Saturday, September 19, 2009

Cutting costs. At what cost?

The current austerity drive and what not of the Government is all fine, but I am afraid it is not going to work.
It is already not working, in fact.
Can the government do some SERIOUS cost cutting instead? Like doing a rethink about the level of security that is provided to politicians left, right and center? Like seriously disinvesting and privatising some of its dysfunctional PSUs? Like not providing freebies to all and sundry in form of subsidies?
This so called austerity drive by ministers traveling economy class and other nonsense will only serve as a political gimmick. And I suspect that is all it is supposed to do. So in that sense, it is a sparkling success!
Other than the fact whether it works or not, consider its implications otherwise. If all politicians start traveling by train like Rahul Gandhi, imagine the amount of security that will have to be deployed at railway stations and in trains. (Already there is a brouhaha over Rahul's train being pelted with stones.)
It will only create more nuisance for the common man. We already have enough trouble at airports with politicians; why cause the same at railway stations?
So - all you khaadi-clad netajis, please go ahead and do what you have to do. Because anyway I don't think you really run this country. It is run by the government machinery (and please, don't mistake yourself to be THE Government, ok? I mean the people in offices who work. WORK. Do you understand) and by the millions of 'aam aadmi' who work honestly, earn their salaries, pay their taxes, send their children to school, board public transport only after buying legitimate tickets, and follow road rules when driving.
All unlike you, who do nothing of this sort.

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