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Germany, Venezuela: What Lessons They Have For Ap And Telangana?
By: Tupaki Desk | 25 July 2021 12:09 PM GMT
Let's first look into the stories of two countries. The first is Germany and the second is Venezuela. Both the countries have two different stories to tell. Both have lessons to offer and learnings to present.
First the German story. Post World War 1, Germany was defeated fare and square. The Government of the day has to spend huge amounts for the national reconstruction. The Government had borrowed so heavily and had to print currency indiscriminately to repay the loans. As a result, the German mark was repeatedly devalued. The situation by 1923 October was such that the inflation rose by 29500 times. The prices used to shoot up every three or four days. The bread packet bought for Rs 250 marks in January 1923, went up to 20000 marks by November in the same year.
From that dire state, Germany stood up, fought its way up and today it is counted as one of the most prosperous countries. The governments of the day took tough decisions and the people had to work hard to improve productivity. Welfare schemes were given only when absolutely necessary. The nation now is counted among the richest countries.
Now the second example – Venezuela. It was a rich country. The people were happy and the government was prosperous. But, the rulers opted for socialism and brought everything under their control. Everything became state-owned. The state turned into a cent per cent socialist country. Within seven years, the economy slumped. From 2013, Maduro took over and he followed Huge Chavez in letter and spirit. There were more sops and more doles. He hiked the salaries of the army personnel multi-fold to buy their loyalty. The prices were brought down artificially. The farmers stopped tilling as the doles from the government were more remunerative than the physical exertion in the farm lands.
But once the oil prices began nose-diving, the economy fumbled, slumped and then crashed. Productivity fell down and the people became dependent on government doles. Printing more currency only made things worse. The people did not get enough to eat. The parents began selling their children.
In the first example, the government took tough decisions and made the people realise the importance of working hard. In the second instance, the government made the people irresponsible and did not educate the people.
The same story appears to be on a replay in the Telugu states. The Rs 1 a kg rice is has become a joke of sorts. It is an example of everything that is wrong in the system. The Rythu Bandhu and now the Dalit Bandhu schemes are examples of the same malady. Under Rythu Bandhu, a Richie rich like Eatala too is a beneficiary. Rythu Bandhu amounts are used to buy unproductive electronic gadgets. By giving doles and extending sops, the governments are making people dependent on the government and are killing productivity. Instead of DBT, if the fertilisers and seeds were provided directly, the farmers would have tilled their land and would have taken to agriculture.
First the German story. Post World War 1, Germany was defeated fare and square. The Government of the day has to spend huge amounts for the national reconstruction. The Government had borrowed so heavily and had to print currency indiscriminately to repay the loans. As a result, the German mark was repeatedly devalued. The situation by 1923 October was such that the inflation rose by 29500 times. The prices used to shoot up every three or four days. The bread packet bought for Rs 250 marks in January 1923, went up to 20000 marks by November in the same year.
From that dire state, Germany stood up, fought its way up and today it is counted as one of the most prosperous countries. The governments of the day took tough decisions and the people had to work hard to improve productivity. Welfare schemes were given only when absolutely necessary. The nation now is counted among the richest countries.
Now the second example – Venezuela. It was a rich country. The people were happy and the government was prosperous. But, the rulers opted for socialism and brought everything under their control. Everything became state-owned. The state turned into a cent per cent socialist country. Within seven years, the economy slumped. From 2013, Maduro took over and he followed Huge Chavez in letter and spirit. There were more sops and more doles. He hiked the salaries of the army personnel multi-fold to buy their loyalty. The prices were brought down artificially. The farmers stopped tilling as the doles from the government were more remunerative than the physical exertion in the farm lands.
But once the oil prices began nose-diving, the economy fumbled, slumped and then crashed. Productivity fell down and the people became dependent on government doles. Printing more currency only made things worse. The people did not get enough to eat. The parents began selling their children.
In the first example, the government took tough decisions and made the people realise the importance of working hard. In the second instance, the government made the people irresponsible and did not educate the people.
The same story appears to be on a replay in the Telugu states. The Rs 1 a kg rice is has become a joke of sorts. It is an example of everything that is wrong in the system. The Rythu Bandhu and now the Dalit Bandhu schemes are examples of the same malady. Under Rythu Bandhu, a Richie rich like Eatala too is a beneficiary. Rythu Bandhu amounts are used to buy unproductive electronic gadgets. By giving doles and extending sops, the governments are making people dependent on the government and are killing productivity. Instead of DBT, if the fertilisers and seeds were provided directly, the farmers would have tilled their land and would have taken to agriculture.
