01-04-2006, 12:45 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Say no to Left </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
If in the past it was fashionable to snigger at the Left for coming up with the most absurd suggestions that fly in the face of good economics and practical politics, it is no longer so. The time has come to sound the alarm. The latest "alternative" model being crafted by the Left, whose authors are the leading commissars of the CPI(M), for the UPA Government to mobilise resources is bound to run the country into irretrievable ruination.
Rather than allow the Government to go ahead with limited divestment of shares in profit-making public sector units, which is perfectly in keeping with the provisions of the Common Minimum Programme and makes eminent sense, for raising additional resources to fund programmes, the Left wants new taxes to be introduced. If the Left were to have its way, we would have to pay taxes to enter shopping malls, eat out, buy a watch and anything else that comes under the definition of 'conspicuous spending'.
Instead of entering a new tax regime that ensures voluntary compliance and better collection, India would go back in time to an era when people were scared to earn money because they would have to hand over their income to Government. Mrs Indira Gandhi tried to do what the Left is now pushing for and came a cropper, facilitating the creation of a grotesque black economy and killing both enterprise and growth.
The impact of calibrated reduction of taxes through staggered reforms after liberalisation of the Indian economy is there for all to see: The corporate sector is performing better, there has been phenomenal growth of personal income and wealth creation is no longer a distant dream for most Indians. Simultaneously, there has been tremendous improvement in tax compliance.
That India could perform so well and emerge as an economic powerhouse, posing a serious challenge to China, has understandably upset our Leftists who would rather see this country wallow in poverty. Their vision of 'workers paradise' is one where everybody is impoverished barring the state and its chosen few. They hate to see millions of individuals prosper and acquire wealth through hard work. They are stupefied by the power of information technology and the communication revolution.
They are unhappy to see a visible improvement in the quality of life in our cities and villages. In brief, they are worried that India could soon rid itself of its unhappy Socialist past and become an Asian power. Hence, the Leftists are itching to spoil it all. Nothing else explains why they should exert to pull the country back and spike its growth potential. It would, however, be unfair to blame the Left alone. The UPA Government, for reasons that remain unknown, continues to concede ground to the Left and accept its ideological perversity as policy.
The Prime Minister, who waxes eloquent about his Government's commitment to rapid liberalisation and globalisation of the economy whenever he addresses a foreign audience, tamely accepts the Left's poisonous prescription. The UPA is accountable to the people; the Left is not.
Hence, the Government cannot continue to capitulate before the Left's political blackmail. If the Prime Minister means what he says, then he should take a stand and tell the Left where it gets off. If this leads to a breach between the Government and its Leftist allies, so be it. India's future is far too important to be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
If in the past it was fashionable to snigger at the Left for coming up with the most absurd suggestions that fly in the face of good economics and practical politics, it is no longer so. The time has come to sound the alarm. The latest "alternative" model being crafted by the Left, whose authors are the leading commissars of the CPI(M), for the UPA Government to mobilise resources is bound to run the country into irretrievable ruination.
Rather than allow the Government to go ahead with limited divestment of shares in profit-making public sector units, which is perfectly in keeping with the provisions of the Common Minimum Programme and makes eminent sense, for raising additional resources to fund programmes, the Left wants new taxes to be introduced. If the Left were to have its way, we would have to pay taxes to enter shopping malls, eat out, buy a watch and anything else that comes under the definition of 'conspicuous spending'.
Instead of entering a new tax regime that ensures voluntary compliance and better collection, India would go back in time to an era when people were scared to earn money because they would have to hand over their income to Government. Mrs Indira Gandhi tried to do what the Left is now pushing for and came a cropper, facilitating the creation of a grotesque black economy and killing both enterprise and growth.
The impact of calibrated reduction of taxes through staggered reforms after liberalisation of the Indian economy is there for all to see: The corporate sector is performing better, there has been phenomenal growth of personal income and wealth creation is no longer a distant dream for most Indians. Simultaneously, there has been tremendous improvement in tax compliance.
That India could perform so well and emerge as an economic powerhouse, posing a serious challenge to China, has understandably upset our Leftists who would rather see this country wallow in poverty. Their vision of 'workers paradise' is one where everybody is impoverished barring the state and its chosen few. They hate to see millions of individuals prosper and acquire wealth through hard work. They are stupefied by the power of information technology and the communication revolution.
They are unhappy to see a visible improvement in the quality of life in our cities and villages. In brief, they are worried that India could soon rid itself of its unhappy Socialist past and become an Asian power. Hence, the Leftists are itching to spoil it all. Nothing else explains why they should exert to pull the country back and spike its growth potential. It would, however, be unfair to blame the Left alone. The UPA Government, for reasons that remain unknown, continues to concede ground to the Left and accept its ideological perversity as policy.
The Prime Minister, who waxes eloquent about his Government's commitment to rapid liberalisation and globalisation of the economy whenever he addresses a foreign audience, tamely accepts the Left's poisonous prescription. The UPA is accountable to the people; the Left is not.
Hence, the Government cannot continue to capitulate before the Left's political blackmail. If the Prime Minister means what he says, then he should take a stand and tell the Left where it gets off. If this leads to a breach between the Government and its Leftist allies, so be it. India's future is far too important to be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
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