The new government at the center must have a serious re-look at the economic policies which have been mindlessly followed for decades leading to the current state of affairs where eighty crore people need to be provided free ration quotas to survive! The handouts and freebies are the outcome of unprincipled politics, writes former IAS officer V S Pandey
A new government will soon take charge at the center. Who so ever comes to power, first and foremost, will have to devise policies and programmes to tackle the humungous problems of unemployment, inflation, rising consumer prices along with the grave issue of the ever widening chasm between the rich and the poor. These core issues were centerstage in the ongoing parliamentary elections in the country. These issues deserve serious consideration and well deliberated solutions. The increasingly vicious grip of capital on our nation’s life should set alarm bells ringing. To counter its sinister sway, policy changes must be made exigently.
Democracy is all about people and their collective voices must be the sole guiding force behind economic policy formulations by democratically elected governments. Enterprises run by professionals, and corporations, deftly managed by deep pockets, are also an essential part of any functional economic system which includes management and labor alike. Only those policies which balance the interest of every section of the populace need to be formulated and implemented without showing bias towards either. The wisdom of any leadership is tested in confronting the vital economic questions of growth, removal of poverty and unemployment and bridging the gap between the haves and have nots. Every problem has a solution and there are numerous examples before us today to guide us to walk the desired path . The critical question is whether the leadership is willing to show the political will to act in the best interest of the people at large including especially the have nots.
The process must begin with fixing our education and health delivery system which is malfunctioning abysmally. Historical data have only one lesson to offer -no nation on earth could prosper without fully educating and skilling its population and thus equipping them to participate productively in the economic life of the country. Similarly, a healthy population is critical for growth and prosperity, so utmost priority to ensure proper health care system for all is a pressing imperative.
The next challenging issue is the ever increasing inequality in our country. The problem isn’t that we have inequality. Some inequality is intrinsic to any functioning economy. The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and worsening rapidly. Our country is rapidly becoming horrifyingly iniquitous and is more akin to a feudal society where the uber rich are ruling the roost with impunity . This is a grave problem . The new government needs to make radical changes in policies to check it. If the incoming government doesn’t do something immediately to fix the glaring inequities in our economy, it will be perilous. No society can sustain this kind of rising inequality. History is replete with examples of revolutionary consequences when wealth accumulation, like this, went unchecked and the pitchforks eventually came out. In a highly unequal society ,common people become helplessly vulnerable and have nothing left to lose and the rule of law eventually gets calamitously weakened.
The new government at the center must have a serious re-look at the economic policies which have been mindlessly followed for decades leading to the current state of affairs where eighty crore people need to be provided free ration quotas to survive! The handouts and freebies are the outcome of unprincipled politics and the neo liberal economic policies being followed blindly -ignoring the deleterious effects on the lives of millions of our countrymen. These millions have an equal share in the formation of governments but their economic and social welfare is not given the requisite weight when governments devise economic policies. Wealth creators and entrepreneurs, must be respected and given their due but not at the cost of our poor and hapless brethren. Millions are wallowing in poverty because of the failure of our governments , past and present, who ignored their education and health care and failed to devise policies to ensure their prosperity and wellness. They should not suffer further hardships because of their poverty and lack of education.
The new government needs to formulate a time bound detailed blue print to fix the appalling health and education system, bring about requisite changes in the existing economic policies ,which are at present ,clearly pro rich , to orient them towards employment generation , self reliance and make them redistributive in character.
We must rebut the trickle-down economics worldview that has become economic orthodoxy across party lines—and has messed up our economy. The future economic policy need to be oriented towards providing more jobs so that workers have more money and businesses have more customers. This job creation should not be only the responsibility of rich business people – the middle class should become job creators so that the thriving middle class become the source of our country’s prosperity, not a consequence of it. The middle class creates rich people, not the other way around. The new government needs to revisit the economic paradigm and reorient it to make it people friendly.
(Vijay Shankar Pandey is former Secretary Government of India)
