Life is getting more expensive and stress increase day by day. Everything is getting more expensive, from goods and services to food and things of strict necessity. People with fixed incomes, young families, and those that are socially vulnerable feel it the most. In the absence of solutions to remedy the situation from the Government, the exodus increases, the active population emigrates, and those left at home wonder daily what will happen tomorrow.

The Prices Increase Constantly. How do We Keep Up?

Irina Gorobeț, retired

I save on everything. I gave up dairy, cheese, meat. I buy 10 eggs for a month and a kg of fish a month. I go to the store and choose the products on the day their expiration date expires. They are 50% cheaper. Otherwise, it’s not enough for me. I am 86 years old, I live alone. Thank God for giving me strength. I don’t know how it will be possible for us to manage with a pension of 100 euros when the prices increase daily. What are the Government’s plans? I would give them my pension for a month to see how they will manage with 100 euros, what they would eat, how they would pay for the services, and winter is coming. It is difficult. I am from the generation that survived the famine. God forbid…

Cristina Sârbu, young professional

People already save money in many ways. Pensions have been increased slightly, but wages have remained the same. High prices place a heavy burden on the elderly, young families, families with small children. A hard winter is coming. I don’t really know what we could do. We could save on gas, electricity, but not on food? Wages should be adjusted to the prices. The government could borrow if it has no other way out of the situation, but I don’t think it would be too good a long-term solution. For a year it could be okay. But further? The price trend is to go up, not down. I am following the international situation. The pandemic has complicated things around the world, but especially in countries with weak economies.

Ana Jalbă, mother of two children

Do you know what the problem is? That you do not know what to expect and how long these increases will last. People have different budgets. Those on low incomes try to cope, too, although harder than those with high incomes. In our case, my husband works, and I stay at home with our two small children. It’s complicated, but we don’t live on our salaries only, we go to the countryside and stock up on supplies every year. We did it again this year. This is how people live in the countryside. The peasant never left himself in the care of the state. But let’s not lose hope. There were hard times and people coped. I think we’ll get over this.

Profir Tanasciuc, engineer

Prices are not that high, but wild comparison with income, because we have a wild market economy. If in 30 years Moldova would have been governed well, today, we would have an organized economy and we would not have the disaster we have not only in prices but in everything. Prices have risen all over the world, but nowhere you will find such a large gap between prices and incomes. And that’s because we have no economy, it was destroyed. How do we resist? First, the government must control prices. Second, the government needs to adjust incomes to prices. And third, the thieves must be put in prison, and the assets seized and put in the public service.

Eudochia Țopa, retired

My biggest regret is that I didn’t stay in the village and I listened to my husband, who brought me to the city. In the village, the one who works, has something to live on. People do not wait for the salary to have a piece of bread in the house. It’s complicated in the city. I have a pension of 100 euros, after I worked at a chemical plant, in harmful conditions, in three shifts, and got several diseases and now I go to the doctors. Four times I asked for the pension to be recalculated and each time I was refused. There is no door in Moldova to open and offer help. Those who promise everything, when they become bosses, forget about everyone and take care only of them: clean work, a car in front of the house, good salary, and very good pensions … What are the solutions? Personally, I brought my nephew to live in my room, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to pay the bills for two rooms in the winter. I have another daughter in Greece, but I can’t go to Greece at my age. We, the old people, are used to being patient, but the young people leave the country as they used to leave because they have no other solution.