Vardan Aramyan: Consumption growth means that people live better (video)
Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan did not agree with the opposition MPs' who claimed that next year we would live in 10% worse conditions: "In 2018, if we succeed in implementing our programs, the GDP, that is $ 3600 per person, will increase by $ 300." Karen Karapetyan's government has recorded a rise in consumption this year in Armenia, which means that people live better now. "One starts consuming more when a) there is a revenue increase at that moment; and b) one has positive expectations for the future." The Minister did not agree with the concerns that Karen Karapetyan's government was closing down many jobs. He announced a sensational number of jobs had been created that year, compared to the second quarter of the previous year. "According to the National Statistical Service, during the second quarter, about 45,000 new jobs have increased compared to the same period of the last year". Based on the same statistics, the Minister said that unemployment had decreased. Vardan Aramyan said that we we had not have to pay back the external debt we would live in better. By the way, the Minister also touched upon the problem of not raising the minimum wage next year. "You might have forgotten that we raised the minimum wage by about 70 percent in 2012." The Minister should be honest with the Armenian people and say that his task was not about not raising salaries and pensions next year because he would not solve the issue with the future by that. Wages and pensions will only rise with stable economic growth. "Now I state that this year we have 4.5% economic growth, we have to stabilize on the medium term."
