Who is to blame for prices getting up and up?
Government said: Welfarism is no good.
Media reported: no welfarism, welfarism is bad. Don't bankrupt the countries. So because of anti-welfarism policy so forcefully laid down at the highest level - departments after departments seek to recover costs and operated as cost-centres.
Next the ministers said: We must not increase fees by too much but will increase them only gradually to be less painful instead of all at one go.
Media reported: oh very reasonable increases, that is good.
Next the ministers said: We must retain talents and pay for talents otherwise you pay peanuts and get monkeys.
Media echoed: Talents are good. More degrees and pedigrees. All are talents and paid as talents and given talents promotions to senior, principal, senior-principals and superscales A-G. The whole civil service cost jumped.
Next, ministers said privatisation and corporatization is the way to go. Minstry by ministry, department by department, many services are corporatized to be on par with private practices to bear less costs but charge more. Before long, all department must be self-sufficient. So costs go up and up and up. National surpluses went up because taxes are kept aside for accumulations. Land costs are recovered like the private sector practice even though lands were acquired at nominal costs under Land Acquisition law.
Until the root causes of our price increases are studied, recognized and excesses tempered, how can costs not go up?
