India’s Premier Pleads for Support of His Plans in Televised Address

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Source: NYT

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a rare nationwide televised appeal on Friday night to defend a series of unpopular measures, intended to revive the floundering Indian economy, that have stirred mass protests across the country and almost toppled his coalition government.

Mr. Singh’s speech came on a day of intense political jockeying, as the governing coalition lost the support of a crucial regional ally yet managed to stay in power, for the moment, by securing support from two other nonaligned regional parties.

“The time has come for hard decisions,” Mr. Singh said, in an apparently prerecorded address that was broadcast across the country in prime time. “For this I need your trust, your understanding and your cooperation.”

The political storm erupted last week after Mr. Singh’s government announced a series of economic moves, including an increase in the price of diesel fuel, a cap on the subsidy for cooking gas and measures that would allow for greater foreign investment in civil aviation and retail, opening the door for big, multibrand retailers like Walmart.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/asia/singh-appeals-to-india-to-support-his-measures.html

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One year ago President Obama called a special session of congress to announce the American Jobs Act. Nothing came of it in the year since. So maybe Obama should take some cues from Singh?

[snot]

1. India has been suffering from laissez-faire capitalism,

and frankly this looks like an effort to intensify some of the worst aspects.

[fasttense]

2. Unpopular measures, intended to revive the floundering Indian economy? Oh right, the economy.

Not for a minute do I believe these measures are intended to revive the economy. They are intended to pay off corporations and make the poor and middle class pay more while corporations and the filthy rich live in the lap of luxury.

Austerity for the workers, luxury for the idle rich.

Singh does not care about the Indian economy. Allowing chain stores like Wal-Mart to funnel money into Arkansas and the Walton's estates is not going to improve the Indian economy. Taking away economic safety nets and cutting benefits to the poor is austerity. And austerity has so vastly improved european economies? Not. Austerity has proven to be totally destructive to weak economies, just look at Greece. But Singh wants to try it in India anyway.