Common man is odd man out

How the new budget will affect the purchasing power of the common man?

Common men who are earning even upto four or five lacs per year will face great erosion in their purchasing capacity due to relentless price rise in all commodities and essential services. Current rise in fuel prices will add fuel to fire. If we calculate the cost of all essential goods and services required by a common men family at cost price on 01.01.2009 and compare the same with that of today we will find that there is at least 100 percent rise in living cost of same standard for the same family.

There are some employees who are partly compensated by increase in Dearness allowance by their employer. But most others who are not compensated by increase in DA or increase in salary in private sector are the worst sufferer. Since there is no rise in annual income of most of employees, farmers, labours, daily wage earners (minimum wage not increased), barbers, cobblers, tailors, hawkers, small traders, professionals and so on, even NREGA beneficiaries, they are to cut their living cost by curtailing their needs.

It is but obvious such families will have to curtail the expenses on study of their children, expenses on travel, dresses, medical expenses, entertainment and many other expenses at the cost of comfort, which his or her family used to enjoy just a year ago. But it becomes very much painful when the same family is constrained to compromise with quality and quantity of food items. And there is no doubt that such families will curse FM and the present government because he or she does not understand GDP growth or fiscal deficit management. Rebate on Income Tax or cut in service tax on some goods or lending by banks at low rates of interest or allocation of fund for rural development does not at all benefit common men. Our beloved FM says that every pie of budget reaches common men, but this philosophy is beyond the comprehension of common men.

And it is none other than Mr. Pranab Mukherjee Finance Minister who can explain how such common men will not bear the brunt of additional load created by his budget. I say this only because our FM has been repeatedly telling through press conference that every pie of budget reaches common men and even Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries of Congress Party do not hesitate to justify price rise in Parliament despite anguish shown by opposition parties.

It is worthwhile to mention here that rich businessmen, politicians, government officers, media people and few high wage earners in private sectors who belong to high income group and who constitutes hardly 5% of Indian population cannot understand where the shoe pinches in common men‘s family. Entire debate on TV or in state assemblies or in Parliament or on road rallies get punctured and deviated from actual issues because none of the participants in such debates actually suffer the pain which common man of our country suffers. Everyone will see how the debate on Woman reservation issue will hijack the issue of price rise.

Danendra Jain
Ganaraj Choumuhani
Agartala
06 March 2010