How much things cost in Baghdad

A lot of foreign and war correspondents sometimes forget their audience.

We get caught up in the cosmic dimensions of what we're covering--as we should--and sometimes ignore--as we shouldn't--simple, basic stuff that people back home ALSO want to know. Along with the crucial policy decisions affecting life and death, the faraway political developments that have an impact in Merced, the unfolding events that may well determine whether a young Merced man or woman gets sent to Iraq or Afghanistan--along with all these, our job should also include putting a human face on the people in the place we're writing about. Helping YOU understand THEM a little better, so they are not simply the OTHER.

The Baghdad McClatchy bureau (and its Knight-Ridder predecessor) has been justly praised for doing just that for more than five years.

Without further ado, here's a little summary that may be of some interest to you: what Baghdadis pay for some of the same things we buy at Save Mart, Raley's and Rancho San Miguel and other places in Merced.

[I've used the current conversion rate of 1.2 Iraqi dinars to one U.S. dollar and converted their metric measurements to the ones Americans use.]

One gallon of gasoline $1.00

One gallon of milk $3.28

Three pieces of bread
that resemble Indian 'naan' $2.10

One pound of tomatoes 38 cents

One pound of sugar 38 cents

One can of soda pop 42 cents

One pound of lamb $3.83

One whole chicken $6.32

One pound of potatoes 29 cents

One pound of onions 38 cents

One pound of rice 76 cents

One pound of tea 38 cents

33-ounce jar of instant coffee $2.53

One cup of tea (at a shop) 38 cents

100 tea bags $2.53

One newspaper (government) 13 cents

One newspaper (private) 42 cents

One ice cream cone (at a shop) 84 cents

It's impossible to generalize a typical Iraqi paycheck these days, but in recent years, government salaries (which have been somewhat more constant than the private sector because of the security situation) have ranged from 1 million dinars a month for a Finance Ministry official ($843) to 282,000 dinars a month for a high school teacher with more than 10 years experience ($238 a month).

So I guess teachers don't eat many ice cream cones....