Budgeting Principles, Policies and Practices: 2016 - 18

Budgeting Principles, Policies and Practices: 2016 - 18

 

Theory and Reality:

 

          Budgets are Money Bills, till passed into law by the Legislature.  They depend on Monetary Theory, Principles, Policy and Practice.  Monetary Theory, etc., in turn, are a factor of the Political Economy, International and National, primarily the former.  The trouble with today’s Political Economy is that it remains a pawn to continuous International Corporate Capitalism, as a handmaiden of Western Imperialism-cum-Colonialism, in the garb of Globalism and Globalization.  All this is extremely exploitative, because Political Economy is no longer an Altruistical Ethical Humane and Social Science to serve the People as being People Friendly.  Consequently, Capitalism Creates Poverty --- instead of Ending it by means of Futuristic Altruistic Ethical Political Economy.

 

Basic Principles:

 

          The Basic Principles of such FAEPE: Futuristic Altruistic Ethical Political Economy are:-

 

1. It is People-Centred, People-Focused, People-Friendly and People-Serving.  Therefore its Top-Most Priority is:

2. Basic Needs and Human Rights.  In fact, Basic Needs As Human Rights.  The most fundamental of them are, apart from Life, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity:

 

1. Employment; (b) Education; (c) Medicare for Health; (d) Housing; (e) Personal Security as Privacy, and Social Security against Risk and Uncertainty, like Natural and Human Disasters.

 

1. Futuristic Altruistic Ethical Political Economy: FAEPE seeks to achieve the foregoing Objectives, the End being an authentic Humane Welfare State Social System, by Means of FPAEP: Futuristic Poverty Alleviation, Elimination and Prevention.  Thus, Poverty Alleviation, alone, is counter-productive and self-defeating, especially in the face of continuous population explosion globally.  The thrust is on Poverty Prevention and Elimination for General Social and Human Sustainable Welfare.

 

The Pakistani Position:

 

          Pakistan claims Constitutionally to be: The Islamic Republic.  Judged by the foregoing critical criteria, it is for the conscientious reader to judge for oneself whether Pakistan is truly an Islami Welfare State Social System persistently practising Islami Democracy under the inspiration of Islam, the Perennial Peace Paradigm and Muhammadi Moral Model. 

 

FAEPE: Budgeting Principles:

 

          Ideally speaking:

 

1. The Budget should be Balanced --- between the Sovereign State’s Income and Expenditure.  Therefore:

2. There should be NO Deficit Financing.

3. There should be minimal borrowing, especially from external sources as exploitative Debt and Debt Servising.  Therefore, Grants without strings need to preferred, as sought from Friends --- NOT Foes or Masters.

4. Internal Borrowing needs to be maximized under Islami Banking, the rate of the share of return being reflective of the rate of Zakat (2-1/2) or a factor thereof.

5. Sovereign Self-Reliance should be the Core Objective.

6. Indirect Taxation being Regressive, must be minimized.

7. Similarly, Multiple Taxation of the same source and person, at the same or different levels, (local, provincial and federal) is Regressive Taxation --- to be best avoided.

8. The Clubbing or Grossing Up of Income from different sources also tatamounts to Multiple Exploitative Taxation. 

9. Direct Taxation as a factor of the rate of Zakat, being both fair and reasonable, needs to be adopted.

10. The Tax Base Needs to be broadened according to the population explosion of tax avoiders and evaders.

11. Pakistan being basically an Agricultural Economy, the Agriculture Sector must be patronized, especially the poor landless farmer, by land grants and self help loans.

12. Both water generation and management, and alternative sources of energy are essential for Pakistan’s integrated holistic economic development.      

 

State Sovereignty:

 

            Drone attacks, war and terrorism (state, interstate and non-state) are not the only challenges to State Sovereignty.  International Borrowing and Debt are an even greater chilling challenge to State-Societal Political Economy Sovereignty.

 

 

 

Corruption:

 

          Black money and money laundering apart, there is alleged and actual massive corruption at the grass-roots’ level of courts, `kutcheries’, `thanas’, `tehsils’, the legal profession and the civil bureaucracy, as in taxation, local bodies, electricity, and water, (etc.) departments (local, provincial and federal).  Both paying and taxing authorities are allegedly corrupt.  The line and field staff in many cases are reportedly the worst.  The rot is cancerous.  Even senior citizens and pensioners are not spared from this hideous harassment.

 

Govt. Pensions:

 

          Pensioners are the most marginalized, impoverished, exploited and vulnerable segment of society.  The principle of `same grade and same pay and pension’ continues to be defied blatantly.  `Behbood’ and Pensioner Benefit Investments in National Savings and Securities, as integral to Pensioners’ Benefits, should be exempt from taxation, like pensions.    

 

The Civilian Bureaucracy:

 

          It has been politicized and corrupted by pampering pays, perquisites, rewards and out-of-turn promotions without merit.

 

Minimum Wages:

 

          With daily price hikes and spiralling inflation, minimum wages should never be less than Rs.1,000/- per day.  Even as a senior citizen, I pay my domestic help Rs.32,000/- per month --- by balancing my own meagre budget.

 

Education:

 

          Despite all the daily drum-beats about Education, there is really no National Standard System of Education.  In fact, it is divisively class-confrontationist: the microscopic minority.  Elite versus the “Awam” (poor people).  The internet has substituted the library.  Pilagiarism is said to be  prolific.  The tuition mafic is rife.  Ph.D. degrees are reportedly dished out for just five chapters --- four of which are formal --- Introduction, Literature Review, Research Methodology, and Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations.  Only one chapter is left for Analysis and Original Contribution --- if any.  Privatization of Education is exorbitant Commercialization. 

 

Medicare and Health Cover:

      

          Government hospitals are decaying for lack of adequate funding.  Private practice in private hospitals fleeces poor patients.  Doctors with foreign degrees are like heartless butchers, because they have forgotten their professional oath and ethics.  They are totally dependent on extremely expensive diagnostic technology and the pharmaceutical industry mafia.  Some use their patients as guinea pigs to experiment with the latest drugs and technology.    Ofcourse, there are conscientious notable noble exceptions, as in almost every profession.  There are hardly any scientific arrangements for the disposal of biomedical waste, so that while every hospital may advertise a state-of-the art inside, its outer presciencts are like stinking pestilent dumpsters.

 

          All said and done, there is an urgent need of Standard National and Provincial Education, Health and Engineering Services. 

 

The good news is that in every sector of society, including the Civil Services, women are excelling and outsmarting men.  Sadly, ironically, women’s, youth and children’s rights remain an issue, despite the seasonal media hype and political rhetoric.  Women politicians, apart from those in the civil society and media, are in an advantageous position to press for positive social change. 

 

Balancing Defence and Development, Democratically – Futruristically:

 

          A special federal cess for Defence and Integrative Holistic Social Sector Development focusing Education and Health, would be in order.  

 

Looking At the Current Reality:

 

          In Pakistan, the stark shocking reality is:

 

1. Panama Pamper Leaks: Money Laundering.  Money has become the most malevolent means of corruption.  It is no longer a mere means of the exchange of goods and honest services.

2. Massive grass-roots corruption from top to bottom and vice versa.  Persistent palm-greasing, skyrocketingly.

3. State Sovereignty at Stake:

 

Both in terms of Military Security by Drones, War and Terrorism, and Political Economy Security by International Debt and Debt Servising.

 

The Geosociological Imperative:

   

          It is the secure source of the National Ideology and Interest as the Political Economy: Geopolitics, Geoeconomics and Geostrategy.  As such, it is the best antidote to the Imperial Hubris, both International and Indigenous.

 

Ecosophy:

 

          This comprises Ecological-Environmental Ethics and Economics flowing from Eco-Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology.  Here again, the rhetorical rules, regulations and laws are there on record.  But the reality on ground is country-wide pestilent pollution and environmental over-kill.  The remedy: activist action to reverse the pollutant trend, and to establish Ecosophy in real life practice.  

 

 

 

Vital Statistics:

 

          I have deliberately avoided `Statistics’ --- because Figures are not necessarily always Facts.  In fact, they are often fudget to suit one’s case, in terms of budgetary rhetoric, and to satisfy International Debtors --- rather than Donors, whether genuinely generous or usurous yet stingy.   

 

Hard Hit:

 

          According to Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg (former COAs, Pakistan Army), (e-mail dated 10.06.2016):

 

“This year the budget has come hard on our nuclear programme by cutting down the allocation to Rs.27 bn. From Rs.54 bn. Of the year 2014, while India has allocated 1,000 bn (one trillion) for its nuclear programme development”.  (“An Overview of the Budget 2016-17”; The Pakistan Observer (Daily) Islamabad; dated 11.06.2016).

 

The Future:

 

            The first step to salvation lies minimally in a Balanced Budget.  Can the Legislative Opposition in Pakistan manage that?  This is its greatest challenge today.  Pakistan has not, perhaps, ever had a Balance Budget.  The ideal is FAEPE: Futuristic Altruistic Ethical Political Economy, by means of FPAEP: Futuristic Poverty Alleviation, Elimination and Prevention.  A non-partisan National Thinkers Forum of Activists is needed to strive for the consensual convergence of views on the National Ideology, Interest and Issues, for National Integration and Peaceful Societal Transformation. 

 

 

 

                                                                                      

                                                                  

 

Dated:- 18th Jan., 2019.