Rising prices for products attracted the attention of President Vladimir Putin back in early December 2020. It was then, at a meeting on economic issues, the head of state called the rise in price of products attempted manufacturers to adjust the domestic prices under world in order to obtain maximum profits without taking into account the interests of the Russian consumer. According to Putin, his rising price increases for products, not related to objective circumstances, such as the weakening of the ruble. As examples, the president brought bread, pasta, sugar and sunflower oil, more expensive, despite the fact that grain, and sugar beets, and sunflower grown in Russia. "People restrict themselves, because they have no money for basic products. Where are you looking? This is a question! This is not a joke! " - the head of state was indignant.
After a sharp criticism of Putin, the Cabinet of Ministers concluded a contract with trade networks and suppliers to regulate the cost of these products. In December, in Russia, by the decision of the government, the maximum prices for sugar were established (46 rubles per kilogram in retail) and sunflower oil (110 rubles per liter in retail). Measures will operate at least until the end of the first quarter of 2021. After freezing prices by the authorities, some trading networks, in particular, X5 Retail Group (controls the "Pyaterochka" shops, "Crossroads" and "Carousel"), announced a decrease in the cost of seven basic food products, including bread, pasta, stews, tea and milk. The company claims that it will take on trade spending on them.
In addition to the establishment of marginal prices, the government has developed a number of customs restrictions on the export of grain and other products in excess of the established norm. Such a solution is dictated by the desire to prevent the export of grain to foreign markets to the detriment of internal needs. The Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev directly stated that this was done to prevent the "jump in consumer prices for the final products of flouroline, cereal, bakery and meat and dairy industries".
State regulation of prices for socially significant products causes severe concern among participants in the agricultural sector. Vice-President of the Russian Grain Union Alexander Corbut quite reasonably called the decision to regulate the prices of a "populist measure", having nothing to do with the struggle for the income of the country's population. And our, and global experience convincingly prove that any attempts to arbitrarily set prices lead to one inevitable result - the goods disappear from the market and becomes a deficit. The uncontrolled price increase inevitably leads to overproduction and inaccessibility of goods in its redundancy.
Meanwhile, the experience of solving the problem of ensuring food availability for low-income groups of the world has and well known to those skilled in the world. These are food cards that receive low-income citizens. Immediately I note that this program has nothing to do with the system of food coupons familiar to our country.
Our country has repeatedly introduced a system of grocery cards in a large-scale hunger and food shortages in the country. It was a system of distribution of a limited number of products between citizens. It determined the rate of consumption of certain goods per person in a sharp deficit.
The older generation people know the distribution time of products in the conditions of their global deficit. Let's remember these periods. For the first time it appeared in 1916, during the First World War. The system was then introduced after the February Revolution and existed until 1921 - the transition to the new economic policy (NEP). The card system was returned in 1929 and operated until 1935, these are the years of collectivization by mass hunger in a number of regions of the USSR. The card system returned again in 1941 during the Great Patriotic War and was canceled in 1947.
The last time the distribution system was introduced into the USSR in the 1980s - then coupons appeared. These are years of ubiquitous deficit. Over time, the coupons began to be issued on the main food - bread, salt, sugar and tea. It is a general deficit that gripped social discontent, which made it possible to destroy the country. The card system began to leave at the beginning of the 90s and the last coupons disappeared from the turnover in 1993.
Someone will seem incredible, but the card food system has been valid for about a hundred years in the richest country in the capitalist world - in the USA. For the first time it appeared in 1939 as a reaction to the Great Depression. And with interruptions and some changes exist so far.
The program of preferential purchase of products (SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is a new name of the product passing program in the United States. It should be noted the important and qualitative difference between the American Program - the American Food Aid System has never been aimed at helping the hungry. In fact, from the moment the card system appears in the United States is designed to support producers of agricultural products, that is, farmers. The first head of the program Milo Perkins directly said that the country shares the abyss, on one side of the farmers who have excess products to another - misunderstanding urban residents. It is necessary to build a bridge through this abyss.
As of October 2016, foodstuff received 43,125,557 people from 21,328,525 households. The average monthly human benefit amount was $ 126.13, a household - $ 256.93. Not only US citizens, but also legal migrants who lived on the territory of the country more than 5 years or have adult children, can be calculated for benefits.
The financing of this program turned out to be one of the most effective ways for the federal budget to raise the economy. Each dollar, spent from the budget on the product aids, ultimately increased the country's GNP by 1.7-1.8 dollars. The number of beneficiation recipients is constantly changing: it increases during the crisis and decreases during the years of growth. In 2013, a historical record was established. Then the coupons for a total of 76.1 billion dollars received 47.6 million Americans.
Currently, electronic debit cards (EBT cards) are used instead of coupons. Members of the Food Aid System are entitled to buy any products in stores serving such maps. Studies show that the Americans participating in the program prefer cheap and unhealthy food. To improve the quality of nutrition, the authorities began to popularize healthy food, buying vegetables and fruits.
SNAP program several years ago attracted the attention of the Russian authorities - for the first time to introduce the food ticket system in Russia in 2014 proposed a Ministry of Industry. The government considered that such a proposal causes negative associations with the Soviet deficit and will be moving back to the USSR. The program was discussed, even outlined the deadlines for the start of implementation, but safely "forgotten." Most likely, they simply could not allocate the necessary funds.
In April 2020, the heads of the National Meat Association, the Russian Guild of Bakers and Confectioners, the National Union of Milk Manufacturers and the Association of Retailed Retailers of the Russian Federation sent a proposal to the Government of the Russian Federation to return to the project of the Ministry of Industry to the Implementation of Grocery Cards. According to estimates of the authors of the appeal, the cards equivalent to 10 thousand rubles per month will be able to receive 10 million Russians, 800 billion rubles will be required to finance the project by the end of the year. In January 2021, in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation at the round table "Ensuring the availability of food for poor citizens" again raised the issue of introducing food certificates. The idea of introducing grocery plastic cards begins to find support in society.
It is only necessary to clearly understand that this is the support of low-income groups of the population. The purpose of this program is to provide access to products without limiting their cost, without administrative pressure on the market and manufacturers. The issue of supporting product manufacturers is not the main task, since there is no deficiency or overproduction of products. Although the program assumes the possibility of acquiring products of only domestic manufacturers. The incoming funds will not be able to direct other products of non-grocery assortment. The possibility of acquiring alcohol and tobacco is blocked. According to experts, such a program has great opportunities to improve the level and quality of life of the population. Food Assistance is not a submission, but the support of a person in a difficult life situation.
And while there are arguments in high offices, already in November 2020, pilot projects for the use of product certificates have earned. In November in the Rostov and Vladimir regions, and in St. Petersburg, food cards began to operate, which can take advantage of poor families with children and people who were in a difficult situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And even if only one thousand rubles per month is transferred on the cards, but this is also help.
In my opinion, the implementation of the grocery card program will provide accessibility for the population of socially significant food products. And then there will be no question that "how to stop the rise in prices for products." Rising prices - the inevitable consequence of objective economic processes and is also regulated by economic methods. The government will still have to learn the economic methods of market regulation. But the poor needs to be supported and feed.