You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. - Abraham Lincoln.
When the UPA was elected to power the stock market saluted it with a 20% circuit up with a firm belief that this Govt. will put India on a strong growth path through a spate of developmental activities led by second generation reforms. In retrospect the collective wisdom of the market as defined by stock indices was a classic case of fooling all the people some of the time. As time progressed all that the markets saw from the Govt. was mere hope and talk with very little action bringing our belief for a sustained high single digit growth to a virtual standstill. �All talk and no work has made Manmohan a dull Prime Minister�
While all this happened the stock market bulls quickly set themselves up for a long haul. They saw the ticker race towards the earlier top of 21,000 and the first rule for a market participant is that anyone in this market can lie but not the ticker. So they piled up with gusto buying the old beaten down names, stocks that hadn�t moved and waited for the ones that made new highs to collapse �a classic case of what happens in the every market cycle. After two and a half years all that remains of those stocks are memories - both bitter and forgettable.
As the markets kept postponing its expectations and pre-poning the celebration the Govt. kept disappointing through inaction with complete disregard to the irreparable damage that they have inadvertently done to this nation and its economy. These include mindlessly raising interest rates to show en effort towards curbing inflation whereas the source of the problem was elsewhere, trying to be a green man by cutting down mining and developmental work to a point where the Power companies suffer from acute shortage of coal and the lending agencies from risks of non-payments, slowdown in infrastructure activities and finally statement by the RBI of its inability to defend the rupee have taken a toll on our growth momentum as we run the risk of sub 7% growth for the next two years.
A Govt. that is made up of Lawyers at the top seems to do just one thing -argue and postpone. Meanwhile our Prime Minister seems to follow a policy of avoid, delay and defer. Instead of clamouring for FDI in retail with limited support the PM should focus onthe basics. POSCO�s US$ 10Bn project lies stuck between the files, several mining projects have been stopped because the Govt. has suddenly turned green? FDI in retail is a five year plan. How can Wal Mart improve delivery from farm to fork in the immediate future? We did not have FDI in retail when we clocked 9% growth in GDP? The proposed Food security Bill is another of those legislations being introduced with an eye on vote bank politics. It will encourage people to sit back at home and work for three days a week instead of five. This is a colossal waste of public money and is against the basic roots of capitalism. I guess 2G was better because it was a one time expense but this one will continue for years because once done no party can reverse the process once it is done.
The only hope for an investor is that India will survive inspite of the Govt. and its policies and these times could be one of the better ones to invest in but only for someone who has a long term view but don�t ask me how long is the long term? How-ever there are a lot of landmines in the market with a few more live explosives in them so it is better to walk the concrete path (strong names) rather then take the shortcuts (beaten down stocks) even though it would mean taking a little more time in reaching to our destination.
[QUOTE=FutureBull] ungboys1, I do not agree that giving poor the food is the only way of eradicating it. I have traveled to Africa once and I talked to couple of biz men there and the biggest complaint was "people here are very complacent and mediocre". Folks in general in Africa do not strive to work hard because they do not have ambition. We are actually bringing that kind of mentality here. Poor people in rural/urban India have lots of opportunity to earn and feed themselves. NREGA was more than enough as one has to work to earn his/her meal. If you give meals easily it takes away motivation to do better and society in general becomes worse off.
We do not need to be embarrassed for our well being. This is how capitalism works. FSB is nothing but distribution of poverty to everyone not the eradication. We as common people will pay by higher taxes and inflation but would get nothing in return. [/QUOTE]
You may not agree and have your own opinion but everyone in democracy have their own , that is why we have parliament there and other democratic institutions , they have the power given by majority to decide what's good for the country and its people
They are just giving away free food for their survival not giving them a luxurious life , may be if they don't have to worry about food , they will send their kids to school and things will improve
This lazy argument doesn't hold for me , tell me will you stop working if you were guaranteed free wheat & rice only for rest of your life
I don't believe this Africa thing you state so you want to say that people there are ready to die and let their kids die but not work and as we normally see Black people are physically much stronger & hard working than other races
> Opinion of the majority is not the right one always.
> There is not a single govt. scheme which has been efficient to achieve its objective
> I will not because I'm not just motivated by better food but many other things
> I was talking about society in general.Blacks are physically strong but you need motivation to work. Many African countries have better HDI index and natural resources but poorer than us. What does it say?
Futurebull ji,
But who is going to decide which opinion is right or wrong, that's why we have elections and parliament, don't we?
Isn't it goal of democracy to provide equality to everyone ?
Don't we have reservation to undo the injustice done in past ?
Do the 30% people in this country own all resources of this country?
If we needs only one small home to live in , why then those who have money are hell bent on owning more and more land which is a natural resource ?
Aren't we getting cheap oil due to subsidy and because 70% poor people of this country don't need it , but don't they have claim over the oil that is there in this country ?
Aren't those poor people contributing to this country by becoming the exploited cheap labor/farmer so that we can enjoy a luxurious life ?
They are only getting wheat & rice so that they don't die , they are not being given car, bungalow or anything luxurious are they ?
We shouldn't be so thick skinned that we stop feeling the pain of the poor.
Every country should try to provide its citizen basic needs.
Now after years of hard work we are capable to help the poor , we should do it
Many people in European countries and also the US feel that the unemployment dole or its equivalent given to people, particularly youngsters, have made them lazy and unwilling to work. They just fitter away the money in drinks, for example. In India, the 2-3 rupee rice/wheat schemes have had almost the same effect. Even in times of crisis the poor are unwilling to work because they can have their food at much cheaper rates than their cost of production. Small farms are making farming economically unviable. A farmer who is reluctant to farm for economic reasons also does not have the freedom to sell his farm (he has to sell only to a farmer, who also may be unwilling to buy) and do something else for a living. Also, the food diversity is lost because of the rice/wheat schemes. Villagers are not producing other foodgrains which they traditionally did. The nutrition levels are also becoming poorer even though the calorie requirement may have been fulfilled. Fertilizer subsidy has played havoc with soil nutrient levels. Water tables have sunk low. We need innovative solutions. Not "throw money at the problem" solutions like FSB.
Perhaps in our urge to prosper and grow we forget that a large cross section of society struggle to make a living. Where rice and salt is a feast for guests and the 500 bucks a month suffices for a family of 4-5-6� Where even a NREGA at 20% efficiency has made a difference to hundreds of families that I have met in the most backward tribal regions of our country.
Look I don�t want to turn this debate into a socialist v/s capitalist schpiel but balance a NREGA and FSB (in whichever manner it is passed) with the many Power projects, Dams, Ports, Airports, SEZ�s and other infrastructural developments in the country whose benefits don�t reach a majority of the populace... and you�ll realize whose side the govt (even an ineffective one as this) is on. And while nothing is fool proof or corruption free social experiments will have to be conducted to correct the anamoly of an eyesore Antilla with a 50 sq feet hutment that coexist in the commercial capital of the country.
[QUOTE=neelendra] Perhaps in our urge to prosper and grow we forget that a large cross section of society struggle to make a living. Where rice and salt is a feast for guests and the 500 bucks a month suffices for a family of 4-5-6� Where even a NREGA at 20% efficiency has made a difference to hundreds of families that I have met in the most backward tribal regions of our country.
Look I don�t want to turn this debate into a socialist v/s capitalist schpiel but balance a NREGA and FSB (in whichever manner it is passed) with the many Power projects, Dams, Ports, Airports, SEZ�s and other infrastructural developments in the country whose benefits don�t reach a majority of the populace... and you�ll realize whose side the govt (even an ineffective one as this) is on. And while nothing is fool proof or corruption free social experiments will have to be conducted to correct the anamoly of an eyesore Antilla with a 50 sq feet hutment that coexist in the commercial capital of the country.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly my thoughts , if so much can be done for corporate and middle class , there is no need to get angry when poor are helped.
I have worked in rural areas and seen the good effect of NREGA & KCC , i have also seen how 70-80 yr old people will walk 10-15 km just to get rs 300 pension/month (another so called freebie) per month and survive on that.
The flyovers , airports , gdp , sensex , it parks , sezs etc don't matter to them ,for them its a fight for survival
When poor are helped we start talking about how it will kill capitalism & populist measures but not a word is uttered when sez are made , corporate debts are written off/restructured ,tax cut on corporate/middle class is welcomed.
Such a hue cry made when petrol/lpg prices are increased.Just because poor don't have a voice or they don't make money for media/newspaper doesn't mean we leave them to die
Anyways if we can't do anything for poor at least we should not become a cry baby & cry foul when govt is trying to help them
Really like the write up...Basantjee is spot on the problems we are facing. Only the food security bill has the potential to turn India another Greece in a few years!
I don't think anybody will disagree that we can't have a society where every individual doesn't get at least two meals a day. The worry is more about how to fund it and if we can afford to fund it? Also the leakages in the system like the erstwhile PDS system will be a big issue to manage.
[QUOTE=rajnsharma] I don't think anybody will disagree that we can have a society where every individual doesn't get at least two meals a day. The worry is more about how to fund it and if we can afford to fund it? Also the leakages in the system like the erstwhile PDS system will be a big issue to manage.[/QUOTE]
Posted on:12/19/2011 8:17:33 PMFutureBull
ungboys1, I do not agree that giving poor the food is the only way of eradicating it. I have traveled to Africa once and I talked to couple of biz men there and the biggest complaint was "people here are very complacent and mediocre". Folks in general in Africa do not strive to work hard because they do not have ambition. We are actually bringing that kind of mentality here. Poor people in rural/urban India have lots of opportunity to earn and feed themselves. NREGA was more than enough as one has to work to earn his/her meal. If you give meals easily it takes away motivation to do better and society in general becomes worse off.
We do not need to be embarrassed for our well being. This is how capitalism works. FSB is nothing but distribution of poverty to everyone not the eradication. We as common people will pay by higher taxes and inflation but would get nothing in return.