Daily Times

Over a span of 30 years, a well-to-do family was reduced from riches to rags because of an elder’s tendency to obtain heavy loans from banks by committing his assets as collateral. The money was spent on frivolous things like weddings and travel. These bouts of spending attracted the awe of their acquaintances, who enthusiastically enjoyed their lavish parties. Other members of their clan tried to establish matrimonial ties for their own sons and daughters. Their lifestyle became the talk of the town with anyone who was someone desiring more proximity so as to exploit their influence. During this period, little attention was given to checking expenses, increasing income or developing available resources, which were diminishing in value because of mismanagement and lack of care. The end result should have been quite obvious. The family was doomed for bankruptcy as it is inevitable when liabilities start mounting and income starts decreasing. This is exactly what would have happened had it not been for the timely intervention of the twins, a son and daughter.

The youngest of six siblings, they had received good education and despite opposition from the parents who wanted them to study business and finance, the boy obtained a degree in visual arts, media and films while the daughter preferred studying philosophy. Although the two did not have much say in family life, they could perceive with anxiety, how imprudence of their elders was rapidly leading them towards a dark future. While their elders were flaunting their wealth and deeply engaged in merry-making, the twins began to develop a distaste for the fanfare. They would silently retire to their rooms on returning from their universities, keep themselves busy in their academic pursuits and spent more time in the company of their teachers and mentors instead of indulging in the luxurious lifestyle of their family. For this kind of behavior they were frequently a target of derision. Almost outcastes, instead of showing resentment, they remained steadfast.

As anticipated, the stream of artificial income and wealth became erratic with occasional periods of scarcity that eventually culminated in defaults attracting legal consequences and causing the loan sharks to circle around the family tightening their hold over them. The bubble had burst and unfortunately it was too late in the day for a rescue.

Assets were sold to pay off interest on debts, employees were laid off, everyday expenses became too difficult to meet and as expected, hardship began causeing rifts among family members with one blaming the other for their financial woes. Except for the family house and some unattended agricultural land, valuables were pawned to meet basic needs. As luck would have it, illness seeped in with the father hit by a stroke and the mother diagnosed with a terminal disease. The older sons tried to escape their distress by resorting to alcoholism while the daughters just kept nagging their parents for their disability in maintaining them.

Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body-the producers and consumers themselves – Herbert Hoover

Just when all hope was lost, the twins, who were always the victims of their family’s sarcasm, took it upon themselves to turn around their fortune. For that they needed to take some serious decisions. For them, their education and acquired wisdom were the only redeeming factors. They urgently had to take measures for putting their family’s life back on track and to restore their former glory without its worthless accompaniments.

For starters, they moved from their huge family mansion leasing it out, to a smaller rented house. This helped cut down expenses for maintenance of a large home. For additional income, the sister began her teaching career and the brother joined a media house.

With expenses cut down to the minimum, no extravagant spending and a small but steady income stream, the twins were able to focus on making the best of whatever assets were left with them. A visit to their ignored agricultural land revealed its true potential. They were ecstatic to learn that with some expert advice, they could mint sufficient income from this source. They managed to convince their elder brothers to oversee farming. Reluctantly at first, but eagerly later, they started taking interest. Using their talents and displaying their sense of economic prudence and sensibility, discarding a pretentious life of vulgar ostentation and instilling an attitude based on reality, the twins had successfully turned around the fortunes of their family.

The story of Pakistan is much the same. The country is presently caught in a vicious economic depression, thanks to the imprudent actions of its politico-civil-judicial-military complex that has not only entwined the country in a vicious debt trap, but has played havoc with the country’s physical resources but above all, has stripped the nation of the character that is vital for recovering from any setback. As a nation we are unwilling to sacrifice our luxurious lives. We are not trying to revive our sick industries or making the best of available resources. Patriotism seems to have taken a back seat. The educated are finding solace in distant lands leaving the nation’s ship in stormy waters of crisis upon crisis. Political in-fighting and mud-slinging is given preference over efforts to redress the problems faced by people living in sub-human conditions.

We are so overwhelmed by our woes that instead of ameliorating our sufferings we prefer to indulge in learned helplessness in the hope that a messiah would rid us of all ailments. Self-help is nowhere visible, self-sacrifice is a lost idea and reliance on foreign aid knows no limits. White elephants in the form of public sector enterprises are devouring our meager resources, nation-building is at the mercy of self-centered religious leaders, educational institutions are merely churning out degree holders without the necessary skills, imports are increasing without exports matching them. Sly bureaucrats are dissuading the public from pursuing what it is needed: economic growth and prudence, perhaps the only path to attaining self-actualization and economic stability.

The writer is a lawyer and adjunct faculty of Lahore University of Management Sciences