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The so-called experts are fond of repeating pet theories and technical jargon to befuddle a credulous populace, hiding behind such gobbledygook to cover their own incompetence and failure to control the rising spiral of prices and galloping inflation.
Talks about a percentage of GDP, currency in circulation, budget deficit, tax muddle, balance of payments and other topics ad nauseam do not interest or satisfy a common man, groaning under the ever-increasing burden of escalating cost of living. The number of people living below the poverty line (supposedly earning less than $2 per day) is well above half the population in Pakistan, and growing! These poor folks (and that includes the so-called middle-class or the white collar wage-earners or office workers) are hard pressed to provide two square meals a day for their family and dependants.
Take a look at the retail price of items of daily use for an average family of 5, and calculate the geometrical progression of those items on a day-to-day or sometimes hour-to-hour basis, besides the monthly bill for rent, utilities, children's school fees, books and uniform, clothing, transport, medical expenses, telecom, etc; the incidence of a plethora of taxes-old and new, and the cumulative effect of these worries on a person's health, nutrition deficiencies and consequential ailments due to pollution, bad food, lack of sleep, rest or recreation, and the drudge of commuting daily to and from work place with all the attendant aggravations - you get the picture!
Without going into details, according to my estimation, an average family man needs at least Rs 40,000 per month, just for a bare existence (just enough to eat to prevent death from starvation) for self and family of four. For a sensible (not luxurious) living, minimum monthly income should be Rs 100,000. Add to that a factor of 10% rise in prices every month on average, and that should be the minimum wage for every working individual. And mind you that is for a mere existence - just this side of starvation. For a comfortable living and with a margin of savings for exigencies, double that figure.
How does this compare with the level of minimum wages elsewhere - USA for instance, where a minimum wage for an unskilled manual worker is about $12 per hour, plus social benefits.
We don't have any social benefits or safety nets at all. A person has to work till his last breath - no retirement benefits, pension, or gratuity for most people. A disabled person, sick or elderly mostly lives on charity. The government laments the low tax collection, but an average Pakistani has the right to ask what service does the government provide in return, except to the privileged few good-for-nothings!
This malaise of discontent can lead to very dire consequences. There is a limit to patience and endurance, beyond which frustration and deprivation can lead to social unrest, anarchy, spate of crimes, or armed rebellion. What is happening in the Arab world should be an eye-opener. Most of them are probably much better-off than us, and yet they have resorted to armed uprising against callous and uncaring despots and rulers! Can you imagine the consequences if such a situation arises here, and the masses stand up and say 'Enough is enough'.
There is a Farsi proverb - (Tang aamad be jang aamad) - 'the oppressed, when squeezed beyond endurance, takes up arms to fight.' We can see it around us every day in some form or other. But an organised mass revolt - that is the writing on the wall. So put the people out of their misery before it is too late.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2011

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