Cost of living: Middle class is crumbling; is the state doing well?

Last August, the Bangla edition of The Daily Star published the story of a homemaker in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, who used to save Tk 500 a month. In just six months, rising prices of essentials had eroded even that modest capacity to save.According to Bangladesh Bank, inflation stood at 9.21 per cent in the April-June quarter of this year. In June, incomes rose by 8.2 per cent, while prices increased…