People's Democracy

Budget: Discredited Neo-Liberal Model In Action

THROUGH a statement issued from Kolkata on July 6 by its senior vice chairman Sukomal Sen, the All India State Government Employees� Federation (AISGEF) has described the recent budget as yet another follow-up of the discredited neo-liberal model and as totally unable to solve the problems of the poor.

As the union budget 2009-10 is the first budget placed in the parliament after the deep economic crisis of capitalism, set off by the Wall Street crash of September 15, 2008, the AISGEF said this budget has to be considered in an entirely different economic background. This deep economic crisis of capitalism totally discredited the neo-liberal economic model of capitalism.

The organisation said the pre-budget Economic Survey has given a roadmap of economic measures to be followed by the government in the backdrop of this deepest of crises. The survey highlighted the policy measures like disinvestment, increased FDI in insurance arid banks, privatisation of pension, 12 hours work for the workers etc. The recent budget was prepared according to the same policy directions. The much condemned new pension scheme to be kept in tact.

Disinvestment of public sector is the main slogan of this budget, even though the present finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had doggedly opposed it in Rajya Sabha in February 2001 when the BJP government had mooted the BALCO disinvestment proposal. At that time, Pranab Mukherjee was opposition leader in Rajya Sabha. He had then pointed out that it is the FICCI, Assocham and CII who were demanding disinvestment, and not the people. But Mukherjee is now singing an opposite song.

The budget claims that insurance and bank will remain in public sector, but nowhere there is an assurance that their public sector character will not be diluted by allowing increased FDI.

Though the budget promises jobs for 1,20,000 jobless each year, it does not spell out how. The budget does not speak even a word about the few crores of workers already retrenched in different sectors because of this crisis. It does not spell out whether they will get back their jobs. Moreover, as a continuation of the neo-liberal economy, the market has been opened to foreign imports by reducing the customs duty.

In a situation of reduced GDP, there is no word to revive the sick public sector or building up new industries in public sector.

On the contrary, corporate tax has been kept unchanged though there will be an increase in deficit in the revenue budget.

No concrete assurance has been given for the social security of the workers in the unorganised sector, nor that no existing worker will face retrenchment. Though employees and workers may feel a bit happy because of some increase in the limit of income tax exemption, nothing has been said about the uncontrolled spiraling price rise. While the budget claims that inflation has come down to near-zero level, people don�t experienced it in practice.

While some relief has been announced for the peasantry, the basic cause of the crisis of Indian agriculture has not been addressed. The poor will remain poor and may even become poorer.

Thus this neo-liberal budget does not raise any hope for the workers and they would confront further damages to their life and livelihood. It is because the government is neither concerned with nor capable of tackling the deep economic crisis. Workers must therefore be prepared to take the challenge. (INN)