Cookie Monster
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Ur original argument...from which u r deviating was that "politicians are not to blame...it is the ppl who are living beyond their means(that are to blame for all the borrowing)"compare public transport in Pakistan with India
Pakistanis despite being poorer have a poorer public transport system than India
that would be one good example of living above your means
Now let's discuss transportation. I assume u have made a typo and the point u were trying to make is that "despite Pakistan being poorer than India...it has better public transport"...
...which somehow illustrates Pakistanis living beyond their means...
Now let's dissect this. Do u know who is in charge of building public transportation? That's right the politicians...not the ppl. They decided to take loans...and they decided where to spend that money...NOT THE AVERAGE PAKISTANI.
A recent example is that of Metro orange line(among others). It was built by the last government of PML-N. It hasn't yet been investigated for corruption...but my guess is that just like most projects...there were DEFINITELY kickbacks involved. Projects like these present an opportunity for the politicians to legally allocate the money(creating the proper paper trail) from the treasury(whether taken on loans or not) towards these things. As I have explained before...the winning bid goes to some contractor who is chosen based on the fact that this contractor is then going to provide kickbacks(to the politicians who made it happen).
Now let's address the ppl...most ppl were AGAINST building this project. The case was taken to the court...and if I recall correctly Lahore High Court(since it was built in Punjab) got involved in it.
One of the main reasons people were against spending massive amounts of money on it...was the fact that there were so many other useful ways that money could be spent. At the time country was still struggling due to all the debt and reeling from reduced exports due to power outages that had peaked during the previous government of PPP.
Now that this particular case is addressed and few things are established as below...
- The average Pakistani isn't in charge of what gets built and how it is funded.
- The average person does not benefit monetarily from these projects...the only ones who do due to massive corruption are the few elites(politicians included).
- If there are other more pressing matters and a project such as the metro orange line(used as an example) is seen as an unnecessary cost...the ppl try to raise their voice against it. In fact I recall some members here on PDF who voiced their opinion that they were against that project.
Although in specific instances it is not acceptable to spend money on things like that orange line project when there are other pressing needs(as in getting ur priories straight)...
let's address the sweeping statement that u have made about transportation in general...as if that constitutes "ppl living beyond their means"...
To that I would say that u r wrong. Many countries take loans to build their infrastructure(like roads, rails, ports, and transportation)...which in general pays off in the long run...more than it had cost initially bcuz it drives economic growth. So IN GENERAL investing in infrastructure(even with loans) isn't "living beyond ur means" but rather investing in ur future. This is no different than a small business taking a loan...with which the business then grows(leading to repaying the loan with interest). If however that business owner squanders the money...it would be incorrect to label his/her employees as living beyond their means.
In conclusion...no matter how u slice it...IT IS NOT THE AVERAGE PAKISTANI WHO IS TAKING THESE LOANS AND LIVING BEYOND HIS/HER MEANS.
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