[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Clarification
I just thought: some folks on this list might wonder what I am talking
about when I say that govt. is stitching peoples' pants. I mean, people
must surely be thinking: this guy is nuts!! He talks brashly, and
exaggerates to the point of no return!! True. True. I agree... (there is
nothing like mighty exaggeration to get one's point across clearly!).
But again, now that I think of it, govt. actually stitches not only
people's pants but their pajamas!! Don't believe me. Then let me
illustrate.
Illustrations:
a) The govt. sponsored and managed (unlike ANAND which was started
purely as a private effort) milk coop society in Guwahati provided (when
I was there) milk to officers of govt. (no one else ever got hold of
it!) at Rs. 5 per litre (or something like that; I forget) while its
production cost was over 20-30 times that price. Well documented in
government records and newspapers. Probably this massive pillage still
continues. Would Dr. Barua clarify?
b) You can go to the National Textile Mills even today, decades after
these loss making industries were nationalized, and purchase as much
shoddy cloth at highly subsidized prices as you want!
c) You can of course purchase virtually 100% government subsidized Khadi
and Gram Udyog pajamas at throw-away prices (and still people don't buy
them!)
d) Go to the Jagiroad Silk Mills to purchase silk cloth at highly
subsidized prices.
e) From APOL (Assam Polyester) and many other such firms: I possess a
shirt purchased from the showroom of this govt. company.
Examples of this direct consumer product production abound. But even
other sectors like oil, gold, diamond and mineral production should
NEVER have gone into government hands. The private sector can be forced
brutally to face competition to force it to innovate and save costs or
become extinct.
We cannot do that to govt. sector (My father was the Chief Financial
Advisor of Kolar Gold Fields and I know the complete stupidity of
running those fields. It is MUCH much better to purchase gold - as much
as you want - at international prices, than to produce it at costs that
are probably 3-4 times the price at which you can buy from the market.
We - the people of India - are paying $1000 per oz. of gold when we can
buy it at $300. Can there be greater foolishness than that? Not to speak
of the massive losses from thefts of gold dust which are unavoidable
given the lack of monitoring by shareholders - the public. How many of
you have been invited by Govt. to the board meetings or the AGM meetings
of the public sector companies that are run in your area. You are a
shareholder of the company, aren't you? Even the beggar must attend
these meetings. Else there is no accountability. But no: try to enter
these companies and demand to be presented the annual report by the CEO
since YOU are the owner, and see what happens to you! Your employee -
the CEO - will boot you out without even looking at you.)
Instead of subsidizing pajamas and underpaying those who are supposed to
uphold the law, go Singaporean: pay the policy level bureaucrats
HEAVILY. Ensure that only those with solid qualifications (at least a
Ph.D. from a good university) and a good industry experience are
employed at the policy level. Then, make the MINIUMUM number of laws,
not laws for minimum wages and minimum education and minimum shirts and
pants. Then: pay those who are supposed to uphold those laws, HEAVILY.
Throw out all the block development staff (almost totally corrupt), all
public sector company employees (even the defence industry employees: I
know about the massive corruption in the Indian Army, but won't touch
upon it at this point; suffice it to say that throughout the world,
private companies produce HIGHER quality equipment at cheaper cost than
has ever been produced in India by our massive elephants called Ordnance
factories).
Recruit VERY HIGH QUALITY city planners who know how to design a
straight road, for instance. The roads of Guwahati and many other new
fangled cities of India will put a 6th grader to shame. Even a 6th
grader could draw a better plan (now at least, with Sim City!)
That can be done IF we let foreign investment pour into India (like it
has in China and all over SE Asia) to take care of our commercial
production needs, and IF we kick out all the irrelevant government
staff, and throw out into a pile of garbage our millions of needless
laws. Let us write a manifesto where govt. does what it should do:
govern us and prevent us from killing each other, and where people do
what we do best: live our lives as decent folks, building our houses,
factories and spending time with out children teaching and playing with
them (I don't get the time for that luxury, but that is not the key
issue here!).
SS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a posting to India_Policy Discussion list: debate@indiapolicy.org
Rules, Procedures, Archives: http://www.indiapolicy.org/debate/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------