The average man has a penchant for staring down the social services that other people of the world enjoy without giving a thought as to how they got them. Conversations about expats and foreign Pakistanis will most likely be filled with “where I live healthcare is free” and “I could get arrested for attempting to bribe a police officer”. Often, those from more liberal countries will even brag about the check they get sent home every month as a result of having children. This is a result of the poorer, less educated masses looking for comfort rather than growth.
The understanding of the government as a type of Hercules that will wrestle resources out of the grasp of either Indians, the west or Balochi Sardars is outdated and, in truth, was never in style amongst the rational thinking people of the world. It is that same mentality that fruits itself in the desire for government and corporate jobs with pensions rather than the burning desire for innovation that turns peripheral states and poor people into powerhouses overnight.
What must be understood by the masses and policymakers about government is that it is a mere allocator of resources; it is not a creator of them. When resources or simply money is plentiful on average and it is not distributed correctly, it is the people’s duty to take to the streets and demand benefits. When the people themselves do not own enough resources for the government to allocate, a trip to the mirror must be taken.
There are governance policies that might fix this but most of this fix-up is dependent upon the mentality and willpower of the average person. Consider this: before the Industrial Revolution the US was at the edges of global power; they possessed almost none. Because of libertarian policies, decentralised government and the inertia of the entrepreneurial spirit, they are undoubtedly the strongest state actor in the world. Pakistan can, and should, learn from this.
Instead, we cook up elaborate conspiracy theories about how we are pawns in the power game and at the mercy of the player that is the US. We surrender our power to a superiority complex that is the shroud of hidden post-colonial inferiority without understanding why we are here and how we can get further.
Government regulation in business that creates true value in Pakistan is high; the corporate tax rate is 35 percent. This means that if an individual starts a profitable company that truly improves the lives of people, has an entrepreneurial bent and creates growth, they will have to pay 35,000 out of every 1,00,000 in profit. This is outrageous and is definitely one of the reasons foreign investors tend to stay out of the country. Business in all sectors and from people of all paths in Pakistan should be encouraged and even subsidised if it gives Pakistan a chance to be a global leader in the industry.
Capital gains, which around the world are taxed at higher rates than corporate income taxes, start at zero percent and go up 17.50 percent in Pakistan, just half of the latter. This means that someone who is profiting from a “housing scheme ka plot letay hi aur double he jai ga (buying land that doubles in value overnight)” mentality that does not create jobs or value for larger society is paying at most half of what the job creating businessman is paying.
The plot that is bought also does not create consistent income and is solely based on speculation. It is one of the many atrocities that rationale sees, along with our strong desire for gold and our fixation on its rates. As the great investor Warren Buffett (who has never had an unprofitable year) said about gold and other non-income producing assets in an interview: “I would not come near it.”
We must understand that the good of the collective can be attained through capitalism, and with it brings more income for the individual, both short-term and long. We must create policies to inspire capitalism, and once successful in doing so, turn our interests towards the correct taxation of it.
It must also be comprehended that leaders are not only the best of people; they are a reflection of them. For a corrupt elite class to represent 180 million people says less about the individual people themselves but says lengths about a country, a nation. The furthering of the self from intersections of blame and further to finding scapegoats is an age-old practice that has never benefitted anyone. The weight of self-responsibility must be a burden to carry amongst every citizen of the state, and it must be one that veers the self towards truth and enlightenment rather than the shifting of that blame to a collective society where it cannot be acted upon. The burden must be embraced and self-responsibility taken to correct the nation.
The beauty of ignorance is a mirage that results in the tragedies of nations.
The writer is an entrepreneur from Bahawalpur and Baltimore