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General Budget

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When volume of budget papers are placed on Lok Sabha we come to see the worms of economists to comment on them. I am one! Budget is an estimation of annual revenues and expenditure. Also it corrects the last budget's mistakes by replacing with new ones. The FM has been generous on us by raising the lower slab limit by Rs.20K. Sea of pity would have welled up in him when everybody - essentials suppliers, utility services providers, suppliers of our requirements to keep self-respect, i.e. all things under the sun, snatched away the imagined good earnings of last year to give us relief so that you can live on to vote for these tunic wearers! This is called general budget, because others are only Expenditure budgets - like fuel bills, hidden expenditures like A. Rajas, CWG a/c, Statewise individual a/cs. How I wish the leadership is replaced by a maniac!
 
As long as we are stuck with this socialist nonsense, we will surely & positively go towards bankruptcy like in the 1990's. Congress/Gandhi family is the flag bearer for this !. Infact this junk Govt controls every aspect of this country, I dont think we can call ourselves a democracy !. the fact that the congress paid agents on TV channels keep saying we have a great democracy itself is a great farce !!

Govt should be out of everything other than military, foreign affairs, internal security & more importantly from the news/media !!.market forces should determine everything. contrary to what many think, this will ensure a far better distribution of wealth than these junk govt programs ridden with corruption, led by mediocre leaders & bureacrats !
 
As long as we are stuck with this socialist nonsense, we will surely & positively go towards bankruptcy like in the 1990's. Congress/Gandhi family is the flag bearer for this !. Infact this junk Govt controls every aspect of this country, I dont think we can call ourselves a democracy !. the fact that the congress paid agents on TV channels keep saying we have a great democracy itself is a great farce !!

Govt should be out of everything other than military, foreign affairs, internal security & more importantly from the news/media !!.market forces should determine everything. contrary to what many think, this will ensure a far better distribution of wealth than these junk govt programs ridden with corruption, led by mediocre leaders & bureacrats !

Hello JK and Others:

Can you give the following details from this Budget submitted by the FM of India? I have difficult getting a good grasp of this Budget numbers.

1. How much total tax (all forms including VAT) they collect (I call this Income here) in the current/future year?

2. How much is the total Expenditure? What's the yearly Budget Deficit, if any? What's the accumulated Debt?

3. How much money or % of income is spent on "servicing the Debt"?

4. How much money or % of income is spent on "Social Services" or "Safety Net" Programs?

5. How much money or % of income is spent on Education, R &D, Health, Infra-Structure etc?


Politically, I am a Center Left (when in College I was a Socialist!).

Therefore, my views could be very different from others here!

Thanks.

Y

ps. During Sep 2008, the private sector of Wall Street collapsed as a piece of junk.. they all came to Washington DC for a bail out...It looked to me that the Private Sector will happily privatize all the gains/profits, but will not hesitate to socialize all the losses! It does not make any sense to me! :)
 
Yesterday, I found out from the Hindu that

India's Central Gov collects barely 10.4% of the GDP as total tax. As a comparison, US collects about 15% of GDP in the past three years, while our long term level was about 19% of the GDP.

This tells me that Govt has a very lenient tax structure or tax compliance is poor in India. The repercussions of this is then Govt can't implement vital programs like R & D, Infrastructure Enhancement, Strengthening the Social Services for the Poor etc.

I understand that the annual budget deficit is less than 5% of the revenue collected. This is quite low and thus manageable.

Cheers.

:)

ps. How much all the States in India collect as their total tax? In the US, our States collect about 18% of the GDP as their share: this means the grand total of taxes (collected by Federal and State/local Govts) is about 33% of the GDP. This is less than what the top countries in the OECD do: about 40% of the GDP. According to a study, the GDP is growing till the total tax reaches 40% of the GDP, after which GDP stagnates, then it wilts down! Interesting! :)
 
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Hello JK and Others:


Politically, I am a Center Left (when in College I was a Socialist!).

Therefore, my views could be very different from others here!

Thanks.

Y

ps. During Sep 2008, the private sector of Wall Street collapsed as a piece of junk.. they all came to Washington DC for a bail out...It looked to me that the Private Sector will happily privatize all the gains/profits, but will not hesitate to socialize all the losses! It does not make any sense to me!

Hi Yamaka,

if you look at right through history, it is 1 or a small group of people who make have made significant changes. whether it is innovation, enterprise, kingdoms, trading empires etc..

It is this "human innovation & enterprising spirit" that is at the core of the wealth creation. for eg, a Reliance group employs more than 20 lakh people, this was a 1 man creation !. similarly large corporations like Ford, GM, Coke, pepsi, Apple, Microsoft etc..

The problem with Socialism is that it "kills this enterprising spirit" leading to decline of business, enterprises & finally to bankrupt states like the Soviet Union etc..

thats what is happening in India. The state controls everything & regulates everything, killing free enterprise.

for eg, the best & fastest solution is to "de-regulate" the agriculture sector & allow free enterprise, poverty will get eliminated in 10 to 20 yrs max.


the problem with large govt programs are they always lead to bankruptcy, like the state providing social security & healthcare will lead to massive govt debt or higher taxes killing growth. which is what is happening in the US !!

the only solution is for the private sector to provide for social security & manage them - leave it to the NGO's & private companies to manage this. like the bill gates/buffet foundation etc..

this is the reason why you have a such a divide between democrats & republicans !

Govt cannot afford to have such debt, otherwise we will end up like 1990 when we had to go to IMF with a begging bowl & like Greece today !!

there is NO alternative to Capitalism that has worked so far !!

Cheers,
JK
 
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Hi Yamaka,

if you look at right through history, it is 1 or a small group of people who make have made significant changes. whether it is innovation, enterprise, kingdoms, trading empires etc..

It is this "human innovation & enterprising spirit" that is at the core of the wealth creation. for eg, a Reliance group employs more than 20 lakh people, this was a 1 man creation !. similarly large corporations like Ford, GM, Coke, pepsi, Apple, Microsoft etc..

The problem with Socialism is that it "kills this enterprising spirit" leading to decline of business, enterprises & finally to bankrupt states like the Soviet Union etc..

thats what is happening in India. The state controls everything & regulates everything, killing free enterprise.

for eg, the best & fastest solution is to "de-regulate" the agriculture sector & allow free enterprise, poverty will get eliminated in 10 to 20 yrs max.


the problem with large govt programs are they always lead to bankruptcy, like the state providing social security & healthcare will lead to massive govt debt or higher taxes killing growth. which is what is happening in the US !!

the only solution is for the private sector to provide for social security & manage them - leave it to the NGO's & private companies to manage this. like the bill gates/buffet foundation etc..

this is the reason why you have a such a divide between democrats & republicans !

Govt cannot afford to have such debt, otherwise we will end up like 1990 when we had to go to IMF with a begging bowl & like Greece today !!

there is NO alternative to Capitalism that has worked so far !!

Cheers,
JK

Capitalism, Socialism, Govt Regulation: Yamaka's View.

1. Yes, capital is needed as we need labor, technology, management etc in an enterprise. How much the capital should "reasonably" earn?

I say, a risk-free rate + a risk premium. A risk free rate can be tied to 10 Y Treasury Bond (now yields about 2%). What should be the Risk Premium? About 5%. This means capital can reasonably earn about 7% a year.

Anything more would be an exploitation of other components in the enterprise. If a Capitalist plans to earn more than this, then labor would cry this to be due to "confiscation of wages". I will agree with them

2. Although during the Cold War period the terms were terribly abused,

Socialism = For Society = Communism = For Community. As someone said "No Man Is An Island".. We are all Social Animals.. we will be happier and safer when the Society as a whole does well.

My wife always says, "From much is given, much is expected". Although this has a deep Theological meaning, an Atheist like Yamaka believes that India9% should worry deeply about the welfare of India91% (I have defined this group being unable to make more than Rs. 150 per day per person).

Such a concern may give the Capitalists a pause. They may ask "Why would the haves worry about have-nots?"

This is the political question. Only at the ballot box this can be adjudicated.. Politics being the number game, India9% will sorely lose on this question.

3. There are plenty of books and articles written about what caused the collapse of private investment banks like Lehman Bros, Bear Stearn, Merrill Lynch etc in 2008.

The resounding reason is De-Regulation and lack of oversight by both the Private Sector and the Govt.

Therefore, for all parties, the best Solutions is reasonable Regulation of All private and public sector activities.

More later...

:)
 
Capitalism, Socialism, Govt Regulation: Yamaka's View.

1. Yes, capital is needed as we need labor, technology, management etc in an enterprise. How much the capital should "reasonably" earn?

I say, a risk-free rate + a risk premium. A risk free rate can be tied to 10 Y Treasury Bond (now yields about 2%). What should be the Risk Premium? About 5%. This means capital can reasonably earn about 7% a year.

Anything more would be an exploitation of other components in the enterprise. If a Capitalist plans to earn more than this, then labor would cry this to be due to "confiscation of wages". I will agree with them

2. Although during the Cold War period the terms were terribly abused,

Socialism = For Society = Communism = For Community. As someone said "No Man Is An Island".. We are all Social Animals.. we will be happier and safer when the Society as a whole does well.

My wife always says, "From much is given, much is expected". Although this has a deep Theological meaning, an Atheist like Yamaka believes that India9% should worry deeply about the welfare of India91% (I have defined this group being unable to make more than Rs. 150 per day per person).

Such a concern may give the Capitalists a pause. They may ask "Why would the haves worry about have-nots?"

This is the political question. Only at the ballot box this can be adjudicated.. Politics being the number game, India9% will sorely lose on this question.

3. There are plenty of books and articles written about what caused the collapse of private investment banks like Lehman Bros, Bear Stearn, Merrill Lynch etc in 2008.

The resounding reason is De-Regulation and lack of oversight by both the Private Sector and the Govt.

Therefore, for all parties, the best Solutions is reasonable Regulation of All private and public sector activities.

More later...

:)

I agree with you on the concern for poor & the society/community. The problem which financial model is a viable one.

Clearly govt/public programs are not the solution, because they will have to be funded by taxes, & they always lead to debt & bankruptcy.

so the only solution is a capitalist solution to leave the social security & healthcare to private players.

Agree with you, regulation is a must to oversee the private players. On the 2008 collapse of financial institutions, the main reason is the "unlimited subprime risk" that these players took during the boom period that led to the meltdown. regulation would have avoided this.
 
I do not wish to enter into the discussion on this year's Budget which I consider as an annual ritual without commitment, based on Government statistics which has no relevance to reality. Instead I wish to recall those wonderful days in past when Budgets were presented by people like C D Deshmukh, TTK, Morarji Desai and C.Subramaniam who had more commitment towards of Nation's financial health.


Budgets remind me of those days, when I used to attend the Annual Budget orations of eminent Lawyer Nani A. Palkhivala conducted under the Forum of Free Enterprise, in the ornate Banqueting Hall of Vidhana soudha. Nani Palkhivala was a great orator who had a genius for communication and a knack of reaching out to ordinary people while de-mystifying the budget to them, by sprinkling them with his inimitable humorous anecdotes. Describing his Annual Budget speeches, his long time friend and colleague Soli J.Sorabjee recalls "The audience in these meetings was drawn from industrialists, lawyers, businessmen and the common individual. Nani's speeches were fascinating for their brevity and clarity. His Budget speeches became so popular throughout India and the audience for them grew so large that bigger halls and later the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay had to be booked to keep pace with the demand of an audience of over 20,000. It was aptly said that in those days that there were two Budget speeches, one by the Finance Minister and the other by Nani Palkhivala, and Palkhivala's speech was undoubtedly the more popular and sought after".
Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
 
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I agree with you on the concern for poor & the society/community. The problem which financial model is a viable one.

Clearly govt/public programs are not the solution, because they will have to be funded by taxes, & they always lead to debt & bankruptcy.

so the only solution is a capitalist solution to leave the social security & healthcare to private players.

Agree with you, regulation is a must to oversee the private players. On the 2008 collapse of financial institutions, the main reason is the "unlimited subprime risk" that these players took during the boom period that led to the meltdown. regulation would have avoided this.

Hi JK:

1. Please recall who developed the Internet, who developed the Deep Water Oil Exploration, who developed the Space Research or BioMedical Research, or Genome Reseach etc?

Initially, only the resources of a Central/Federal Govt can support such VERY RISKY ventures. Once initial Research is completed and tangible Results are obtained, then the private sector can barge in and do the Development part according to their "Profit Seeking Model".

Likewise, Human Resource Development (say from the India91%) is the sole responsibility of the Central/Federal Govt. Giving quality education to ALL citizens is their prime duty in order to reduce poverty and to provide future intellectual power houses like Narayana Muthis, Venki Venkataramans, Amartya Sens, MM Singhs etc etc.

2. How will the Fed/Central Govt get the Financing for such futuristic projects?

Either thru taxation or thru borrowing from the Bond Market. Or a combination of the both.

To me it looks that India's Central Govt is not taxing enough: they collect barely 10% of the GDP in a year. This is not enough for all the activities they ought to do.

They must get rid of VAT, which affects all the poor people, and increase the marginal income tax rate to 39% and adjusting the slab in such a way they collect at least 18% of the GDP as total tax (this does not include the State & Local taxes -- the grand total should reach to about 39% of the GDP, as it is in many OECD countries).

Then, Corporate Tax must be increased to bring more revenue.

Only with such increased revenue Govt can launch establishing more schools, colleges and research centers educating more citizens. Quality Education is the solutions to most of our problems. Right now only about 7% of the population has a high school education or above.

Remaining 93% are left out wandering in the woods!

If we don't address this issue on a war-footing, India will remain a backward country for the foreseeable future.

Follow what China is doing!

Cheers.

:)
 
Hi JK:

1. Please recall who developed the Internet, who developed the Deep Water Oil Exploration, who developed the Space Research or BioMedical Research, or Genome Reseach etc?

Initially, only the resources of a Central/Federal Govt can support such VERY RISKY ventures. Once initial Research is completed and tangible Results are obtained, then the private sector can barge in and do the Development part according to their "Profit Seeking Model".

Likewise, Human Resource Development (say from the India91%) is the sole responsibility of the Central/Federal Govt. Giving quality education to ALL citizens is their prime duty in order to reduce poverty and to provide future intellectual power houses like Narayana Muthis, Venki Venkataramans, Amartya Sens, MM Singhs etc etc.

2. How will the Fed/Central Govt get the Financing for such futuristic projects?

Either thru taxation or thru borrowing from the Bond Market. Or a combination of the both.

To me it looks that India's Central Govt is not taxing enough: they collect barely 10% of the GDP in a year. This is not enough for all the activities they ought to do.

They must get rid of VAT, which affects all the poor people, and increase the marginal income tax rate to 39% and adjusting the slab in such a way they collect at least 18% of the GDP as total tax (this does not include the State & Local taxes -- the grand total should reach to about 39% of the GDP, as it is in many OECD countries).

Then, Corporate Tax must be increased to bring more revenue.

Only with such increased revenue Govt can launch establishing more schools, colleges and research centers educating more citizens. Quality Education is the solutions to most of our problems. Right now only about 7% of the population has a high school education or above.

Remaining 93% are left out wandering in the woods!

If we don't address this issue on a war-footing, India will remain a backward country for the foreseeable future.

Follow what China is doing!

Cheers.

:)

Hi Yamaka,

1. yes, this used to be the case where Govt funded large risky programs. However the US is moving all these activities to private sector. for eg, the next shuttle developement is moved to private players, the Govt provides some grant.

2. Providing grants/impetus does NOT require a "white elephant" govt like India. Govt can continue to provide grants, do a public/private partnership etc..

3. China is an exception. They have a "superb leadership" with Capitalism/Socialism mix. you cannot replicate in a democracy specially in India where the politicians are totally corrupt & useless. Large Govt always leads to dictatorship, corruption etc.. Increase taxes - NEVER !! ALL THESE TAXES ARE GOING TO POLITICIANS & BUREACRATS POCKETS !!

4. As I said earlier, the only "practical" solution is to move Govt out of everthing possible. then private sector will take over, corruption will come down dramatically..

5. All the other theories are utopian, unproven, idealism, good discussions - Sorry to say, a waste of time. Last 65 yrs, the India Govt is saying we will eliminate poverty etc.. By beating the same stick, saying the Govt has to take more taxes, Govt has to become super efficient, the Govt has to provide for 93% etc.. are NOT going to happen, did NOT happen in the last 65 yrs.

Please lets privatise everything, we have seen the phenomenal growth in India by the private sector, lets extend this to all areas. This is a easy, pratical, possible solution.


Cheers,
JK
 
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Hi Yamaka,

1. yes, this used to be the case where Govt funded large risky programs. However the US is moving all these activities to private sector. for eg, the next shuttle developement is moved to private players, the Govt provides some grant.

2. Providing grants/impetus does NOT require a "white elephant" govt like India. Govt can continue to provide grants, do a public/private partnership etc..

3. China is an exception. They have a "superb leadership" with Capitalism/Socialism mix. you cannot replicate in a democracy specially in India where the politicians are totally corrupt & useless. Large Govt always leads to dictatorship, corruption etc.. Increase taxes - NEVER !! ALL THESE TAXES ARE GOING TO POLITICIANS & BUREACRATS POCKETS !!

4. As I said earlier, the only "practical" solution is to move Govt out of everthing possible. then private sector will take over, corruption will come down dramatically..

5. All the other theories are utopian, unproven, idealism, good discussions - Sorry to say, a waste of time. Last 65 yrs, the India Govt is saying we will eliminate poverty etc.. By beating the same stick, saying the Govt has to take more taxes, Govt has to become super efficient, the Govt has to provide for 93% etc.. are NOT going to happen, did NOT happen in the last 65 yrs.

Please lets privatise everything, we have seen the phenomenal growth in India by the private sector, lets extend this to all areas. This is a easy, pratical, possible solution.
Cheers,JK

Hi JK:

1. America's Space Program has moved from the Moon to Mars.. Moon has been explored well to a reasonable level; now the private sector can take over.

Our Rovers from the Jet Propulsion Lab (in CA, a fully Fed Govt funded program) is doing the bull work of understanding the Mars.

Even today, all the futuristic Research is done by the Fed and its various agencies like DARPA a Defense Dept Entity.

2. Please compare the R&D Budget of India to its total Revenue, and compare and contrast it to US and China. India is woefully lagging. Because it does not collect enough revenue.

3. Most of India9% is angry about the Corruption in India: Most of the perpetrators are from this faction - all the bure'crats, politicians, businessmen are all from this "economically upwardly mobile" faction of people. Only these people must CHANGE to make India prosperous.

India91% is mired in Religious FATALISM, Poverty and Ignorance, for these people are not getting quality education.

4. Privatizing ALL activities is a bad bad idea on the whole. We need a robust partnership between Public & Private Sector. Certain activities, as mentioned in item 1 can be done only by Public Sector.

Private Sector is only for maximizing "Profit".... You don't want to prop up all the Profiteers in the Society. We need fully integrated, educated workforce where there is meaningful Regulation to oversee the whole activity.

5. China is the right example next door. Since 1910, China made very serious Structural Changes to gallop forward Socially and Economically:

a. Outlawed the Gods & Religions and clamed the One Child Policy to control Population growth. This is a key decision.
b. They started building the Society from the bottom up: Education and healthcare are much better in Rural China than in Rural India.
c. They opted for a Single Party Rule (by Chinese Communist Party, which has nearly 80 million political activists - about 20 Most Powerful PolitB Members, all of whom fight tooth and nail to come up with Policy behind the closed doors... Chinese can do lots of politicking behind the door).
d. They opted for State Capitalism.

All seemed to work better than the Choices that India made.

But the bottomline is which political philosophy would deliver what the people want. America has a Two Party System, Britain and India took the Multi Party System and China chose the One Party System with a mechanism for political activism.

Unless India brings CHANGES on a war-footing, it will be relegated to the back bench of Nations for decades to come!

Wait & watch.

:)
 
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Hi JK:

1. America's Space Program has moved from the Moon to Mars.. Moon has been explored well to a reasonable level; now the private sector can take over.

Our Rovers from the Jet Propulsion Lab (in CA, a fully Fed Govt funded program) is doing the bull work of understanding the Mars.

Even today, all the futuristic Research is done by the Fed and its various agencies like DARPA a Defense Dept Entity.

2. Please compare the R&D Budget of India to its total Revenue, and compare and contrast it to US and China. India is woefully lagging. Because it does not collect enough revenue.

3. Most of India9% is angry about the Corruption in India: Most of the perpetrators are from this faction - all the bure'crats, politicians, businessmen are all from this "economically upwardly mobile" faction of people. Only these people must CHANGE to make India prosperous.

India91% is mired in Religious FATALISM, Poverty and Ignorance, for these people are not getting quality education.

4. Privatizing ALL activities is a bad bad idea on the whole. We need a robust partnership between Public & Private Sector. Certain activities, as mentioned in item 1 can be done only by Public Sector.

Private Sector is only for maximizing "Profit".... You don't want to prop up all the Profiteers in the Society. We need fully integrated, educated workforce where there is meaningful Regulation to oversee the whole activity.

5. China is the right example next door. Since 1910, China made very serious Structural Changes to gallop forward Socially and Economically:

a. Outlawed the Gods & Religions and clamed the One Child Policy to control Population growth. This is a key decision.
b. They started building the Society from the bottom up: Education and healthcare are much better in Rural China than in Rural India.
c. They opted for a Single Party Rule (by Chinese Communist Party, which has nearly 80 million political activists - about 20 Most Powerful PolitB Members, all of whom fight tooth and nail to come up with Policy behind the closed doors... Chinese can do lots of politicking behind the door).
d. They opted for State Capitalism.

All seemed to work better than the Choices that India made.

But the bottomline is which political philosophy would deliver what the people want. America has a Two Party System, Britain and India took the Multi Party System and China chose the One Party System with a mechanism for political activism.

Unless India brings CHANGES on a war-footing, it will be relegated to the back bench of Nations for decades to come!

Wait & watch.

:)

Hi Yamaka,

yes, your approach can & will work.

1. Is is feasibile, practical, possible in India ?. Do you think this will ever happen ?

2. will we ever change to 2 party of 1 party rule ?

3. you are assuming that more money with the Govt will help the poor?. you know Rajiv Gandhi's statement that for 1 rupee, only 5 paise goes to the poor rest to the politicians & bureaucrats. so will this approach ever work ?

4. China made very serious structural changes. do you think it will ever happen in India ?

5. But the bottomline is which political philosophy would deliver what the people want. - will india ever debate the political philosophy & deliver on it ?. dont you think they will muddle along with massive govt, corruption, 800 mill to 1.2 Billion poor in due course. like how we move from 200 mil in poverty to 800 mil in poverty while many said that capitalism is the greatest evil ?

6. Unless India brings CHANGES on a war-footing, it will be relegated to the back bench of Nations for decades to come! - Do you think this will ever happen ?

so while the people debate on the politcal & economical philosophies, agree that the China model is better, etc.. millions are dying of poverty, lack of healthcare, food, water, shelter etc...

Isnt it better to privatise as much as possible & have "somewhat larger benefit" to all people despite the ills of profiteering etc..

Most of us - Nah - all of us here are the result of liberalization by Narasimha Rao, so while we all enjoying the benefits of capitalism, private sector - why should we not have our poor brothers enjoy this ?. yes, despite all its faults.

are we so concerned that capitalism may create problems after people become wealthy. atleast let them become wealthy first ?

Is it not better to be in USA than in any other countries despite the problems due to capitalism ?. Most of the Chinese here dont want to go back or for that matter any other race !!

Cheers,
JK
 
Hi Yamaka,

yes, your approach can & will work.

1. Is is feasibile, practical, possible in India ?. Do you think this will ever happen ?

2. will we ever change to 2 party of 1 party rule ?

3. you are assuming that more money with the Govt will help the poor?. you know Rajiv Gandhi's statement that for 1 rupee, only 5 paise goes to the poor rest to the politicians & bureaucrats. so will this approach ever work ?

4. China made very serious structural changes. do you think it will ever happen in India ?

5. But the bottomline is which political philosophy would deliver what the people want. - will india ever debate the political philosophy & deliver on it ?. dont you think they will muddle along with massive govt, corruption, 800 mill to 1.2 Billion poor in due course. like how we move from 200 mil in poverty to 800 mil in poverty while many said that capitalism is the greatest evil ?

6. Unless India brings CHANGES on a war-footing, it will be relegated to the back bench of Nations for decades to come! - Do you think this will ever happen ?

so while the people debate on the politcal & economical philosophies, agree that the China model is better, etc.. millions are dying of poverty, lack of healthcare, food, water, shelter etc...

Isnt it better to privatise as much as possible & have "somewhat larger benefit" to all people despite the ills of profiteering etc..

Most of us - Nah - all of us here are the result of liberalization by Narasimha Rao, so while we all enjoying the benefits of capitalism, private sector - why should we not have our poor brothers enjoy this ?. yes, despite all its faults.

are we so concerned that capitalism may create problems after people become wealthy. atleast let them become wealthy first ?

Is it not better to be in USA than in any other countries despite the problems due to capitalism ?. Most of the Chinese here dont want to go back or for that matter any other race !!

Cheers,
JK

Hi JK:

1. Actually I am not against Capitalism and Private Sector. They have a serious role to play in any Society.

My point is what is the % of activity in the total GDP. It has been empirically shown by the OECD countries (all the 20 or so Advanced, and near-advanced countries in the world) that public sector (via total taxation) can have 40% activity and the rest 60% must be with the Private Sector.

The data show that GDP grows steadily as the taxation (total which includes local, state and central taxes) increases up to 40% of the GDP, after which it stagnates and then declines.

My estimate (which may be wrong, I want you to correct me) shows in India the total taxation is hardly 25% of the GDP today, while in the US total is about 32% (before Obama it was about 38%) of the GDP.

Therefore, there is plenty of room for taxation, and public sector activity in Infrastructure and Human Development which will alleviate poverty.

2. I hate uncontrolled Capitalism where the private sector worries only of "their maximizing the profit ethos" leading to degradation of the environment, water resources etc. They don't have the obligation of Social Justice.

I want ALL incomes treated equally in a Progressive Taxation: In the US, most raw-Capitalists like hedge fund managers and "carry trade" artists are all paying 15% maximum tax (King of Bain Romney paid just about 15% of his massive income via Capital Gains) while the secretaries working for these hot shots are paying about 30% highest marginal tax.

This is the Evil in the tax code that has created the 1% vs 99% divide in the Society solely because of Bush Tax Code following the Voodoo Economics of the Supply Side Economics.

Obama is finding it very hard to change this tax code because of the dysfunctional Senate in the US.

3. India's Politics CAN change to some extent: All political parties in the Parliament can come to a Model Code of Conduct: For example, they can play all sorts of dirty politics during the last six months before the National Election, not before.

Now, for any simple matter, they shut down the Parliament. This is very injurious in the functioning of the Govt.

4. Yes, people must do something to cut down the Perception of Corruption (at least the Retail) in India. Most of the money allocated to the poor (about $20 billions a year) is not reaching them because the bura'crats and others swindled it before it reaches them.

I blame only the India9% on this. As I said before, India9% has a moral obligation to the uplift of the India91%.

Otherwise, ALL will suffer for a long long time.

More later...

:)
 
3. India's Politics CAN change to some extent: All political parties in the Parliament can come to a Model Code of Conduct: For example, they can play all sorts of dirty politics during the last six months before the National Election, not before.

Now, for any simple matter, they shut down the Parliament. This is very injurious in the functioning of the Govt.

4. Yes, people must do something to cut down the Perception of Corruption (at least the Retail) in India. Most of the money allocated to the poor (about $20 billions a year) is not reaching them because the bura'crats and others swindled it before it reaches them.

I blame only the India9% on this. As I said before, India9% has a moral obligation to the uplift of the India91%.

Otherwise, ALL will suffer for a long long time.

More later...

Hi Yamaka,

Agree with most of your observations. I am with you that uncontrolled capitalism is dangerous & thats what led to 2008 meltdown.

However my concern is on the above points you mentioned. frankly I dont have any hope of change by the current set of political leaders & the way the electorate is voting them decade after decade, nothing will change.

thats why I was advocating as much privatization as possible !

Cheers,
JK
 
I want ALL incomes treated equally in a Progressive Taxation: In the US, most raw-Capitalists like hedge fund managers and "carry trade" artists are all paying 15% maximum tax (King of Bain Romney paid just about 15% of his massive income via Capital Gains) while the secretaries working for these hot shots are paying about 30% highest marginal tax.

This is the Evil in the tax code that has created the 1% vs 99% divide in the Society solely because of Bush Tax Code following the Voodoo Economics of the Supply Side Economics.

Obama is finding it very hard to change this tax code because of the dysfunctional Senate in the US.

:)

Hi Yamaka,

I am going to take a very unpopular view on this issue. I am not part of tea party/republicans nor support them.

1. US is a flagship for Capitalism. so everyone knows it worships the rich, provides all tax sops to them & the middle class loves them.

2. Obama is the most left president in the "most right country", so there is no way people will accept his policies.

3. He made it terribly worse by pushing the healthcare without building consensus. Lot of republicans opposed him & pelosi, but they just rammed it down their throat due to the super majority in both the houses.

4. So all republicans came together & he got the mid term shellacking.

5. Now the problem becomes worse. After the shellacking, he should have moved to the center, he did not, stuck to his leftist policies, talked about class divide, taxing the rich, the repubs ensured a dysfunctional senate & house to ensure none of his legislations can go through.

frankly Obama has no leadership experience (well known during the campaign), & his inexperience is showing.

Even if you are right, you need to build consensus, take people into confidence, before you implement anything.

Cheers,
JK
 
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