Inflation Hits Those Who Have Less

People like to discuss inflation in percentages, as if it were the weather. But behind the average number hides a very unequal distribution of pain. The same rise in prices means different lives for different people.

A tax no one voted for

For a person of means, holidays and gadgets become more expensive — unpleasant but bearable. For a person on a small income, what becomes more expensive is what cannot be given up: bread, medicine, transport, rent. Their “basket” is made of necessities, and necessities rise first. So inflation works like a tax no one voted for, collected from the most vulnerable.

The rich lose part of their surplus. The poor lose part of their necessity. These are different losses.

Why it matters to speak about this honestly

Savings melt quietly. Wages rise more slowly than prices, and a person grows poorer even if the figure in their contract has not changed. When this is passed over in silence or hidden behind cheerful reports, the one growing poorer is told they simply “cannot count.” That is unjust twice over.

I name no specific figures here — those should come from verifiable sources, not an opinion column. But the principle can be named: rising prices are not a neutral force of nature but a question of justice. And an honest conversation should always begin with those who have it hardest. This is my opinion.