http://desicritics.org/ Superior South Asian bloggers on Culture, Media, Politics, Sport, Business, and Technology. en Copyright 2006 by the authors Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:22:26 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss BC custom software http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-127058 While I welcome the increase in the number of billionaires, which proves that we allow people to aspire and succeed, we need to look at the other side of the story- less than ten individuals' wealth is more than one-fourth of a nation's GDP. That's too lopsided. 127058@desicritics.org Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:22:26 EDT http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-126860 I will point to Aln Coman that India recently passed RTI- right to information act with great success. We should be proud of the grassroots involvement and success story hidden behind this. 126860@desicritics.org Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:33:10 EDT http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-126858 I will take the position of Amartya Sen on it. India has much better freedoms than Sub-Saharan Africa. So all the development in India is likely to be more robust and well-secured. Whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa, every statistic can change upside inside of a week. 126858@desicritics.org Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:29:38 EDT http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-126259 Well, thanks for the valued feedbacks. For a healthy society, we need to disagree more often on complex issues than to agree, more as bloggers with independent minds for a better society. I have attempted clarifying my stand based on the feedbacks in the next article, 'The need for having a Government'here... http://desicritics.org/2007/03/13/024918.php 126259@desicritics.org Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:15:52 EDT http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-123467 Billionaire India: Worse Off Than Sub-Saharan Africa? Desi Critics? Sure, you are the real [EDITED - EVIDENTLY YOU LACK A COMPREHENSION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AUTHOR'S VIEWS AND THE SITE'S, AND FURTHER, THE ABILITY TO KEEP A CIVIL TONGUE IN DISCOURSE] 123467@desicritics.org Sun, 11 Mar 2007 06:39:12 EDT http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-123000 where incompetent ignoramuses such as laloo (bihar) and the communists rule (w.bengal) are definitely worse of than africa. other states with better governance are in healthier condition. 123000@desicritics.org Sat, 10 Mar 2007 01:26:39 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122943 Not particularly high on the economics logic but lets leave that aside for the time being. Remember the "glory" days of American capitalism when men like Tisch and Rockefeller made their fortunes? Guess what! Much of the US was "living in poverty" at the time. Remember 19th century Europe when MAJOR fortunes were made? It was the time of the dead-poor chimney sweeps and dying matchgirls. I find this double standard very worrying - yes, economic development takes time and isn't absolutely even. But why is it that India - that PRIOR to European colonization contributed nearly 30% to the world GDP has to meet unrealistic and special standards NOW when it is trying to recover by joining the industrial economy? 122943@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 22:42:41 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122938 whoa- take it easy!! Life is indeed full of such contradictions! For the mountain to be validated, the valley needs to be right next to it! Such too is the case with the billionaire and the bikhari!! 122938@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 22:25:45 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122931 "Enough is enough"???? Get real. When they're counting Indian billionaires, they're also even counting people like Lakshmi Mittal, who made all his money outside India. What does he owe India or Indians, who never did anything for him? Next you'll be complaining that India should collar those "pesky NRIs" and force them to fork over their hard-earned money to "share with people at home". Nah, that sort of sounds like how LTTE shakes down emigre refugees, to extort funds from them. If the forgotten Indians want to get more from the world, then they need to make themselves more appealing to the world, instead of asking the world to make itself more appealing to them (which it won't, just like how the oceans won't part for Indians, nor will gravity suspend itself for Indians, nor will the rains and the seasons magically stop for Indians.) 122931@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 21:55:16 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122922 I am surprised to see this marxism from an educated person. I will be surprised to find out that this guy is an economist. Milton Friedman said in 1979 that a free market produces less extreme cases of wealth and poverty vs. a repressive state without freedom. The facts presented in this article show that this is a fact, but the author commentary and his policy recommendation are simply idiotic. I think that China made a mistake to redistribute wealth from the richer (more productive citizens) to the poorer (less productive ones). India is already a relatively socialist and corrupt state. Add to this government intervention and you will see the 8-10% growth transformed into 3-5 or less. What if these 24 billionaires will decide overnight to move to Switzerland? This guy will cheer their departure, since there will be less inequality and less rich stealing from the poor. It is clear that he is wrong. If you want to help people at the bottom, the best way is to encourage free market and low taxes. In the long run a very poor country can catch up with any other rich one. Think about the asian tigers in the 70's and Ireland now. You need indeed education, infrastructure and health, but making this a public system is a waste of resources. It is better to let the agents invest in their own education ( govt can help by providing loans), use toll roads and private insurance system in health. In time this is the best way. The way the system is currently is not efficient and encourages graft and corruption. 122922@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 21:00:15 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122808 What a rona - dhona commentary. The usual weepy stuff that rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. The comparison with sub Saharan Africa (a very common theme amongst weepy elites) is questionable. How good is the data collected from Sub Saharan Africa? Is it as good as the one collected in one of our neighbouring nation's where per capita income grows from $600 to $840 in one year just to compete with India or population growth rate falls from 3.6%% to 2.1% in one astonishing year? And how trust worthy are data collected by an useless organization like NSSO and other statsitsical organizations in India filled with left wing morons. Everybody knows that they manufacture data and statistics as dictated by leftist intellectuals of the JNU type. And what is the agenda of the leftist intellectuls of India. The answer is to show India in a poor light. Get rid of hypocrites like Jayati Ghoshes and but in Mr Bhallas and India's stats will run on a bullet train. Well not that Bhallas are any good. But that is just to show that Indian statistics show a much worse picture than reality thanks to lazy, trade unionized, babus of the left variety filling up weepy sheets and taking paychecks for no work at the end of the day. Of course India can do better. This is what the Leftist intellectuals will have to do to improve India. 1) They will have to stop their opposition to family planning. 2) They will have to stop their support of illegal migration. 3) They have to stop dividing the nation on caste and religion (yes communists are the biggest communalists in India) 4) They have to stop calling strikes at the drop of a hat. 5) they have to stop supporting their trade union leaders who never do any work. 5) They have to start loving India and accept the integrity of the bouandaries of India. 6) They have to start working for the welfare of all Indians. 7) They have to accept that they have no clue about how to run an economy. 8) They have to accept that nothing positive can come from leftist intellectualism which is basically weepy talk about the poor while smoking expensive cigars and drinking expenisve wine and accumulating frequent flier miles while collecting socialist awards. Cheers! 122808@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 15:03:37 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122750 Atlantean Good show!!!! Ranjit I agree with you, Dr. Manu, Madame Italy and Mr.Dumbaram are morons of the highest order. The sooner the Govt goes the better. I hope you guys in West Bengal get rid of the commies. Those guys are another set of morons....... Cheers to right wingers, Cheers to supply siders!!!!! 122750@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 11:34:31 EST http://desicritics.org/2007/03/09/092127.php#comment-122731 Sigh! Indians have this idiotic habbit of seeing things in categories. They see for example, a category of billionaires and another category of the poorest of the poor and draw links between these two categories. All the problems and miseries experienced by people belonging to the second category are blamed on the first category. Their susceptibility to this kind of nonsense has more than ensured that 15% of all humanity stays in poverty and never comes up for more than 50 years now after independance. The people who say they are speaking for the poor are the ones who are most susceptible to this nonsense. What's more, they want others to believe all their crap! Fortunately, there are many Indians who dont fit the above profile. They are far more broadminded, positive and forward looking. They put their common sense to good use. They dont see things in categories like the usual narrow minded-socialist leaning-poverty hating-yet unconsciously poverty seeking Indian. They understand for example, that for every billionaire's success, there are hundreds of thousands of common people who benefitted from this success, from the sweepers and electricians to the CEO. And these are not the filthy rich-greedy-profit seeking-care a damn about the poor billionaires to whom governments give stolen-from-the-poor-subsidised-sold-at-less-than-market prices land at lower than market prices. Most of them belong to the lower middle class. They WORK HARD and pull themselves up (and dont just sit in their comfy cushioned chairs in AC rooms in front of latest computers with the fastest Internet connection and rant and rant against the "greedy capitalist" and shed tears for the poor and underpriveleged.) The last 16 years have seen millions of Indians migrate from the bottom into this lower middle section and more and more will join it as the economy grows and provides more jobs and opportunities. With economic reforms in agriculture and expansion of economic activity into II tier, III tier towns and further into rural areas and with the rapid spread of infrastructure, the situation is going to get much better. At last, the malnourished and bony rural Indian can throw his rusted bowl in the new plastic waste basket and buy a new stainless steel plate and have good nutritious food and not the smelly and rotten mice filled food supplied by the oh-so-great-and-caring-for-the-poor-socialist-Indian state through the PDS, finally grow some muscle and put his previously emaciated ass to better use on the field and produce more food and therefore income for himself. Meanwhile, the narrowminded pigeon brained intellectually challenged Indians can keep on writing their ideologically and politically motivated shit on the MSM and the Internet. They're not going to stop the rapid decrease of poverty in India. And yeah, I expect everybody to pounce on me and beat me up for my rightist views. Dont bother to. You can call me arrogant and all sorts of names. And I care a damn... I give a rat's ass. Good bye! 122731@desicritics.org Fri, 9 Mar 2007 10:29:58 EST