Our society is getting increasingly polarized as the gulf widens between the rich and the poor. The elite class in Pakistan is getting richer while the common man is distressed over the rising cost of living and making ends meet. Since inception, our basic problems have remained the same – the provision of food, clothing, and shelter – while the rulers have shown hollow dreams to secure votes by promising to solve their problems.
The government only focuses on development projects which from it could gain personally. That is why we see roads being constructed all the time. No doubt there is a need to develop the road network in our cities but the authorities have a personal interest in such projects. Road projects are a favourite as they give high commissions and help make a quick buck. Thus, every year you will see old roads dug up and new ones being built adding misery to the lives of commuters.
The government makes policies benefiting the rich allowing them to set up industries and businesses and sell products at hefty rates. These wealthy businessmen are the accomplices of the political leaders. You will never see the government reduce import duties and we are forced to buy expensive things made locally, for instance cars. Yet the government boasts over the growth of the automobile, cement, pharma, and transport sectors claiming that the economy is strong but never showing its real impact. The owners of these sectors keep getting richer day by day just by exploiting the poor.
Maybe you are wondering why the government does not invest in these sectors. If so, then how will the elites be able to sell anything? The government knows the real cost of a product but our industries have always demanded huge subsidies, tax breaks, and other incentives. These benefits are never passed to the consumers.
Perhaps if the government sets up its own companies rather than giving unnecessary subsidies, people would buy things cheaper and their living conditions will improve.
The lack of government intervention and oversight has given a free hand to the private sector. Education is expensive because the regulators do not maintain the quality of schools and universities. It will not set up sugar or flour mills but will import millions of tonnes every year. We have not built a locally produced car and still import them. The government will not set up a pharma company but sell us medicines at exorbitant rates. It will not set up a cement firm or develop the construction sector and you will have no choice but to buy expensive houses. Nor will it build the transport sector so we can continue to move through in dilapidated buses and the private sector continues to exploit us.
The irony is that the rich are the ones who govern us. Even our stock is dominated by a few influential families which small investors are crushed. These are the elite who continue to dominate every sphere of over lives and continue to get away with it.
