I have not technically been employed since last year, after I received my undergraduate degree. About a half of this period can be counted as “unemployment”, as I was not looking for a full-time job during the other half. Anyway, getting an unemployment pay is tricky. I am not eligible for it. Because I should have worked for a minimum amount of months in order to be counted as “unemployed”, and my unemployment pay would be about TL 500 (about 250-300 dollars) monthly, if I had worked with a monthly salary of TL 2000 (1000-1200 dollars), which is more than an average person in Turkey makes (unfortunately). Let’s outline the recent problems of a working man in terms of taxation and social security.
I will start with social security. The government issued a social security system named “General Health Insurance” last year. Beginning with 1 January 2012, through this point in time, I have a total social security debt of TL 1053,70 ($ 580-600). I have not worked for about a year, I have not worked at a full-time job after my education, which means I am not eligible for unemployment pay, I have no other means of income (my family gives me food, energy, etc.) personally, I do not have a significant property… Examples and details can be repeated again and again and again, but it wouldn’t make sense. In short, because I am unemployed, I need to pay TL 1053,70 to the state. It might not seem much, but officially, I have an income of TL 0. If I had everything I primarily need, and a little more than 80 dollars, would I have acquired an insurance policy? For now, this is none of anybody’s business. The problem is that, even if I would, it wouldn’t matter. Because everyone, you didn’t read it wrong, everyone “has to” be in this new social security plan. So, even if I had received another form of insurance, or security in general, I still had to pay this amount. I will be able to pay this amount with my “free-lance” income, but even “this amount” will take much of it, as I will probably not work for another three months, and my plan is to have an academic career abroad, which means it would be meaningless for me to be subjected to this social security plan for another 3-5 years. For you to easily understand the situation a person, a person who is desperately looking for a job, and has been unemployed for the last eight months, is in, I’ll just point out some numbers. Net minimum wage in Turkey is now just a little more than TL 700 (~$ 400). With the current unemployment rate, and economic situation, an average university graduate gets -again- “just a little more than” the minimum wage. If this hypothetical guy we are talking about is living in İstanbul, he would have to pay about TL 400-500 for an apartment in a below-average town every month. Just think of “that” guy. Unfortunate, isn’t he?
Alcoholic drinks cost about three to four times more in Turkey when compared to the average price in Europe. When compared to the United States, the comparison is mostly much more unfortunate. I remember buying a bottle of rum for € 9 in the Netherlands. When I bought the same brand in Turkey, it cost me about € 40-50. And surprise! Another price increase, over another price increase, over another price increase on booze! If I bought the same brand of rum now, it would cost me about € 60-70. Our Secretary of State for Energy recently gave us his valuable opinions about the new price increase on alcoholic drinks and energy (natural gas, electricity, etc.). He said, “cost of gas and alcohol should be covered by those who use them.” I could not agree more. However, it doesn’t take a genius to say these exact words. It actually takes a “genius” to imply that “drinkers” are robbing the other citizens in a country where the amount of taxation on alcoholic drinks mostly exceeds the net price, with these exact words. For a possibly unrelated matter, I’ll give you a summary of what happened in the biggest entertainment area of the country. Smoking in enclosed places is prohibited, which is alright. In Beyoğlu (Taksim, Cihangir, etc.) the municipality banned all tables outside cafes and bars. Why? “It’s hard for people to pass by. The town’s streets are for everyone, these tables make it hard for other citizens to go on their ways.” Partly true, for the Asmalımescit area, where it was almost impossible to cross because of thousands of tables on the streets. But for Mis Sokak (a street in Beyoğlu), for example… Was it really necessary?
I assure the ones who has no idea what I’m talking about, that fucking street is about 20 meters wide. Before the “table removal” thing, it was still only for pedestrians. With all the tables, there was still a ten-meter width. It was not a crowded, popular street at all. So, there was no need for Mis Sokak to be de-table-ized, just like many other streets and roads in Beyoğlu. I personally witnessed the collection of the tables on the street. After the ban, by the local government, who also banned the two-person seats in cafes, because that way men and women can sit side by side (what a disaster it would be!), some local businesses just put two tables outside their cafes and restaurants. Even so, even if they are allowed by law to put two tables outside, I heard shouting from the corner, and got outside to check what it is. I was sitting inside at a cafe in Mis Sokak (this is why I gave this example). It was like a micro civil war out there, people shouting at each other, protesting, the municipal police collecting the tables and throwing them onto a truck quickly, threatening the local business owners, acting like they have participated in a terrorist attack… It was just ugly, and so not civilized. So far, you can’t smoke inside. You can’t drink outside. Then the Galata Square, which has been used for young people to hang around for decades. Some people started to spread bullshit about people disturbing the other people living in the area. They wrote news articles about the “situation” with huge headers like “travesty in the Galata Square”, “really corrupt, crack-head youth”. They posted photos, which only included young people peacefully sitting in the middle of the square, eating and drinking regular things, having a nice conversation. Because there wasn’t a travesty, a really corrupt youth there. People have been passing by that square, sitting in the middle, having nice conversations for decades. What changed? Or, what changed in the last ten years in Turkey? You can’t smoke inside (which is ok). You can’t drink outside. And by outside, I don’t mean in the streets and in front of people’s houses. By outside, I mean the front sides of cafes and bars, that are specifically designed for one purpuse: “sitting the fuck outside”. Buying a bottle of whiskey, or rakı, with average income, or with the pocket money of a student? Forget it. A glass of beer costs about TR 10-15 in most places in Beyoğlu. If you buy it from a liqueur store, it costs about TR 4-5. So, what are you going to do with the time and money you can -most probably for Turkish students- only find once or twice, at most three times a month? You are going to buy “relatively” cheaper liqueur from a liqueur store, buy chips or sandwiches from local markets, get together with your friends, and sit on the famous stairs in Cihangir, or the Galata Square down the İstiklal Street, because it’s mostly free. Oh, wait, you’re disturbing the other people by just peacefully sitting there with your friends, and having fun conversation, at a fucking “touristic” place, DURING THE FUCKING WEEK-END!
The attitude towards alcohol has always been politically influenced for many governments, but with this government, “we”, the “other other citizens” are sure that all of the bans, policies, price increases, etc. about alcohol are strictly conservative politics. Getting a licence to sell alcoholic drinks for restaurants has never been this hard. Drinking peacefully with your friends, or by yourself has never been this hard. Usage of alcohol other than for medical uses is “practically” illegal now, and we have some people to blame for this. I want to “directly” blame people, but, oh, wait, blaming people is “inglorious”, especially if you are blaming “some particular people.” Just like one can get jailed for wanting free and available education for all, and kept inside for more than 11 years. Anyway, these are “my” opinions, if you have different ones, please share them with me. Now, back to the issue of robbing the society. As what I’m talking about is a “tax increase” on alcohol, let’s see the budgets of some governmental organizations in Turkey:
(Year 2006, million TL, approximate)
Home Office: 783
Ministry of Transportation and Communication: 678
Ministry of Public Works and Settlement: 677
Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism: 632
Ministry of Industry and Trade: 280
Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources: 249
Ministry of the Environment: 404
Directorate of Religious Affairs: 1300
Well, it’s data for the year 2006. In 2009, the budget of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, which basically represents and serves only “practicing” Sunni Muslims was TL 2.6 billions, which constitutes more than the combined budgets of 8 ministries, 22 universities, etc. Considering that these budgets were established mostly by the tax paying citizens, let’s see who is robbing whom. I am not going to mosques. I am not receiving any goods and services from the imams, whose salaries are paid from the mentioned budget. I am not receiving any other kinds of information, good, or service from the Directorate of Religious Affairs, yet “most of my income” goes to the DRA. More than one fourth of the population consisting of Alevites, Christians, Jews, Atheists, Deists, or simply people with other belief or non-beliefs get no goods and services from the DRA. Some of them are compulsorily subjected to some services like “compulsory religious education”, which again is solely designed on the assumption that everyone living in the country is a Sunni Muslim. If one is a Christian, or Jewish, and “document” it properly, they didn’t have to get that compulsory training. But if your family was an atheist or agnostic family, the state just assumed that “there is no reason” for you to be exempt from this compulsory torture of mind.. ehem… I mean, compulsory religious training. There are still some students that can’t graduate from their elementary schools because they didn’t take the compulsory training, and they are not Christians or Jews.
So, the state did not use to recognize you if you were something other than these three things: Sunni Muslim, Christian, Jewish. In short, even many people suffered religious pressure and was subjected to these “services” without their consent. All of us paid for it, and all of us are still paying for services that have no use for us. The religious training thing was turned into “elective courses” this year. By making half of the elementary schools religious training schools. So, a family still does not have many options about their children’s education. Other than the obvious, the state assumes 99% of the population is Muslim. Alevites are counted as Muslims, though most of them do not agree on the assumption that they are Muslims, while the rest is just not comfortable with the definition of a Muslim by the state. Many Kurds mostly living in the Southeastern region of Turkey are Shafi Muslims. So, at least “some” of their practices contradict with the DRA’s definition of İslam. And finally, most of the so-called Sunni Muslims in the big 99% are not practicing Muslims. They do not go to mosques, so, they do not need the services of the state-paid imams. Some of them don’t fast in Ramadan. There is a large mosque near my home. It is in fact one of the biggest mosques in the Asian side of İstanbul. It takes about 2000 people. They are still spending hundreds of thousands of Turkish Liras to make it even bigger. Other than once every religious holiday, and Friday prayers, guess how many people are using that big, enormous, 2000-people mosque everyday to pray in it? If the weather is good, 30-40. If the weather is not good, 20-25. A mosque with 2000 people capacity, with an average of at most 30 visits each day… Inefficient, isn’t it? So, still, why am I paying for these goods and services with most of my income?
Privatization of religious organizations has always been a great interest of mine. But the subject is even broader than this one, and it is the subject of another article. As a citizen who is supposed to have the same rights and freedoms both socially and economically, I don’t have to satisfy a specific society’s needs all by myself. The Secretary of Energy is absolutely right. Everyone should pay for what they use. So, why isn’t the state collecting an even small (50 kuruş, TL 1, maybe 2 per visit, for example…) amount of money from the people who are “actually using” the facilities of the DRA, and using MOST OF my tax payments for the things that have no use to me, and actually been subject of religious pressure and hate crimes against me and my fellow non-Muslims? THIS is the question. On the other hand, consumption of alcoholic beverages today in Turkey has no negative effects on the economy of the state. However, it is bullying the “people”. The state is collecting tax from people who are drinkers, using it to satisfy the needs of the non-drinkers, while a liter of rakı is now TL 77 ($ 44) and a liter of coke is now about TL 3. So, some religious guy can hang out with his friends every time he wants, and drink anything he wants. For an average drinker who drinks alcoholic beverages once or twice a month, at a restaurant or a bar (with about two times the store price), isn’t it cruel to the drinkers this way? The thing being done is not “encouraging people to live a healthy life”. The thing being done is “brutally forcing people to live a conservative life.” The price of the famous drink “rakı” (much like the Greek ouzo in taste and content) has increased about 655% in the last ten years. No, I didn’t forget to put a decimal sign. It has increased six hundred and fifty five percent.
What the Secretary of Energy is wrong about is the assumption that drinkers have been a burden on the society. With the tax rates and price increases in the last 10 years, a five year old could understand that it is in fact the society who is unfairly being a burden on drinkers. You can’t take almost everything from one sub-society, and give it to another sub-society. With the same logic, you can’t get almost everything from everyone, and give it to one particular sub-society. The economy has never been in favor of the people, but this time, it’s even much more obvious that the state, in terms of taxation and benefits, serves only one particular sub-society, and makes the rest suffer. I don’t know another example where the public pays the state a significant amount of money “just” and “particularly” because they cannot find a job. We are talking about an amount of money that is one fourth of the official net minimum wage. I don’t remember receiving healthcare services that is worth TL 1053,7. In fact, when I last went to a hospital, they told me I was not insured, and I covered the costs myself. When one goes to a pharmacy and buys TL 7-8 worth of drugs, with insurance, they still pay about TL 5 in this healthcare(!) system. So, is there something I am missing? Why isn’t this country filling up with protests and demonstrations over this? Especially while most of the population is living below the “hunger line”, which is currently TL 1011, while the “poverty line” is drawn at TL 3197? I’m also sure it’s a good point to remind you that the net minimum wage is just a little above TL 700. Do you see the problem?
The Secretary of Energy also said that the price of natural gas is the second or third cheapest price among 27 European countries. Do I also need to outline the differences of net minimum wages among those 27 European countries, and compare them with Turkey? Or, do I still need to compare per capita GDPs among countries? I believe I don’t. Any well-educated person from anywhere in the world will need nothing else other than the numbers outlined above to compare European countries with Turkey in terms of wealth, opportunities and living conditions. If anyone is still wondering why the European Union is still not accepting Turkey into full membership, well, I wrote above a tiny, little portion of the thousands of reasons. I know this has been a rather long article, but this is what it is here. Consequently, I find any comparison of Turkey with countries other than Third World countries disturbing, and cruel. Yes, the economy is growing, yes, on a macro scale, things are “partly” looking up; but it doesn’t matter for the average citizen who is below the “hunger line” if the improvements and growth in the economy is not reflecting on the public.
Yes, we are using the second/third cheapest natural gas in Europe, but I’ll stop complaining about prices when there is a job environment where I can get a net minimum wage of € 1500-2000, or when I don’t have to pay the price of my unemployment to the state despite being “technically hungry”, or when I can satisfy my primary democratic needs like education, shelter, etc., and stop worrying about my secondary and social needs.
I believe we are all eager to get into the European Union. I am personally trying my best to contribute to the solutions of the problems regarding the potential membership of Turkey to the European Union in and outside of my current job, pushing the limits of my capabilities. But if the people are “really” unhappy in many ways, this membership will stay a dream for even longer.
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