By Nono Barahona. April 1, 2017
The story sought to determine whether lawmakers, because of the fact that they make 40 times as much as the minimum wage, live in a world of privilege, separate from the daily concerns of millions of their fellow countrymen, the story said.
Interviewed at random, Congressmen (and women) were asked two questions:
How much is the metro ticket at rush hour? And how much is a kilo of bread?
None of the respondents came up with the right answer. One of them was even too way off the mark not to raise eyebrows.
The questions were asked to both left-wing and right-wing lawmakers.
One expert said at the beginning of the story that all lawmakers, because of the money they make in Congress, belong in the top 5% of the richest people in Chile.
Metro ticket and bread prices have a direct impact on the budget of the approximately one million Chileans who earn the minimum wage.
Metro (the Santiago subway train network) is the fastest and most efficient way to get from A to B around the city for the working man.
Most Chilean families typically buy fresh bread every day for breakfast and in particular for our beloved "once" (a sandwich and a cup of tea, but it may include other bakery items as well, eaten between 5 pm and 7 pm).
A kilo of bread typically includes around 10 pieces.
After paying the rent, the one million Chileans who earn the minimum wage can only afford two Metro tickets and one kilo of bread every day, the story said.
Discovering that at least some lawmakers do not know these prices, which are critical for millions of Chileans, inevitably raises the question of how well they do their jobs, for which they are paid more in Chile, a developing country, than lawmakers make in some developed countries, the story said.
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