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A FRIEND has shared an image of a board game with ‘monotony’ written across it rather than ‘Monopoly’, in a reflection of the challenges, including lockdowns, being faced by people around the world owing to the coronavirus contagion.
Yes, all those personally unaffected by Covid-19 have concerns other than their own and their loved ones’ health, with governments across the globe also split between those putting public health first and those advocating an ‘economy first’ approach.
Interestingly, different political cultures and societal attitudes also influence how the leaders belonging to, for example, the ‘economy first’ camp articulate their views. One of the most open and candid politicians was a Republican, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick of Texas.
Interviewed live on Fox News, the 69-year-old referred to the demographic most vulnerable to the virus which is reflected in the death toll at least in the US and Europe. He said “lots of grandparents would agree” to sacrifice themselves for the economic well-being of their next generations.
Words can be a reflection of the truth or just words, meaningless and empty.
One can be sure this politician in the Trump mould has not asked a single person from that particular demographic if they were prepared to do as he suggested. He may have been blatant in airing his callous views but many others share his philosophy, even if they cloak their views in pastel shades.
Our social and cultural norms mean that any politician, autocrats included, will choose their words with great care even if the sentiment being expressed echoes the views of Dan Patrick. Hence, when the major concern is about the health of the economy, the hunger of the poor has to be invoked.
Also, as the crisis unfolds it is forcing many public figures to evolve their thinking. When British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive after boasting of having shaken hands with virus patients in a UK hospital, Planning Minister Asad Umar had cited the incident in stressing the need for caution.
Barely a couple of months on, he was quoted to have said that Covid-19 was a reality now and it was pointless to live in fear. Like his cabinet colleague Murad Saeed, he also claimed that the world was coming round to the point of view of their leader Prime Minister Imran Khan on lockdowns.
Good that Asad Umar left his comment vague about the world he was referring to, unlike Murad Saeed who said the ‘New York City governor’ was following the prime minister’s counsel. He must have meant NY state governor. But he didn’t elaborate which specific advice was being acted on.
After Trump’s initial attempts, when the crisis first emerged, to downplay the perils posed by the virus exploded in his face, he was stomping around in frustration and anger at the shutdown and its impact on the economy. Then he announced an over one-trillion-dollar economic package.
One would have thought that one of the most developed nations in the world would target a considerable portion of the package at the most disadvantaged but the lengthening queues at food banks were suggesting something else.
With soaring unemployment and the resultant misery among millions of Americans, economic experts said hardly 20 per cent of the package was directed towards the neediest and the bulk of it would serve as a stimulus for restarting the economy.
Hopefully, once the ultra-affluent get their tax breaks and easier access to credit to generate commercial, industrial activity, eventually some trickle-down benefit would reach the poor. Yes, eventually, possibly in the shape of a few dollars an hour jobs.
Prime Minister Imran Khan also announced a Rs1.2 trillion package aimed at helping the underprivileged hard hit by the coronavirus and to support the economy suffering from the debilitating consequences of the contagion.
Economic experts are pointing out the lack of transparency in the various heads of this sizeable package and some are saying that notwithstanding creative accounting and government spin, any new money for the underprivileged would barely be 20pc of the amount.
Words can be reliable, a reflection of the truth or just words, meaningless and empty. So, when government leaders and ministers keep referring to the plight of the shirtless as the main driving force for all their decisions one has to look carefully to assess which category their words fall in.
Actions are eloquent. Thus far, apart from renaming and expanding the Benazir Income Support Programme and disbursing a few months’ advance payment under it, there seems very little directed effort aimed at ameliorating the lot of the underprivileged in terms of countrywide, macro policy.
At the same time while so many spoken words invoke the poor and concern for them, the one major decision of the government in the economic sphere has been to encourage the ultra-affluent with piles of undeclared, untaxed cash to invest without fear in the construction sector.
On top of that, through a presidential ordinance the Companies Act 2017 has been amended to give relief to those having shares in offshore countries. Now if your share-holding is 10 per cent or less you needn’t declare it in Pakistan. The facility is for Pakistanis and dual nationals both.
At least I am left scratching my head at the timing of this targeted relief given to people of immense means during the Covid-19 pandemic, when all talk we hear is of the concern for those who may be facing death by starvation as a result of the lockdown.
The government has an army of spin doctors from the crude to the extremely crude. Now one is needed with a degree of sophistication to explain these decisions so the misgivings around them are quickly addressed and do not end up giving the prime minister a bad name.
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2020
