President Hipolito Mejia said on TV yesterday that while 2003 was the year of the crisis, 2004 is the year of adjustments and 2005 will be the year of economic recovery. As reported in Hoy newspaper, the statesman affirmed that to boost the economy he would increase government workers? wages by 30%. He also felt that the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States would mobilize the economy, as well the agreements signed with the IMF. Mejia spoke during the interview carried out on the ?Uno + Uno? program on Telesistema and TeleAntillas. ?I am aware of the reality of the country. I am not blind or deaf, we have analyzed the numbers. We know we can return the purchasing power to the people and that is why there will be a readjustment, I have said 30%, and within six months, another adjustment,? he said. The physicians at public hospitals, however, would have to wait for the adjustment, instead of pressuring the government with a strike, according to Mejia?s statements. The President said he would not authorize the wage increase, even if Congress approves a bill to create additional taxes to fund the physicians? demanded pay rise. Mejia also favors reducing income tax to 15% as part of tax reform. Mejia blamed his government?s woes on the crisis he inherited from his predecessor, Leonel Fernandez, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, the collapse of the commercial banks, and the war in Iraq.