Saturday, May 3, 2008

A letter to the PM

Dear Mr. Manmohan Singh,

I hope this letter finds you in the pink of health and consciousness (I am doubting the latter though) .And convey my hearty congratulations to Ms Sonia Gandhi on her being declared as one of the most influential persons of the contemporary world order. (I am certain she is influential, she runs the world's largest democracy even without being on power!).

I decided to write to you, to commiserate with you on your bag of troubles that have suddenly shrouded you. I want to congratulate you on having successfully demonstrated your philosophical, spiritual and populist side in the wake of elections. Unfortunately for you , your problems started in 2007 when the prices started rising and eventually the sub prime crisis, and then India's participation in the global markets collapse, and then the unheard of levels of inflation in the country. Riding on a continued growth story for the rest of your term, it has been unfortunate for you that all your troubles should resurface on a possibly election year. Tough luck mate.
No doubt you have tried your best though. Rs 60,000 crores of a gift for inefficient farmers surely will encourage them to concentrate lesser on their farming and more on your vote bank. It' s good in many ways, firstly it saves the trouble of having to produce efficiently. Clearly your methods have ensured lack of quality supply of food grains, through populist measures like these and ones in the past. I know the critics argue that to control the inflation we must improve our supply (contrary to what your schemes have done). But never mind the critics, you can control the inflation by reducing the demand for food grains and other products instead . After all "reducing demand" serves just as good as "improving supply".
You have already started implementing the "reduce demand" campaign, you have advised corporates to reduce their paychecks themselves in a "moral" move to help reduce inflation. You have asked them to earn lesser and lesser until they don't have enough money to spend. This seems like sound logic. After all where can there be a demand if there is not enough liquidity to buy. I'm sure the banks are supporting you to a good extent. They have increased their CRR, and helping in curbing liquidity in the market. I like your thinking so much that I have asked my family to eat lesser and lesser everyday, in a week's time we will need no wheat, rice, soya or oil.
This way the international rise in prices have no bearing on our family. I am advising my neighbours to follow suit.
I am sure you don't consider strengthening the rupee as a solution, as this will affect our exports and hence the growth. It is important that the US continues to buy our series of hi tech software even if we have completely given up eating grains in a "moral" move to save the economy. Yes! growth is more important. It is important that the US continues to buy website maintenance services even if they can't afford to pay for it (in the wake of the impending recession). It is okay, if domestic consumption is restricted through rising interest rates. After all consumption is bad for the inflation; the momentum tends to create demand.
I was wondering what other plans you have up your sleeve? Maybe attack rising fuel prices by promoting bullock carts? Or identify weak ailing farmers and give them more money to produce only weeds for the bullocks to eat? Yeah! and ask the Indian railways to consider making rails out of stone instead of steel? I am amazed at the choices you have.
Thank you for the direction. India is shining after all.
your sincerely
Citizen of India.

3 comments:

Panduranga said...

KP I dont know what makes you letter like this. What will you prove by this ? any sence ? .I have never critised you so for but i should do it. What ever the problem we are facing now is not a single PM minister problem. It s a collective disaster by all those were PM s . Congress party has major part on that. There is a problem in the model we run the country also. People say Manmohan Singh has chnged the policies in 90's but mentor is P V Narashimma rao. Any how ; i dont think any politician or political party will read this. You should be happy that you can write such thing only in India as you are independent citezen. Keep writing... one more suggestion :- i have given two books as gift to you " Small is beautifull " - you can read that book as it makes some sence for your argument .
One more thing is that he is good gentleman ,he does whatever is possible to his limit . He can not voilate the rules laid down to him as it will not allow to be there. To be there is important rather than not to be there to comment also.

any how keep writting

Unknown said...

This letter would have been more apt for our finance minister, i think! :)

Geepee said...

Dear Krishna Prashanth
I hope this letter finds you in the pink of health and consciousness.I copied this sentence from your letter.
Its always easy looking at the one side of the problem.Our farmers are inefficient I know that.Now how to increase their efficiency?.It is not easy to tame an old bullock and make it run like a horse.And imagine if we see for the methods of increasing their efficiency , who will be the substitute for them in their absence to grow grains.If they dont grow grains the inflation rate will still go high.Most of the money that i gave went into clearing their depts,improving the infrastructures of their equiptments.Moreover young farmers are trained well before they come up.Problems will always be there .It can only be delayed ,cannot be solved.

Your faithfully,
PeeyuM.