However I do beg to differ concerning the 'waste' of money on monuments. Yes the over four million dollars spent on the Statue of Unity, of Vallabhbhai Patel could have been spent on free food, teaching teachers, whatever. However most of that money ended up in pockets of Indians in return for an honest day's work one way or another. Yes the bronze cladding was cast in China as no foundry in India could handle the job. However most of the money stayed in India; Indian sculptor, design engineers. construction firm and over 3000 workers building it. The money earned feeding, housing clothing their families, much going from them in to the pockets of vegetable vendors such as you note above and other local businesses. I dare say Jayshree, if we could trace that money earned and spent building that Statue Of Unity, in India from 2018 we'd find some of those coins in your pockets today. ;-)
Charity, teachers, etc., I'm all for such. However I differ as I note above on monies spent on monuments, cathedrals, temples, Rockets to space, Mickey Mouse statues, etc. The money is not wasted, lost, locked up in, cast in the statues, monuments and buildings or earth's orbit. It's in the pockets of the workers and spread throughout the society.
Yes perhaps that money could have been spent to feed 2.3 million people for a year, assuming an average cost of $0.50 per day for basic meals, but it's highly unlikely that it would have been. However as it's changed hands over the years since I suspect it's fed far more folks for far more than an year.
I hope you understand I'm not faulting your take Jayshree, just noting that mine, looking at things from a free market viewpoint, differs.
Thanks, Jim! I appreciate your perspective. As you rightly pointed out, these projects can create short-term employment, which I should have highlighted.
Infrastructure remains basic, with many poorer areas lacking proper roads. Women and children in rural and urban areas still struggle to get water for daily needs and have to spend hours queuing up at public taps or walk for miles, at times, before they can show up to work!
Ensuring a dignified, basic standard of living for those below the poverty line is still a distant goal. Prioritizing these kinds of expenditures—with no long-term ROI - seems counterproductive.
I quite enjoyed the read, as usual.
However I do beg to differ concerning the 'waste' of money on monuments. Yes the over four million dollars spent on the Statue of Unity, of Vallabhbhai Patel could have been spent on free food, teaching teachers, whatever. However most of that money ended up in pockets of Indians in return for an honest day's work one way or another. Yes the bronze cladding was cast in China as no foundry in India could handle the job. However most of the money stayed in India; Indian sculptor, design engineers. construction firm and over 3000 workers building it. The money earned feeding, housing clothing their families, much going from them in to the pockets of vegetable vendors such as you note above and other local businesses. I dare say Jayshree, if we could trace that money earned and spent building that Statue Of Unity, in India from 2018 we'd find some of those coins in your pockets today. ;-)
Charity, teachers, etc., I'm all for such. However I differ as I note above on monies spent on monuments, cathedrals, temples, Rockets to space, Mickey Mouse statues, etc. The money is not wasted, lost, locked up in, cast in the statues, monuments and buildings or earth's orbit. It's in the pockets of the workers and spread throughout the society.
Yes perhaps that money could have been spent to feed 2.3 million people for a year, assuming an average cost of $0.50 per day for basic meals, but it's highly unlikely that it would have been. However as it's changed hands over the years since I suspect it's fed far more folks for far more than an year.
I hope you understand I'm not faulting your take Jayshree, just noting that mine, looking at things from a free market viewpoint, differs.
Thanks, Jim! I appreciate your perspective. As you rightly pointed out, these projects can create short-term employment, which I should have highlighted.
However, these ego-driven short-term projects seem endless, often serving specific agendas rather than addressing essential needs. (See https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-16464502)
Meanwhile, the children of these workers often attend poorly equipped schools with low-quality, absentee, or unpaid teachers—a problem that persists due to low wages and irregular payments made to teachers. See https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/news/amid-fear-of-salary-pension-blues-in-festive-season-yet-again-teachers-seek-cm-s-intervention-101726671284959.html.
Infrastructure remains basic, with many poorer areas lacking proper roads. Women and children in rural and urban areas still struggle to get water for daily needs and have to spend hours queuing up at public taps or walk for miles, at times, before they can show up to work!
Ensuring a dignified, basic standard of living for those below the poverty line is still a distant goal. Prioritizing these kinds of expenditures—with no long-term ROI - seems counterproductive.
Good discussion! :-)