30759: lyall (reply) minimum wages under Aristide II (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Lyall writes:

I was in Haiti during Aristides return in 2001-2004.
The first thing that was done w living in an apartment next to me who made less 
than his rent after the devaluations. They did not appreciate seeing the blan 
mercenaries making thousands a week.

It was not until 2003 that they started talking about putting the wages back up 
to slightly less than the value of 1998.

So, the effect of the transition from Preval to Titid II was a radical 
reduction of purchasing power.

I think they did this to radically lower the state wage bill, so they could put 
a bunch more people on the $100 a month informal pay plan as activists.

By the way, the current appreciation of the gourde is referred to by Haytians 
as 'goud desann'. It goes down. It looks to me like it goes up in value, but 
most people think of it as how many gourdes they get at the western union 
bureau when they cash their remittance checks. They get fewer gourdes. It takes 
a while for such an appreciation to be reflected in prices at the street 
market. It is probably reflected in a slower rise, rather than a lower price. A 
slower rise is not noticed, while fewer gourdes in the hand is noticed.