Tell the foreigners!
(Baonghean) - Traditionally, in life, what you gain is what you lose is what you lose. There's no such thing as gaining when you lose. As the people of Nghe An would say: how could such a thing happen in the opposite way!
But it's true! It just happened and is currently a hot topic. It's causing widespread anxiety about what might be a loss but actually a gain. It's paving the way for a planned electricity price increase in the near future. A high-ranking official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated at a press conference on electricity prices on February 2nd that "When electricity prices increase, everyone benefits." Hearing this, one might think either the speaker misspoke or the listener misunderstood. But that's not the case. The person who made this "immortal" statement then went on to explain and offer a new theory: The current electricity price is too low, even below cost, causing many foreign organizations and investors who wanted to invest in Vietnam's electricity sector to withdraw, fearing losses. If retail electricity prices increase, more investors will enter the electricity sector, costs will decrease, people and businesses will enjoy the most competitive electricity prices… and thus “everyone benefits”(!).
I swear by heaven and earth and all the gods, every time electricity prices increase, everything else increases with them. What used to cost only one dong now costs two, clearly a loss, an extra dong. The benefits are yet to be seen, only the already meager and fragile pockets of the people become even thinner and more vulnerable. For large manufacturers that consume a lot of electricity, such as cement, fertilizer, clean water, and textiles, just a few hundred dong increase per kilowatt of electricity can instantly raise production costs by tens, hundreds, or even billions of dong. This excess cost is then passed on to the product price. Ultimately, consumers bear the brunt of it. And in the end, the economy suffers due to a lack of competitiveness. So why is it said that everyone benefits from the price increase? I can't figure out why that would be the case. And after much calculation, I only see that the electricity price increase benefits the electricity industry alone. Because there's no need for much effort or worry; just a slight adjustment of the cash register's needle can turn a large loss into a small one. It's even possible to turn a loss into a profit. A deficit can become a surplus of money. That has always been clear as day. There's no need for further discussion or explanation.
The real question here is, how can someone be so audacious as to speak so recklessly and dismissively? Is it disrespect for the listener, or is it a tactic of "silencing the audience" to get their own way, regardless of the consequences? If you want to raise prices and make more money from others, you should at least take the time and effort to find some seemingly legitimate and convincing reasons, instead of resorting to such a bizarre and shocking method!
Speaking so carelessly is like: talking to a foreigner!
Artisan