The purpose of this blog is not to engage in yet more pseudo-literary diarrhea, and I realize this is a bit early in the game to start with a critique of what I have already written, but I thought it important to clarify some points that i raised in my inital entry titled “Rationalization” (probably best to read that entry first, although not essential) – sort of set the agenda and explain things in a bit more detail…..be warned, though, it is possible you have not read the last of my musings…..
I guess my previous entries; at least the first one gave a bit of an insight into the logical progression of events. I do realize that it may be a case of looking at things through “rose tinted glasses”. I understand that I have taken an optimistic stance on our potential and our people. This is not a deliberate attitude, but a genuine one, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating….am I wrong ?is my faith in our nation and people misplaced? Basically that is my working hypothesis…we have the potential to be a formidable nation… Ok…anyway, enough of the utopia. ..
I do realize that there are a lot of ground realities to be dealt with. I do not expect that people will easily accept change. It has been said – I will have to dig up the exact reference to allocate the kudos – that any change is vehemently resisted by the people who will loose as a result of change, but only mildly supported by those who will gain – Machiavelli I think….anyway I think the point, whomever made it, is a good one to keep in mind.
We have a system established since the inception of Pakistan and a mindset inherited probably from times of British Rule. The system favors the few and the mindset is one of apathy. Those who loose out to the current system are kept on such a fine line between subsistence and fear that nothing changes. Basically if the masses were dying of starvation and were even poorer than they are today – we would have a better chance of a revolutionary change – because these people would have no choice but to demand it – to survive. That fortunately (I guess) is not the case…most of the people in Pakistan are surviving – barely, but are surviving. Therefore they are faced with a choice…..try and get a better deal by challenging the system, and risk what little they have now, or just accept their fate. It is little surprise that most opt for the second option. Necessity dictates it. We must be under no illusion though….if the trends continue, we may have no choice but to deal with a justified revolt of the people or more accurately the poor….why not resolve the situation before necessity also dictates such action…..
Central to the issue for progress of Pakistan, apart from national sovereignty (obviously!) is that of social welfare. The state is obligated, under Islamic principles to provide food, shelter, clothing, health and education to its citizens….why is that ignored? That is a far more important Islamic issue for us to be addressing than any other I can think of…
The way to provide or serve the people is through institutions….basically to do anything you need money..its not that we are short of money…it is just in the wrong hands (our parallel economy far exceeds our white economy), and what is in the
”right” hands is mismanaged or misspent. This is not to say no one is spending money in the right manner…I am talking about the general state of affairs – no pun intended.
As such we need to be in a position to collect tax revenues…everyone should be paying taxes! Today in Pakistan the bulk of the tax revenues is from indirect taxation…(taxes on consumer products e.g. oil, sugar, etc). Indirect taxation is paid by all…at the same rate…regardless of income…so the poor assume a greater tax burden than the rich…insane! If direct taxation is a concern of yours, then you just aren’t earning enough to avoid it! Only the foolish pay.
So we all agree…without money we cannot do much. A government’s revenues come from taxes…as far as I am aware…so if we are not collecting taxes properly…why are we wondering why we are broke? What other revenue stream is going to cover the tax shortfall of so many people? Loans from the World Bank ,IMF, USA et al.? Interest rate – low….deal….p.s. your soul included.
The only way is by having proper institutions – especially the judiciary – which ensures that the law is applied equally and fairly to all! Tax laws which are based on strong principles of distribution of wealth…and appropriate application of tax policies for the benefit of the majority at the expense of the few – who can afford it. This needs to be coupled with proper compliance and procurement procedures and transparency to ensure funds collected are not funds that end up in Swiss accounts or multiple foreign properties. A minimum wage needs to be introduced – what do you think the waiter, thinks when he sees you and few of your friends blow his monthly salary on an average meal? Ok… let’s start with government institutions at least. I mean…try living on Rs.10,000 a month…try it with a couple of dependants…let’s see how far you get.
Only certainty….death and taxes….i wish!
