Is raising the dollar a way to secure wages?

The Iraqi arena has recently witnessed a rise in talk about the financial crisis facing the government, coinciding with delays in salary payments in some institutions, a decline in oil revenues, and a widening gap between revenues and operational expenditures, foremost among them the salaries of employees and retirees. Officials have acknowledged the existence of financial pressures and limited liquidity, with the government seeking internal solutions to secure salaries. Amid these circumstances, news and analyses have begun circulating in political and economic circles about the possibility of the government resorting to raising the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar as one of the means to boost dinar-denominated revenues, especially since most state revenues come in dollars from oil exports and are then converted into dinars when financing the budget. However, up to this moment, there is no announcement or official decision confirming that the government intends to raise the dollar exchange rate, and what is being circulated remains within the scope of analyses and media expectations, not a declared policy. Specialists believe that any adjustment to the exchange rate may grant the public treasury greater revenues in dinars, but on the other hand, it could lead to a rise in the prices of imported goods, an increase in inflation rates, and a decline in the citizen's purchasing power, which makes this option carry a significant economic and social cost. The current crisis once again reveals the extent of the Iraqi economy's dependence on oil as the primary source of revenues, which makes public finances highly vulnerable to any drop in oil prices or decline in exports. Therefore, the real remedy lies not merely in changing the exchange rate, but in reforming the structure of the economy, diversifying income sources, rationalizing expenditure, combating waste and corruption, and enhancing investment and local production. In the end, the Iraqi citizen remains the weakest link in any financial crisis, awaiting sustainable solutions that ensure the regular disbursement of salaries while at the same time preserving the value of the dinar and price stability, away from measures that could increase the living burdens on Iraqi families. May God protect Iraq and Iraqis from the corrupt and the hypocrites.