Accounting for 2021, Welcome 2022

Dear readers, today is the first Monday of the first week of 2022 and the working day, that is, the production day. There may be those of us who do not think about the generation of ideas in areas other than technology. Let's answer that right now. The ancients called idea-idea production "manufactured idea", idea production, opinion production. And they used it for ideas that could be useful to the homeland, the nation, the unemployed and the weak. When he said "Imal-i Idea", his eyes would smile. You know, being able to come up with a new idea is one of the most distressed ones in the world right now. I don't know why, but despite everything, I can wholeheartedly say that at first glance, since a new year has started and we were worn out in the previous year, at least for myself, I am extremely positive and positive. It feels like we've gotten a little lighter, did we just leave everything in 2021? Have we left the dreary life behind and moved to the other side of the black hole? At least it seems so to me.

My hope is that the year 2022 is covid-free, mutant-free, variant-free, ohmron-free, mask-free, we fill our lungs with 100% oxygen, social solidarity is at the highest levels, people do not worry about their livelihoods, love, respect and national consciousness are dominant, repulsion and embezzlement are destroyed, and human dignity is at its highest level. Let it be a new year that is precious. Let's get stronger with the memories of those we lost and those we lost and the power of those who gave us hope to live. I don't know if we can take back or regain what was taken from us, but increasing the will to live seems like the only solution. Hope to live is not only a feeling, but also a form of resistance, I think. There are so many people around us who say, "Stop this gloomy world, it's about to come down". There will be some nostalgia, but this world we try to live in is no longer our world, first of all we did not appreciate the opportunities it offers. It would be nice if we could start going back to that world again. Of course, this is a wish. I look at the "hit song" of the New Year celebrations, "My hometown" by Ayten Alpman, we are very excited, but I pay attention to something, we look at the future with a little empty and fearful eyes.

I don't know why, but for me, leaving 2021 behind and crossing the threshold of 2022 means planning for 2022 with the previous year's accounting. It is customary in the West, in the first days of the new year, important decisions are made about yourself and your life and they are tried to be implemented meticulously. Life and lifestyle are restructured in line with the principles set forth. First of all, getting rid of bad habits is put at the top of the list. So how long does this take? Although it is not clear, there is an effort, an effort is made to continue. In politics, the situation, in general, takes place in this way. The budget marathon covering the months of November and December in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey continues more or less in this way. The budget of the next year and the year that caused tensions and fights and that will be cleared by making a final calculation in the middle are discussed and decided. It is tried to put forward a structure that will get the most efficiency out of limited opportunities. The science of economics is a science that examines the efficient use of the limited resources of individuals and societies to meet their unlimited needs. To me it is both science and art. It examines the activities of goods and productions, but its work is money, finance. It should not be confused with economics. Just as the English equivalent of 'economics' is 'economics', the equivalent of 'economy' is 'economy'. It is economics, which is science and art, while economy encompasses all the forms of production and distribution and the relations arising from these actions in order to use and live wisely.

After all this, I must say, and we think that only Turkey and the Turkish people are struggling with the economic crisis. The majority of the countries in the Middle East are dealing with the economic crisis that has become internalized after the global epidemic, and they are rapidly drifting towards great social turmoil. Even countries where the Arab civil war has not been directly experienced are struggling with economic fluctuations, large and small, and it is not going away. Lebanon, Syria and Iraq are at the forefront of economies that have largely fallen into a chronic or even vicious circle. In general, 2021 was the year in which the loss and casualties of the Arab uprisings were recorded in the region on the one hand, and the foreign policy of the President Joe Biden era in the USA was expected to become clear on the other. Of course, there are striking developments such as Israel and Arab countries starting the normalization processes, but these developments took advantage of the wind created by seeking ways out of the economic and political instability in the region, adapting to the regional political conditions that had changed greatly during the civil war, and of course, the diplomacy-oriented foreign policy of the Biden period. It is obvious that it has accelerated with efforts such as translation. (one)

At this point, in this uncertainty environment surrounded by external conditions, Turkey both economically It has to put forward the possibilities of fair distribution together with the austerity measures. In an environment of uncertainty surrounded by external conditions, Turkey means new conditions, new political agreements, new negotiations, new interest-oriented alliances, trade agreements, and doing its part in regional stability. It is considered necessary for Turkey to attempt to steer clear of the economy and economy, which started in late 2021 and will most likely be reinforced by concrete developments in 2022. Because it is an economic struggle that should be put forward and should not be deviated in any way. The situation Turkey is in, on the other hand, is the fact that it is experiencing a state of tension, a crisis management, which has fully settled in Greece and where Turkey has increased its defense against the siege of its southern neighbor, the USA and its allies. For Turkey, which is struggling with the incessant refugee influx, the possibility of new influxes from countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq due to the economic crisis makes the situation even worse. That's why this situation we are in, the struggle we have done and we have to do, is a war of independence equivalent to being or not being, it is a direct war of liberation, not just an economic war. This time, the situation is not only a National Pact (National Oath) that the First Grand National Assembly had to fight, but also a Pact of Economics (Economic Pledge).

In such a case, II. The British economist John Maynard Keynes, who examined the situation of Great Britain in the World War II, in his work named 'How to Pay for the War' states, “War needs restrict the production of consumer goods, on the other hand, government expenditures create excess purchasing power and nominal income. He explained the general framework of war financing as “raising the level of war”. (2nd)

The purpose of presenting a Keynesian approach here is within the scope of "Functional State Theory". Within the framework of this theory, it results from the necessity of the state to actively intervene in the economy to provide some functions such as achieving an efficiency in resource use and resource distribution, ensuring economic stability with fair income and wealth distribution, ensuring economic growth and development, and ensuring balance in the balance of payments. If we try to adapt this to the situation we are in, Keynes is trying to say: In order for energy-poor Turkey to find the petro-dollar to allocate to energy, it must prioritize export production at the expense of restricting the production of domestic consumption goods. In this case, in the new situation that arises with the restriction of the production of consumer goods in the domestic market, even if the production of goods remains the same compared to other years, the amount of goods may remain limited in parallel with the increasing population, but the amount of money may become abundant. In such an environment, instability arises as the currency depreciates to a large extent. In fact, the emission (printing money) sources created for the financing of the war have an increasing effect on the war expenditures by raising the prices, which causes new price increases. (3)

On the other hand, the people who are indirectly affected by this situation do not invest due to their insecurity about the future and prefer to keep their money liquidity due to the ability of an economic asset to be used in exchange like money. Financing consists of internal and external resources in wartime as well as in normal periods. The security of domestic financial resources, which is the basic condition for the maintenance of a healthy economy, reveals its feature of being the main pillar of governments in the war economy as an undoubted fact. (4)

Let's not forget, domestic resources related to war financing can be summarized as taxes, domestic borrowings, forced savings and inflation. (5)

It is the 'total austerity measures' that will be felt in all its dimensions in the dimension of nationalism by 2022, which must be done in a way that will put a stop to extravagance. The second thing to do is to make the 'balanced budget concept without compromise' dominant in all institutions of the individual and the republic. Third, when there is no other option left for the emission tool, trying to apply it in a very intelligent way, trying to create an inflation-free or relatively relative environment. Successful implementation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's “Turkey's new economy model based on low-cost production and export-oriented growth” depends on the application of these principles. Although it is not possible in all aspects, the Republic of Turkey, which has adopted as its main principle not to resort to external financing within the scope of financial independence, makes it necessary to turn to total savings due to the limited resources of both the government and the people. In order to remove the interest-inflation straitjacket as soon as possible, 2022 is the first hour The government, which was forced to embrace the means of raises and taxes, had to wear a new 'shirt of fire' one and a half years before the election. The situation we are in is indeed a difficult, distressing and unbearable situation, the task that the government and the people take on includes a great responsibility. This means taking on a responsibility where the expectation of success is intense, it means walking around with your head on the couch. Let's not forget, with the first law passed on April 24, 1920, on the second day of its establishment, the Turkish Grand National Assembly quadrupled the "Ağnam Tax" (Animal Census Tax). This tax, which especially affected the "Konar Göçer Yörüks" who were dealing with small cattle breeding during the Ottoman period, was taken every spring. The released tax is a tax item that is planned to be collected from the core state. All kinds of government revenues were tried to be increased with frequently enacted laws, and on the other hand, extravagance in private expenditures was tried to be prevented. In the World Economic Depression in 1929, such as the "Men'i Müskirat (Prohibition of Alcohol) Law" and "Men'i Wasting at Weddings and Banquets (Prevention of Spending) Law", which were put forward as an important argument in the USA and accepted directly from the laws related to national savings. The laws were enacted as early as 1920. It is seen that the idea of ​​channeling the savings to be achieved by using the sanction facilities of the state in the formation of national savings was largely influential in the enactment of these two laws. An agreement was reached with the offices of Duyun-u Umumiye (General Debts) and Tobacco Regime (Tekel) Administration in Anatolia and the interest of the debt was transferred to the treasury without paying the interest. Despite all these efforts, there were even times that civil servants' salaries were not paid for months. All kinds of runners have been reduced by 40 percent. It was directly suggested by the deputies that even 20 percent of the deputies' salaries, which are in the order of 100 US dollars, should be left to the treasury as tobacco money for the soldiers at the front. With the cuts made from the allowances of the deputies in a way that could set an example for the nation, the jackets and hoods taken for the soldiers to wear during the winter months were sent to the front. (6)

On the other hand, the reality is that in the first period of the Kuva-yı Milliye, the aid received by force (forced) from the people; In time, it turned into a volunteer with both the inclusion of irregular forces in the command structure and the increase in the belief of the people in the national struggle; The Turkish nation did not hesitate to put all its wealth under the command of national forces.

A tidy budget is extremely important as it is the prime condition for the state administration to function in an orderly manner. In this respect, it is very important that the pragmatic decisions taken are reduced to the layers of the people. From this point of view, rational regulation of the relations between the current conditions and the needs of the economic struggle and the possibilities of a certain period should be adopted as a general principle within the scope of restructuring. Therefore, the following slogan in the 'Tenth Anniversary Celebrations' explains the current situation we are in:

"Equal budget, equal payment, here is republican capital!"

Long story short, “income equals expenses” when the budget is balanced. Although the free market is dominant, the state has control over the market. This situation briefly shows the corporatist structure of the state. This corporatist structure is the solidarist corporatist structure that its founder and first implementer, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, implemented in Turkey between 1923-1938. Solidarity Corporatism consists of the combination of corporatism, which means the state's involvement in areas where private capital is essential in the economy, but where the private sector will not / cannot invest, and solidarism, which means state interventions in the economy are realized through a compromise or solidarity between the classes in the society. In this transition period, the concept of corporatism, which is an extension of the concepts of Liberalism and Marxism that emerged as alternatives to each other, which is one of the most basic components of social organization, included public policies, social changes, social welfare policies, labor relations, labor peace, unions, government policies that both Liberalism and Marxism policies failed to explain. It is thought that it can give a new aspect to social security and social policy practices.

As a result, the economy, especially the “Turkish Economy”, is not an economic allocation (allocation), which presents a mathematical modeling as a closed system that makes it possible to determine prices in the market; Like Adam Smith, Karl Marx, David Ricardo, it is more long-term growth, development. The concern of Smith and Marx, of today's Turkey, is not how to set short-term prices, but what kind of long-term growth should be in an open system, dear readers.

Footnotes

(1) Gift Levent, “The saddlebag of 2022...” Evrensel Newspaper, 30.12.2021; https://www.evrensel.net/yazi/90093/2022nin-heybesi/Access Date 02.01.2022/

(2) John Maytnard Keynes, How to Pay for the War, London, 1940.

(3) Erdoğan Alkin, “Finance of War”, War Economy Istanbul, 1985, p.173.

(4) Esat Arslan, “Total War Won with Uncompromised Economic Principles “Turkish War of Independence”, 2023 Magazine, Ankara, May 2005, p.39

(5) Salih Turan, “Theoretical Fundamentals of War Finance”, War Economy Istanbul, 1985, p.178.

(6) Esat Arslan, “Total War Won with Uncompromised Economic Principles “Turkish War of Independence”, 2023 Magazine, Ankara, May 2005, p.39