The present Indian government's economic policies seem to be based on a theory in economics called ' the Trickle Down Theory '.
This theory states that for economic progress, benefits and concessions must be given only to big businessmen, which will then trickle down to the lowest level of society.
The theory was known as ' the horse and sparrow theory ' in the 1890s in U.S.A. It said that 'if you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through its droppings on to the road for the sparrows to eat ' ( the sparrows being obviously the poor people ). It is also described thus : when the lion makes a kill, he eats only part of it, and the rest is eaten by hyenas, jackals, vultures, etc.
So everybody gets a share in this trickle down. even the poorest people.
The theory was strongly implemented by U.S.President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
According to this theory, if benefits are given to the rich, they will use their increased wealth to invest in new enterprizes, which will generate new jobs, give contracts to suppliers of raw materials and small parts, etc Also, these new enterprizes will yield more taxes which can be used by the government for the people's welfare.Thus everybody will be benefited.
A deeper analysis of the theory, however, reveals its fundamental flaws.
If the rich get more wealth, they will not necessarily invest it in India in new enterprizes. Businessmen seek profit, and are not doing charity. So they will invest the extra wealth in new enterprizes in India only if they are reasonably sure of earning good profits from them, otherwise they will transfer this wealth to tax havens abroad ( in Mauritius, etc ), or invest it in enterprizes abroad, which will not increase jobs in India, nor benefit our economy in any way.
And why should big businessmen invest this extra wealth in setting up new enterprizes in India ? There is no market in India for the goods to be produced by these new enterprizes, because our people are mostly poor, and even the middle classes are losing much of their purchasing power due to inflation. Markets abroad are saturated with Chinese consumer goods, and moreover there is a worldwide economic recession. So this extra wealth will go either to tax havens abroad, or be invested in some foreign country where our businessmen can earn good profits.
The new Land Acquisition Ordinance is also part of the government's trickle down policies. It is calculated to benefit big business, as it exempts certain categories from the requirement of consent of the farmer and impact assessment, and will thus harm the farmers who will be displaced. It will thus add to the woes of farmers, many of whom have committed suicide or are in a terrible plight as farming has become largely uneconomical
The trickle down theory is a heartless theory,pursued only by heartless people
