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Occupy Wall Street: NETAGAN, WATCH OUT, by Poonam I Kaushish, 12 Nov, 2011 Print E-mail

Political Diary

New Delhi, 12 November 2011

Occupy Wall Street

NETAGAN, WATCH OUT

By Poonam I Kaushish

 

Austerity is the newest bug afflicting leaders’ world-wide. Thanks to the Occupy Wall Street protests against hefty pay packages gathering storm and the European Union’s Greece bail-out. In the US and Europe, it is codenamed SWAG and in India BAD (Bogus Austerity Drama). With the devil taking hindmost!

 

In the US President Obama signed an Executive order to stop “wasting taxpayer money” by curtailing SWAG (stuff we all get) spending to jumpstart a sputtering economy. Things like cell phones, smart phones, laptops, tablet computers even clothing, mugs and non-work related gadgets.

 

France followed by freezing salaries of President Sarkozy and his Ministers as pay rises were "frankly indecent". The Government has also asked business leaders to show great responsibility and do the same to eliminate France's deficit by 2016.  Following his election, Sarkozy in 2007 raised his own salary by 170% from around $9641 a month to around $26169 prompting a storm of criticism.

 

Forget the West, we can do one better. The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee instructed Government departments to stop "wasteful expenditure" as it tries to meet a fiscal deficit target. Ban on holding seminars and conferences in five-star hotels and foreign travels undertaken only if necessary and unavoidable, ban on buying new vehicles et al.

 

However a closer look at the austerity measures reveals that all are BAD, nothing more than a bogus austerity drama, mostly on paper. An example: More than 10 English dailies carried nearly 65 advertisements of Indira Gandhi, paying tributes to her on her death anniversary on 31 October. This generosity was reflected in Nehru's and Rajiv' Gandhi's birth anniversaries as well. The BSP’s czarina Mayawati loves splurging on monuments of herself, family and Dalit leaders.

 

No matter, the dictionary tells us that austerity is not just about hotel rooms and flight tickets. In its truest form, austerity needs to be a pan-national phenomenon in which everybody, everywhere, does less more even if it costs more to do less. As Sarojini Naidu tellingly remarked about Mahatma Gandhi: “It costs a lot to keep him poor.” Similar austerity measures reveal that such steps are in place in India, too, but mostly on paper.

Remember, in 2009 while announcing austerity measures the Government simultaneously raised the Dearness Allowance for Central Government employees. Leading to clarifications being sought whether lunches and dinners for foreign delegations should be organised in five-star hotels. Undoubtedly, off the wall tokenism of the economy perpetrated by our netagan is a feeble attempt to hoodwink the nation. Tom-tomming of sacrificing their luxury travel to economy is just hogwash to distract the aam janata’s crippled under the burden of galloping food prices. Thanks to gross mismanagement and their inability to handle the drought crisis?

 

Whereby the austerity measures unrolled can evoke only laughter. Remember, in 2009 when the Government forced Ministers to travel by “cattle class” some class-conscious Ministers opposed it tooth and nail as below their standard, another said he was a “tall man and could not travel economy class,” sic. Asked the next, why Ministers could not travel first class as they needed to be “fresh” on arrival! Austerity does not prevent many from visiting London or other world Capitals but to watch a Wimbledon match etc.

 

Unfortunately, the Government’s precepts and practices do not match. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads one of the largest ministries in the world, boasting of many millionaires. Shockingly in contrast, the 2011 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report ranked India 15th among leading countries.

 

Is the plight of the aam aadmi reflected in the lifestyle of the politicians? No. Last year, our MPs voted themselves a three-fold hike in basic salary (from Rs.16, 000 to Rs.50, 000 per month) and doubled the constituency and office expense allowance to Rs.40, 000 each receiving an assured monthly income of Rs 1.30 lakh all tax free. The MP Local Area Development Scheme was increased from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore, that too when the previous allocations went unspent. Worse, the Government doled out sleek iPads or tablets of their choice to our lawmakers.

 

In Japan and France, MPs’ salaries are fixed in relation to the salaries of the highest paid bureaucrats. In Germany, Article 48(3) of the Basic Law says that Members of the Bundestag will get remuneration adequate to ensure their independence. In UK the Review Body on Senior Salaries advises the Prime Minister on the pay and pension of MPs, Ministers, judges, defence personnel and senior civil service officers. In Switzerland MPs do not get any salary or allowance; they just get paid leave from their employers on the days of Parliament’s session.

 

Questionably, why should not our Right Honourables emulate the example of their Swiss counterparts? They may not be employed, but most of them being crorepatis really do not need a job. Besides, since “conflict of interest” is a non-existent concept, our MPs, unlike their American counterparts who cannot earn beyond 15% outside Congress, have no limit to their earnings from all sources, as the scandal over the Office of Profit showed.

 

What is required is a drastic pruning. Instead, of the periodic replacement of tweedledum by tweedledee in his ministerial brood, Manmohan Singh needs to cut down on his Cabinet. And cry a halt to all the financial pampering and perks to them, make their incomes and salaries taxable, and stop pensions to former legislators, which they don’t deserve. Isn’t it ridiculous that we are paying Rs 6 lakh per month to keep an ex-Minister “in coma” alive, in a private hospital, as his MP wife refuses to take him home.  

 

Alas, in an environment wherein Government’s money is nobody’s money such considerations don't seem to exist. Undeniably, there are many ways in which austerity measures can be undertaken by the Government instead of saddling the aam aadmi by raising fuel and food prices. For starters our netas should follow the French example and freeze salaries of the President, Prime Ministers and Ministers as India's economy is in a more bad shape than that of France.

 

Many of the public sector enterprises need trimming to be made more manageable. Much flab could also be cut from various schemes and subsidies that don’t percolate and have failed to benefit the poor.

 

Clearly, the Government has been skirting the real issue. The reason why fiscal deficit has been growing is because of wasteful subsidies, which the Government does not want to touch for fear that it would antagonise its vote-bank. It is for much the same reason that it has been wary of re-initiating economic reforms.

 

The Government needs to watch out. Take lessons from Greece where problems arose due to its electoral politics: Spending more than what it could afford on populist programmes. Combined with its huge parallel black economy and widespread corruption, any wonder Greece ended up borrowing more than it could afford for these programmes. Ditto the case here where Government's policies are designed to suit the vote-banks to help politicians retain power in the next elections.

 

Thus, in a milieu where simplicity and austerity is Utopian to our polity, what soberness are we talking about? Time our high and mighty wake up to the danger lurking round the corner and smell the coffee. Stop this Bogus Austerity Drama!  ---- INFA.

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

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