The United National Party (UNP) today charged that the household income has fallen since the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ policy was implemented and the ruling government first came to power in 2006.

UNP MP Harsha de Silva stated that P.B. Jayasundara, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Sarath Amunugama and the Rajapaksas all are claiming that the economy is rapidly growing, gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income are increasing, inflation is decreasing and that the public is gaining through the proper implementation of the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ policy.

“I’m going to have to burst their balloon with a small pin,” the economist said.

Household income has fallen from the time the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ policy was implemented and the ruling government came into power until today, he said, referring to data from the preliminary result of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey, which measure the levels and changes in living conditions of the people, released by the Department of Census and Statistics

He stated that there is a very important message in this as the progress in the household economy reflects on the country’s development.

This is not a political made-up story, it is facts released by the Department of Census and Statistics through a survey conducted every 3 years, he said.

Harsha stated that the “nominal” value is useless as Rs 100 today cannot be compared with Rs 100 last year due to the increase in prices of goods.

Only if the “real” value increases can we say that the household income has actually increased, he said.

He charged that since the end of the war the people’s living conditions have declined, expenditure has exceeded income and that taxes on food, also known as the Special Commodity Levy, has increased by 39 per cent. “The so called miracle does not exist.”