Salaried employees have experienced a decline of 17.3% in the spending power of their incomes during the previous three months. In a story appearing on the front page of Listin Diario, Rafael Tomas Jaime attributes the decline to recent increases in the cost of food, transportation, education, and rent, all variables that impact family budgets directly. For families with household incomes of between DR$3,250 and DR$7,500 monthly, the actual increase in expenditure needed to ?keep up,? amounts to DR$1,212.75. If the tax increases currently being considered were factored into the calculation, the effect would be a reduction of spending power of 25.6%, according to the article. Families with incomes of between DR$8,000 and DR$20,000 have suffered a decline in spending power of 10.8%. The article states that educational expenses have increase between 20% and 40%, that rents have risen by 2%, that gasoline has shown a 16.8% increase. The article goes on to list staples of the Dominican family basket the prices of which have risen in the past ninety days. These include; rice, beans, refined sugar, plantains, bananas, yucca, pasteurized milk, and red onions, along with propane gas.
