Don't flaunt riches - Prime Minister is watching ya.

I was reading a preposterous claim (probably best coupled as a best election stunt) by none other than the premier of India. The discussion purely started as a chance to best relive a few election spots which they once used to win comfortably. He says,”Lavish spending”, “Parties”, “Extravagant wedding” etc are “socially undesirable” and “environmentally unsustainable”. He further says “An area of great concern is the level of ostentatious expenditure on weddings and other family events. Such vulgarity insults the poverty of the less privileged, it is socially wasteful and it plants seeds of resentment in the minds of the have-nots. “

I think differently. I think the premier just forgot what democracy is and perhaps got a bit carried away towards dictatorship. I think firstly, no one has any right what so ever, don’t matter who you are and what you have done thus far, to decide how a person has to live and what is acceptable and what is not. This is one reason why India still remains backward in attitude because of all the “ungiven” right to comment on other person’s life style.

For records, India got 87,000 + crores as Tax returns alone last year. I am not including any other funds that they would have mobilized. Is this money not a small subset for instilling the “have nots” a sense of being part of the country? Should’nt it become the obligation of the ruling government to do something for the “have nots”. I am not against giving it back to the society. That is the only way you can say you care. I do that and every one does that from their best ability. People contribute to old age homes, people do give finances for animal care and what not. But my serious point is since when the government gets the right to say what a person can do and what they should’nt it even when it is legally and ethically bounded action.

The main problem with India at this juncture is – Population, great belief on the concept called “Free Food”, right to question other person’s life. What psyches me off big time is the fact that the so called growing billionaires club in India – 36 of them, they found their success because of sheer hard work. They found ways to proliferate their corporation’s growth through their own methods despite the government’s help. And yet when they hit the peak and they spend time “celebrating” their success, we have the audacity to say “Hey think about the poor”. Would we do that when every other guy celebrate their success around us? It is their god damn money and I am pretty sure they would have had to spend many a sleepless nights, stress and now when they want to hit off, we got a problem. So lame I think this.

The main concept I would like to vent out through this medium is that according to the NSO, there are about 22.15% of people living in poverty. What has the government done to alleviate this living standard? The poverty factor did not show up suddenly. It was very much here for a very long time since the India became sovereign and secular. We have labored through all this since then and the growth has happened between all this. Now my point, it is only here in India, a physically well to do man would take to begging and take to the concept of “free food” as his birth right. I say, “Nothing called free food exists now; it was once in the Dino era when T-Rex got its due”. Beggars just need to ask and they get free food. Stop that option, and then you will see the guy work for his food. The so called “celebrated spenders” worked their way for their food. Then why did we get so concerned they should not live their life.

And obviously let's not talk about the reservations for the castes around. I would end up making a living by writing pages against it !

At the end, I firmly think we should have to right to live and see how you want to live your life. We should give it back to the society, which will happen automatically as you grow up the career ladder. But to have a meter checking whether they “successful” people are living an extravagant life or not is NONE of our business or for that matter no one’s business.

Link to the Article

The Billionaire Situation

The rise of ever more billionaires causes much anguish at growing inequalities. Forbes magazine says that India has produced 14 additional billionaires in the last year, taking its total to 36. This is more than the 24 billionaires in Japan, Asia’s richest country. The Left Front will gleefully declare that globalisation has made the rich richer and the poor poorer.

I too find it depressing that a billion people round the world remain mired in poverty. But I cheer those self-made men and women, from families of modest means, who have nevertheless clawed their way to the top of the wealth ladder through sheer talent, perseverance and guts. Forbes reports that no less than 60% of the world’s billionaires are self-made. This is not a sign of the rich getting richer. It is egalitarianism by other means. This is not socialist egalitarianism which seeks equality of outcome for all. But it is a step toward liberal egalitarianism, which seeks equality of opportunity.

We are seeing an explosion of billionaires in countries that traditionally had none, and from families of modest means. No longer is wealth limited to a handful of ultra-rich white families. The talented are now overtaking old wealth, both within their own countries and in the world. Forbes lists a record 946 billionaires in 2006. The list has 178 newcomers, including 19 Russians, 14 Indians, 13 Chinese and 10 Spaniards, as well as the first billionaires from Cyprus, Oman, Romania and Serbia. Forbes says that of its listed billionaires, 17% became poorer and 32 dropped below the billion-dollar mark. The rich don’t always get richer. The new billionaires have made money in everything from media to computer software, from real estate to coffee. They have converted their excellent human capital into financial capital. That represents progress towards a world of merit. Sadly, one billion people remain poor. They lack the access to education, capital, networks and infrastructure that are vital to convert talent into riches. In too many countries, the state has failed to provide the basic framework that will help talented people rise fast. No serious attempt has been made in India to reform the face of government that the villager sees. Reform all these areas, and we should see many more billionaires.

Of the self-made people in the list, Lakshmi Mittal does not really qualify. He was born in a business family. Yet by global standards he is self-made, since his family lacked the means to build or buy large steel plants. Instead, he used his managerial talent to take over sick steel mills for a song across the world, and turn them round. Once he gained critical mass, he went for big takeovers. Computer software has yielded a spate of Indian billionaires. Azim Premji of Wipro inherited a vegetable oil business but converted it into a software major. Three middle-class founders of Infosys have become billionaires - N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and Senapathy Gopalakrishnan. Ditto for Shiv Nadar of HCL.

The Left Front regards stock markets as casino capitalism. In fact the stock market boom has been crucial in converting human capital into financial capital. The world’s money is flooding into India to share in the wealth created by Indian entrepreneurs. The price of real estate (and realty shares) has gone through the roof. In consequence, many builders unknown to the general public five years ago now rank among the richest in the world..

Socialists will deplore the rise of so many billionaires in the midst of widespread poverty. But amiri hatao does not lead to garibi hatao, as Indira Gandhi demonstrated in the 1970s.

I say that 14 new billionaires is not enough. I would like to see a million new billionaires, based entirely on talent. That will be egalitarianism of opportunity. Particularly, that is the only way India can get back from the international society after everything that has happened sans globilization within the country.