{"id":281551,"date":"2026-01-16T06:06:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/?p=281551"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:32:44","slug":"tea-bagel-account-imitation-palace-and-the-tale-of-great-austerity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/tea-bagel-account-imitation-palace-and-the-tale-of-great-austerity\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea-Simit Account, Imitation Palace and the Great Savings Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In a speech he made in 1993, Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan made a tea-simit calculation and described the government as \u201cwith cruelty\u201d<\/strong> accusing him of being a criminal.<\/p>\n

The equation that day was simple:
\n1 tea + 1 bagel = 20 liras.
\nThis simple calculation convinced millions.
\nThere have been believers.
\nThe believers had three children.
\n33 years have passed.
\nLet us now look at the same calculation from today's perspective.
\nThis time our unit of measurement is not the street.
\n%51 hissesi devlete ait olan Simit Saray\u0131.
\nTea for 55 TL,
\nBagels for 25 TL...<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I would like to thank the friend who documented this picture. He has got the pulse right on the spot.<\/p>\n

Now let's do the math again.
\nBut this time with facts, not slogans.
\nConsider a family of five.
\nThree meals a day, just tea and bagels.
\nDaily 1.200 TL
\nMonthly: 36.000 TL
\nAnd what are the revenues?
\nLowest pension: 20.000 TL
\nMinimum wage 28.075 TL<\/p>\n

Now I ask the same question that Mr. Erdo\u011fan asked in 1993, I ask him today:
\nDoes this administration not even consider a cup of tea and a bagel worthy of this beloved nation?
\nEven if people only eat tea and bagels;
\nWho will pay the rent?
\nWho will pay for electricity, water, gas, internet?
\nWho will pay for the child's school fees, shoes, notebooks?
\nShame on those who condemn the people to tea and bagels.<\/p>\n

But wait...
\nThis is where another favorite account of the imitation palace comes into play.
\nI intervene and I say:
\nMy friend who drinks tea for 55 liras and eats a bagel for 25 liras...
\nDon't worry!
\nLife is not like that.
\nReis is thinking of you.
\nThere is a simple but \u201cclever\u201d solution.
\nDo you smoke?
\nYes?
\nSee
\nDid Reis fight smoking for nothing?
\nTwo packs of cigarettes a day:
\nDaily 200 TL
\nMonthly: 6.000 TL
\nAnnual: 72.000 TL
\nIn 10 years: TL 720,000
\nA small fortune in today's money!
\nSo it's not about hunger...
\nIt's not about livelihood...
\nIt's not about poverty!
\nYou are the problem.
\nBecause you smoke.
\nIf tea is expensive,
\nIf bagels are expensive,
\nRents have skyrocketed,
\nIf the salary is not enough
\nThe solution is very clear:
\nYou won't drink.
\nYou won't eat.
\nYou will not live.
\nThe advice is already ready:
\n\u201cYou are not rich by what you eat, but by what you do not eat and drink.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the New Turkey Model.
\nNot prosperity, but renunciation.
\nNot abundance, patience.
\nThe palace is real, welfare is imitation.
\nThe tea and bagel bill is still on the table...
\nBut this time the public pays the bill,
\nHe enjoys his imitation palace.
\nAnd the numbers don't lie:
\nMinimum wage for 2026: 28.075 TL
\nHunger limit for a family of four: 30.143 TL
\nPoverty line 98.188 TL
\nCost of living for a single worker: 39.123 TL
\nThe minimum wage has already fallen below the hunger threshold in the first month of the year.
\nBut it's okay.
\nThe solution is clear.
\nDon't eat.
\nDon't drink.
\nAnd don't overdo living.
\nThe tea and bagel account is not closed.
\nOnly the government has changed.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the New Turkey Model. Not prosperity, but renunciation. Not abundance, but patience. The palace is real, prosperity is imitation.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":281557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[289],"class_list":{"0":"post-281551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-yazarlar","8":"tag-manset"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281551"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281558,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281551\/revisions\/281558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}