Kwame 1 day ago

  Good article, Dr John-Baptist Naah. I wish to make a few observations.
  
  1) Slowed down inflation isn't the same as disinflation; it doesn't mean prices have generally dropped. It means the rate of increase is relatively slo ...
  read full comment

  Good article, Dr John-Baptist Naah. I wish to make a few observations.
  
  1) Slowed down inflation isn't the same as disinflation; it doesn't mean prices have generally dropped. It means the rate of increase is relatively slower. So, to illustrate, if the price of a good was rising, on average, by GHs100/ weekly, perhaps, it now rises by GHS2/weekly.
  
  2) However, considering that almost everything we consume/ use in our country is imported, a strengthening GHS should still have forced down the prices of some (if not most) goods.
  
  3) If domestic prices of goods aren't responding to this positive development in the GHS, then probably economic actors (mostly importers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers (including mom & pops)) might be creaming off.
  
  4) And, perhaps, the informal sector is the biggest perpetrator of this phenomenon and the biggest beneficiary.
  
  5) In the short-to-medium term, it is unlikely the average Ghanaian would be cajoled into a spirit of nationalism.
  
  6) Instead, innovative tax administration could be explored as a tool to shift "windfall gains" around. Gains that should have been passed on to the final consumer through a re-pricing of goods to reflect the benefits from currency appreciation can be moved by taxation from "greedy economic actors" into the development of public goods that benefit the average Ghanaian.
  
  I am happy, however, to be disputed and educated if an alternative view that is more convincing is expressed. If anyone, however, agrees with my views, I am equally happy to engage in a conversation to determine what innovative ideas we should explore to make tax administration more effective as a tool to "redistribute unethically acquired wealth".

  reply