race to the bottom for the economy

That the Congress agenda since coming to power has purely socialism should not be doubted by anyone. Slowly but surely, the Government has been putting in the systems and regulations that take India back to the days before the economic meltdown in 1991. With the Government in control of resources, and being a provider of basic goods and services to a vast majority, India is again moving back to the days when entrepreneurship stifled and government interference rose. 

I feel this time the situation is not so black and white. While there is still a considerable private sector contribution to the economy, the Government seems to have focused less on creating an enabling environment for them to grow, and more on creating an environment in which the poor are even more dependent on the state for subsistence. 

As Sagarika Ghose, of all people, tweeted, it is ironical that the Government is proud of declaring that 66% of the country's population does not have secure access to food grain, on the occasion of our 67th Independence Day. Of course she was referring to the Food Security Bill, which is to be tabled in the Parliament today. 

The basic premise of the Bill is, as quoted from the link above - Under the law, about 81 crore people would be entitled to receive rice at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 a kg and coarse grains at Rs 1 a kilo. 

This Food Security Bill would rest, of course, on the remarkable Public Distribution System of India, which pilfers and steals more than distributes. This same system has now been tasked with the responsibility of distributing food grains to crores of Indian families efficiently, on time, for cheap. All I know is that the middlemen and officials of the Food Corporation of India must be smacking their lips. 

Now coming to the current state of economic affairs, with unclear rules and regulations, lack of a general desire from the Government to govern, and foreign money again going out of the country, and a ballooning fiscal deficit, I think other than Sonia Gandhi's super duper economist and socialist team sitting in the National Advisory Council, nobody believes the economy can afford the grand socialist schemes of the Congress. Her minions parrot the same thing. 

One of the key features of globalization is that it puts all of us more or less on the same boat. Like they say, when America sneezes, the effect is felt around the world. Surrounded by the developed economies, the third world simply does not have the strength to not be affected by a global slowdown. One could argue that India should have grown considerably bigger to be a big boy at the table now - a big boy I said, on a table of men. Unfortunately, that is not so. The BRICS, a term coined by the God's Own - Goldman Sachs, is more or less dead. Brazil is limping, India well, doesn't even seem to want to be in the race anymore, Russia is on its own curve, and China is having its own issues. Popular opinion now seems to opine that the BRICS in itself was nothing but a marketing slogan, and anyways, it was all China. But as late as yesterday, South Africa hosted the first BRICS Business Council meeting. 

I took an entire paragraph on BRICS to explain that the global economy is in a pretty bad shape, and it certainly, certainly does not help matters when India's national government seems to be working on its own tangent and on its own economic agenda. Till now, the Congress was more than adept at dismissing any criticism as being communal. Anybody who was critical of the UPA was a rabid communal. Unfortunately for Sonia Gandhi and her dream of putting Rahul Gandhi into the seat of the Prime Minister of India, they may have created a monster that will be very hard to tame for the next Prime Minister of India. 

Dr. Manmohan Singh has done irreparable damage to the position of the Prime Minister with his inaction, silence, and very Gandhi'esque secrecy. The common man, the one who works hard, consumes goods and services, and relies on the free market as a source of inputs and a market for outputs is surely going to see through this charade soon, one would like to think so! How long will the population continue feeding on the facade of secularism while their economic strength continues to drain under the UPA regime? No doubt, the economy simply does not believe the UPA anymore. 

With the Congress on a clear, undeniable action plan to win the next elections through this systematic recall of socialism, and the BJP in no seeming position to behave like a responsible and credible opposition, with the internal fighting and conflicting ideas, the gainers have undoubtedly been the regional parties. They have been parts of government, parts of the opposition, and had a jolly good time providing outside support to the Congress to pass its bills in the Parliament. Now whether it was under duress, or blackmail, or after receiving lots of money, or just because they really like the Congress, is anybody's guess, but no doubt, politicians like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Mamata Bannerjee, and the likes have shown that they are happy to play with the Congress, as long as their demands are met. Of course, the Congress has shown exceptional dexterity and skill in misusing the institutions of India for its political ends and arm twist these regional leaders into submission. Mulayam Singh Yadav, as expected, will support the Food Security Bill. 

Coming back to the end game, Congress has more often than not shown itself to be a master manipulator. They play the media very well, and have great expertise in propaganda. For all we know, they will end up convincing half the country that they are poor and will not survive without the direct cash transfer, the food security bill and other Gandhi named national schemes. Then its onto UPA III. I am certain Sonia Gandhi and her team have discussed the plans if they ride back into power, and surely they would have discussed the pathetic state of the economy they have led India to, and surely it would have involved how Rahul Gandhi can ride in like a knight in shining armour and take us to salvation. Till then, let us keep suffering.