On NREGA

Bikuji, while I agree with most of what you have said, I must say that your view of NREGA exposes a streak of leftism (and previous posts on environmentalism as well).

And I am quite opposed to both views. Both expose a weak understanding of society and environment. Both turn a good intention and subvert it into an evil effect. Both are enemies of India's progress.

Re: NREGA - it is a tax on the middle class to buy votes in the rural areas. Its effects are - high inflation and currency depreciation. Both very anti middle class.

It is the middle class which makes a country develop. The aim of development is to make the poor into middle class. Right now 83% of India's GDP comes from the middle class. Only 17% from agriculture. And this HAS to shrink further if India has to develop.

You cannot develop by punishing the already existing middle class, appropriating its justly earned monies and spreading it around to the poor. That ensures that middle class doesnt develop and makes the whole country poor.

It has happened over and over in India in just 60 years.

Congress has traditionally made India poor by destroying the middle class. This time is no different. They have brought back license permit raj and token redistribution of wealth in the poor rural areas (token because once the currency depreciates and money supply inflates, the dole loses its value very fast) - but fetches a few cynical votes for the token.

The only reason 2004 to 2008 worked is because the BJP policies were good - so good that the auto pilot mode was also wealth generating. Congress policies from 2005 itself were inflationary and anti growth and anti middle class. It took time for the evil effects to percolate through.

What rural people need is good governance - no corruption, good education, police which works (not extortion and rape in uniform). Until these come, rural people will not be uplifted, no matter how much you NREGA.

Good governance and Congress are historically the antithesis of each other. Or you can say - Nehru Gandhi family is the enemy of India. Their policies have impoverished and destroyed India in every way possible. (Because NArasimha Rao did great service to the country despite being COngres. And MMS under Rao was a good servant. The same MMS under the Gandhis has been a bad servant.

Janata Party of the 1970s and 1980s was equally bad. Basically socialism is bad for India. It is unfortunate that much of our educated people, who have a social conscience and the desire to do good work - are also socialists. If the do-gooders understood the strengths of capitalism and understood how it works - they would actually do some good.

Once should be sociable, socially conscious - but never a socialist/communist.

And similarly, one should be a scientists and understand how it works - and not an environmentalist who has a poor understanding of ecology but a massive do-gooder streak - they have more emotion and less common sense.

Both socialists and environmentalists are overactive people who do more harm than good. Because they fail to understand how complex systems like ecology and economy work.
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