The King is Not Wearing Clothes!

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results “

- Albert Einstein

Our government no doubt privileges the interests of those who will keep it in power!

The slew of economic measures were announced over a course of 4 successive days beginning 15th May 2020 by our Finance Minister with the aim to contain the shock the economy has suffered due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The pronouncements appear to be allocating a whole lot of money for working people including migrant workers, farmers, fishermen and women in remote villages, but to the discerning these measures are posited to declaring a war on the poor while making the rich richer.

To the many out there, this would be a revelation!! Read on--

Did you notice the hysteria of the main stream media about the virtues of economic stimulus package which got unfolded bit by bit in four days beginning 15th May 2020? Our pseudo intellectuals drawing their intellectual sustenance from information media were also not far behind echoing the media sentiment. Now What has not been revealed in the astute discussions on various mediums is that the economic measures announced to bail out the economy during difficult times of the Covid -19 pandemic is in effect going to consolidate the grip of big industrialists, traders and foreign interests and already we have seen how progressive individuals and groups, who are sharply critical of these measures, have organised protests in various parts of the country.

The convoluted pronouncements and subsequent explanations given by FM and the MOS for Finance and Corporate Affairs have only befogged the actual intent of the powers that be.

First to catch attention is that the measures announced to deal with the farm crisis. The new reforms will completely overhaul the agricultural produce trade.

Here is how –

The trade of key food items used to be controlled by law The traders were not allowed to control the flow of essential cereals and other produce because they would manipulate prices and make profit out of the hunger and misery of people – (even though they still manage to do so but that is a different story for some other time).Therefore there were caps on prices and on how much a trader could hold. This is gone now.

The new measures proclaimed would now result in the big traders monopolizing the market and ultimately determining the supply and price. They will now be able to successfully weed out local traders, and crush the interests of poor farmers.

The government has been quick in offering better marketing hubs, e-marketing, better connectivity etc as deal sweeteners to these private players. So now the farmers who were struggling to sell their produce at remunerative prices and had rightfully demanded a support price 50% higher than cost of production, will now have to wait and sell to any big trader who comes in and offers to buy up their standing crop. The assurance of a designated market place –will now be gone, because the government has declared that a new legal framework will be brought in. In short, these measures will open up the agri-commodities sector to a free market regime, which will be integrated to the global markets. Indian farmers will end up selling their produce to global traders at onerous terms!

The consumers will no longer have the assurance of having adequate food stocks. Note that our agri-stocks saved millions of lives in the past two months of the pandemic, but once the whole system is privatised, only private companies will hold stocks and if not, then we will have to import food grains, like we did half a century ago! --Predatory economic measure no doubt and Regressive too!! Where is Atmanirbharta?

Last year, the government freed up the corporate sector from its social and economic responsibility by paring down corporate tax rates. The ‘ease of doing business’ has dominated the thinking of the government and a range of measures – like easing credit to setting up help-funds, from buying out sinking corporates with public money to selling off profit-making public sector units – have been undertaken to boost the private sector.

I for one don’t think it’s to boost, but a clever strategy to help private sector take over the entire economy!

Some of you will agree that hiving off diverse sectors and inviting predatory foreign capital will create more illusions and more divisions and ultimately end up disappointing most. In the ongoing pandemic, the way in which the private sector has dealt with its employees –furloughs for some, sending some without pay, or out rightly dismissing many –has created deep distrust about privatisation even among its most loyal proponents of privatization.

What comes to mind is the impact of the economic policy itself – high unemployment, price changeability, downturn in sectors like aviation, automobile, realty, retail to name a few .The strident middle class no doubt looks at the government with distrust. The lower middle class is seemingly more and more disillusioned. Unfortunately we do not have a feasible opposition and therefore the widespread public sentiment will not show up in the appointed electorate.

Large section of the people is undoubtedly alienated due to the predatory nature of the economic policies, and the regressive social outlook of the government. The new India is worse than the old India. The economy is the worst affected aspect of the nation.

The personality cult flourishes in the saffron rule. The syndicate and the Indicate and emerging young Turks of the Congress Party did have a sycophancy like the one in the current regime. While the yester years’ rule was based on democratic functioning, the current structure is based on intolerance and utter lack of democracy, more so in grave matters pertaining to the economy. Before announcing any economic measures there should have been more broad based discussions and some form referendum rather than forcing ill fitting, ill equipped regressive economic measures most of which are more short term rather than long term improvement and prosperity plans.

Frustration gets rooted when I see the rampant Covid 19 being used to consolidate the iron grip of big industrialists; traders and foreign interests by the government and the hollowing out the social support spectrum of government .Do you notice it too?

To be continued –

Are you Frustrooted too like me?

Do Share your views here amigos

Yours truly,

Frustrooted