Madam, congratulations on becoming the Finance Minister with the continuous maximum number of Budgets presented in the Parliament in India. I am sure the record will hold for a long, long time.
During your tenure madam, there has been a number of pain points that you have had to deal with. Political systems have been in a flux, globally. Economic conditions have impacted trade, wealth and happiness indices all over. Medical emergencies have come to your doorstep and upended the world as we knew. You and us, we have borne them as a great poet wrote – with a patient shrug.
However, in recent times there has been a clamour from your staunchest ally – the middle class, for succor and redressal of grievances. Primary amongst them all are the twin pain of inflation and employment. The middle class is not a very demanding citizens category madam. We are happy with what we have and mostly make do with innumerable challenges thrown at us. Granted we don’t vote in large numbers but that could hardly be a reason for throwing the bathwater our way each and every time.
India is a consumption economy and we are the ones who consume the most. You talk about discretionaries – we are the consumers. You talk about asset creation – we are the ones buying the cars, making the houses, furnishing them. We value education and knowledge and send our children to the best institutions possible, forsaking our current comfort, consuming teachers’ hours, institutions facilities and helping eco systems around such places. You talk about holidays; we are the ones taking it and putting a multiplier in the economy. We are the ones going over to movie halls (occupying the cheap seats, yes, I concede) and we are the ones having masala chai and chana bhatura from the roadside guy afterwards.
Not only do we consume Madam we also create. The MSME sector, helmed by us is the biggest employer in the country and outpaces the big guys by a substantial margin. We make small things and employ big and as a segment we help sustain other industries too. Many many industries. Transport runs because of us. Banking runs mostly upon us. Travel and tourism are in our blood. Ball bearings, bricks, sand, medial intermediates, catering, coaching and tutorials – the list is far too long to put here but we all know what I am talking about. All of us are feeling the noose tightening around us.
Our costs are spiralling out of control. No matter what index you throw at us, the reality is a lot grim than these indices show. We are making far less than before. Thereby paying out less to our employees than we did before. Thereby reducing the demand for goods and services. And the cycle continues. And on top of that the taxes and compliance is a burden that imposes costs and unease. I have been told over social media that we pay more than corporate India to the tax kitty. WOW to us. The GST though beneficial is mired in multiple layers and movements from one to another. The standard deduction is so outdated. The income layers are so 2000 circa. The medical cover benefits are so expensive and education is trotting at 20 percent inflation. Farm income has stalled a long time back and today we are where we were many ages back. How could a common guy live with all this? And dream of acchey din?
Cut us some slack Madam. Reduce the tax burden on us. Make it easier for us to do business. Help us to pay more. Make things simple. You had promised minimum government many years back but things have moved the opposite way. Control raj is back in new disguises – remove them. We will consume. We will put the zing back into all the industries that support consumption. Give us some easy credit and we will create jobs and if you give us a little more we will make a lot many big companies in the future, starting small.
Insha Ganesh Madam. We wait.
Great writeup!!