Why does this happen so often in India?
Almost the entire country has been brought to a grinding halt thanks to a group of employees who decide that this is the way to fulfill their demands - and you know what, they will get what they demand too!
When the phrase 'Government Servants' comes into play, who pays their salaries? No. Not the government. It is the people who pay their salaries by means of taxes, and all the different kinds of them - Income Tax, Sales Tax, Value Added Tax, Tax Deducted at Source, Service Tax, Surcharge, Luxury Tax, Entertainment Tax, Expenditure Tax, Property Tax, Land Tax, Registration Tax, Toll Tax, Capital gains Tax, Minimum alternative Tax, Tax on distributed profits, Excise Tax, Customs Tax, and god knows how many more taxes we end up paying!!! This is the money that is getting paid, and while all the babus get pay commissions, we get tax revisions!
There is something more criminal - doctors and teachers striking and absconding from duties in the name of rebellion.
How the hell can a doctor strike for a salary? Seriously, Hippocrates must be turning over and over in his grave each time this happens, and it does happen pretty often here. Same thing for a teacher - how can a teacher strike for a salary revision? The next time the government raises a tax slab, let's all strike!
The problem in India is that we are all way too spiritual. Actually, it is not a problem; but then it is! We take everything in our stride, and this is where we end up. Transport employees strike once every few weeks, airline employees strike once every few months, bank employees strike once every couple of months (with our money under their lock and key), teachers and doctors strike once every few hours, and communists strike several times each minute! Actually, these people should fill out their resume as 'Professional Strikers'.
How in god's name can people strike so many times? Yesterday and Today, we have had no petrol. So, while paying our taxes this year, can we pro-rate deduct the tax of two days and pay? That should be acceptable, isn't it?
The roads that have been dug up have not been filled for the last one year. So, let's not pay tax this year! Now, clapping is done with both hands, isn't it?
But I guess the solution lies in rising our taxes, and not reducing them. Like in countries such as Denmark and Australia, which take around 50% of incomes as taxes, India should also formulate a tax structure like that. But, healthcare, education, insurance, social security, inflation protection, and minimum employement guarantee are the government's responsibilities. If those are not undertaken, even the present 30% or so is way too much! When we think like a businessman, what is the return on investment for our taxes? Zilch! or something thereabout.
The next time I meet a government officer talking trash, I'll ask him this. HE CANNOT STRIKE.
