Perfume Before Bread? Abiy’s Misguided Economics Through Everyday Lessons

Habte H.

While economics is a complex science, its core principle is simple: scarcity demands prioritization. This means rent comes before perfume, and stocking shelves comes before a luxury car. This is not just common sense – it is the fundamental logic of stability for any prudent household or business. This makes it difficult to understand why the Prosperity Party’s fiscal policy so often inverts this logic. The continued prioritization of vanity projects and political spectacle over fundamental public needs like food security, healthcare, and education creates a profound and dangerous disconnect from the people’s daily struggles.

1) The Prudent Household: Securing Essentials Before Luxuries

A sensible household with limited income covers essentials like food, shelter, healthcare, and education first. Only after these needs are met does it consider discretionary spending or future investments, like skills training or small businesses. Spending on luxuries while neglecting basics is irresponsible.

This same logic applies to the government. A nation’s budget should first ensure foundational needs: public security, justice, healthcare, education, and food security. When scarce public funds are directed toward prestige projects or cosmetic urban developments before these core services are fully functional, it represents a profound misallocation of resources. This prioritizes symbolic visibility over public well-being, eroding trust and long-term stability. A government’s duty is to serve the people’s needs – not pursue

2) The Prudent School: Investing in Foundations Before Facades

A prudent school principal prioritizes essentials: fair teacher salaries, safe classrooms, and textbooks before anything else. Only with these secured should extras like science kits or library books be considered. A lavish sports complex must wait until this foundation is solid.

This principle – substance before symbolism – must guide national policy. A budget reflects true priorities. When funding favours showpiece projects and lavish events while critical sectors like education, healthcare, and food security are neglected, it reveals a dangerous misalignment. It is like building a grand auditorium while teachers remain underpaid, and classrooms overcrowded.

True development is measured not by spectacle, but by strong foundations: educated youth, healthy citizens, and economic resilience. A government earns legitimacy by delivering essential services – not pageantry – that empower its people.

3) The Strategic Enterprise: Building Capacity Before Pursuing Prestige

A successful small business owner focuses on strengthening their core enterprise: understanding demand, maintaining inventory, and reinvesting profits into productive assets like equipment or technology that expand capacity and generate returns. They know that spending limited capital on luxury items for status, while neglecting operational essentials, risks the business’s survival.

This same logic applies to national economic strategy. Sustainable growth comes from investing in productive sectors – agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, and education – which form the real engines of job creation and resilience. When national resources are directed toward prestige projects with low economic benefits, it misallocates scarce capital, prioritizing short-term optics over long-term stability. A nation’s strength is measured not by grand monuments, but by the productivity of its people and the robustness of its industries. True prosperity is built on fundamentals, not symbols.

The same lesson, every time

From households to shops, the universal rule is clear: secure essentials, then invest, and only then consider appearances. Ethiopia must heed this. Our budgets must prioritize feeding children, paying teachers, mending clinics, and securing roads with policies that attract investment. When leaders choose vanity projects over these fundamentals, they erode public trust. You cannot spectacle your way out of inflation or pave over the stark reality of families rationing necessities.

A better way is still possible

A sustainable path requires prioritizing core needs like food, health, and education over vanity projects. By enforcing disciplined, transparent budgets and stable policies, the government can rebuild trust and foster inclusive growth. True progress is measured in public well-being, not political spectacle.

Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com  

Support  Borkena  : https://borkena.com/subscribe-borkena/

Join our Telegram Channel : t.me/borkena

Like borkena on Facebook

To submit Press Release, send submission to info@borkena.com

Add your business to Ethiopian Business Listing / Ethiopian Business Directory  

Join the conversation. Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter)  @zborkena to get the latest Ethiopian News updates regularly.