What is happening that a lot of people in Jordan have got a lot of money without earing it, but by selling land or comming from abroad, this affected the prices of everything as those people will pay anyhow. On the other hand, merchandise have degraded in quality and quantity, as people will buy anyhow. Now, people earning their living have to follow because they don’t have any other choices, which will make rich people become richer, and poor people even poorer, and the vicious loop will keep turning.

I don’t have any opinion on how to solve this problem. Maybe if employers try to split what they earn with their working power by raising salaries the problem will ease a little, but this will not get us out of the loop, and I don’t think theye will do.

By the way, I know a lot of highly qualified and productive people who are planning to leave Jordan for good, as “it is not the live anybody can live anymore.”

TC

Wages disappear because Jordanians think that the government SHOULD pay them more to look after all the children they have. Since being irresponsible is not condemned or punished (take traffic violations as a hint) people naturally think that their pay should be raised if they choose to be irresponsible by not considering having children a responsibility. Unfortunately too many think that three sons is a must &/or my tribe must be larger than everybody elses’.

I made 800 JDs a month in 2002 & I wasn’t happy with that. The more you make the more expensive life seems to become, & I didn’t have a family, didn’t drink, smoke or pay rent yet was supposed to be ‘grateful’ for my situation. I think that I wasn’t productive enough simply because the market was never big enough & the technology we used was not the best or latest. We also lacked sufficient support systems (such as spare parts) & in turn it wasn’t always easy to cope especially since technical hitches were often costing us a lot & in turn our wages were reduced.

That’s the Jordanian work environment.

The ASEZA package is very promising, and is what first drew my attention to Jordan. I agree that some of the additional costs could be offset by Jordanian and US fiscal advantages, the US remaining one of our major markets. And it may well be that the net increase would be a price worth paying in terms of greater regulatory transparency, better productivity, better quality of life, etc…

Well, we shall see. I have been offered sponsorship of a kind by one of the major foundations, and we are only now setting out on the feasibility study. It is perhaps too soon to reach conclusions based on what I read about the cost of living and rising inflation….

Difficult choice. We recently spent the Eid holiday in Aqaba, and had a wonderful time, just trying to get a feel for your country.

But there are many factors for you to consider as an investor. Closeness to a specific market you’d like to target is one example.

From what I am reading my operating costs in Jordan would be approximately 30% higher than in Egypt. I am being strongly urged to make the move by various people in Jordan - but can anyone suggest to me where my interest as a foreign investor would lie?

How is all that working out ?

Does Jordan still import most of its oil ?

There was an American company named Sonoran that was supposed to explore for oil in Jordan. What happend to them ?

Oil revenues “should” help the living standards.

Thanks

Just to prove Nas’ point, in a more scientific way than Deeb did. The GDP per capita is something around JD2,400 per year. Translating to JD200 per month. However, the Department of Statistics weighs that the poverty line for a family of four, with one working dependent, is JD500. So even if both parents work, this average Jordanian family will still reside under the poverty line.

As for the expenditures Nas. I have to admit that I do smoke and drink, but that’s just besides the point. Even if you don’t want to expense these items, and want to let’s say, buy a name brand shirt. That would be around JD30-40. Buying a pair of sneakers is JD40. Buying a name brand, but basic, laptop mouse is JD25. This is all because we are reliant on foreign exports, and without having strong local industries. If we did manufacture our own clothes, our government wouldn’t have to tax foreign products in order to encourage consuming local products (assuming that our government does have these Utopian values), and everybody would be happy. Our economy would be strong. Unemployment rates would be lower, and prices would be lower. But then again, this is all just wishful thinking.

alurduni….150jds is an income whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not. granted that it is a very very low income, but it is an income nevertheless. the alternative is being unemployed and making nothing. slavery is working against your will for no wages at all. it usually involves being whipped by an overseer.

Of course people that are making minimum wage are not going to worry about the new pirates of the Caribbean, but for us to be able to make a fair comparison between two countries; I used two common factors …. Minimum wage and a cinema ticket. You can do the same analysis, instead of a cinema tickets substitute a kilo of tomatoes … or a gallon of olive oil. You will find that the results are similar.

I felt that a cinema ticket would just be more relevant for this audience. As for the minimum wage … well it is what it is … you can’t really debate that.

Deeb

thats not the question but the answer to that is it depends on how one defines “living”

what is a person’s “standards” when it comes to living

people adjust their lives according to their income. the poor in jordan were not once rich, they’ve always been poor…its just become harder to be poor is all.

the 150jd security guard is worried about the rising kilo of tomatoes or cucumbers…not about the cinema.

those who make 400 or 500, will raise the bar of living a bit.

and if you’re making 1,000 then you’re worrying about car payments and gas and affording the new lifestyle.

etc etc etc

People adjust their standards of living to their income.

Hi people

Believe me the cost of living in Amman is the same as Dubai & many European countries a have visited with a big difference in quality of services you are getting.

Just live the country, & let other people benefit from our experience & youth age.
I am here in Dubai getting 3 times what I expect to get in Jordan meanwhile expenses is the same , with better quality of every thing.

Byeeeee

Yes salaries have gone up, but the rate of increase for most workers has not kept up with inflation (especially housing and energy costs). Jordan is a country where a significant portion of the workforce is employed in the public sector. These workers have not benefited from increased private-sector economic activity and foreign investments in Jordan. In a perfect world, one would think the government’s increased tax revenues would some how translate in wage increases. However, as with all governments, more revenues means a larger government-more programs, more departments, and simply more bureaucracy. The recent pay raises did very little really to combat the wave of inflation.

I agree with Deeb and Dave. The real story about cost of living in Jordan is not on;y the sheer numbers, but rather the percentage of available household income. As a result, rent in Amman can quickly consume 30-50% of annual income even for the highest income brackets. Energy costs can eat up another 30% easily. Lower income households who seek refuge in areas with cheaper housing would end up paying more (and wasting more time) on transportation to and from work!

This may be just the beginning of a long and painful transition to a free market economy. The Russian experience comes to mind. It took years before things stabilized and the rule of the law was relatively restored. So it is no surprise that reading daily news from Jordan, one comes across stories of citizen cutting telephone cables and poles in order to sell for a few Dinars…people stealing water and electricity…and even people trading in human organs (see my blog http://kilmeh.blogspot.com/2007/05/real-and-ugly-face-of-poverty.html).

Nas..I have posted 10 times already,what happened,I have the gut felling that your Blog is being monitored ,call me conspiracy theorist.

dude…get over yourself

and please note that middle class can always become msa5ma6. coz most middle class ppl dont save much, but live decent, so should any mseebeh arise, they become tight for a year or two, or take a loan or re-mortgage their house.

i used to make around 2 years ago 1/3 what im making now il7amdila, and still i wonder how the hell did i make ends meet back then, w howcome thrice my previous salary is almost dong the same now..

i blame the media

I am happy with the performance of our government, and I look forward to more improvement to our economy and society.