By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (page 14)
October 20th, 2011
Many in the US have taken to the streets asserting that they are the 99% of America who are not pleased at the power and influence of the financial sector and corporations. Protesting against corporate greed and inequality both social and economic, the battle cry of the growing number of protesters is that the spoils of the top percent are obscene and that something needs to be done about the disparity in salary packages which is extremely wide. Similar cries are being heard around the world and the Occupy Wall Street protests have expanded into many forms of “Occupy”, from a sit-in outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bank, London to one outside 101 Tower in Taiwan.
What echoes clearly is that growing income inequalities and the rising cost of living have affected the 99% around the world and people are past weary and not afraid to say so. In the US, the richest 20% of Americans own 84% of all wealth. Picking up our jaws from the floor, the disconnect between value placed on the financial sector and what is generated to society is too large. This cannot be healthy for any economy. Yet in 2010, corporate America profits were at an all-time high as was Wall Street compensation. All this fresh out of a financial crisis caused by errant bankers who did not face criminal charges, with CEO salaries instead rebounding strongly (Sachs, 2011). Surely things do not tally especially when unemployment is high for the rest of America.
In his book Price of Civilisation, Jeffery Sachs points out the importance of governments to do better. Decoding major government failures in the largest democracy that have not only shattered American confidence in the country’s leaders but have also left most of the world wondering why such careless government decisions continue to ruin not just America but the global economy as well, he listed ways in which an effective government should function. Sachs’ lists his Seven Habits of Highly Effective Government, after Stephen Covey’s famous self-help book of a similar title – set clear goals, mobilise expertise, make multi-layer plans, be mindful of the far future, end corporatocracy, restore public management, and decentralise.
These habits should be the essence of all governments, but that’s being idealistic. The recent people-friendly 2012 Budget was announced with a lot of oohs and ahhs from the crowd but it certainly lacked foresight. It felt like Christmas came early with various gifts distributed to the different societal layers. It’s easy to give away money, but what about long-term solutions? Of course a budget is not the place to announce structural reforms, just opposition potshots. However such reforms need to be made beyond the next election in order for us to achieve our collective aim of efficiency, equity and sustainability.
Certain policies such as an inheritance tax need to be imposed in order to narrow the rising wealth inequality gap. Furthermore, RM500 in assistance for households earning less than RM3000 is positive, but a one-off ang pow has a limited shelf life – and a quick one at that with the rising cost of living.
The question that needs to be asked though is why are 53% of households or rather 3.4 million Malaysians earning so little and how is RM500 going to help in the long run. Our long-term economic goals need to be clearly defined especially since inflation has persisted at over 3% since the beginning of the year.
Indeed RM1.8 billion is a lot of money to give away, but what is that compared to the large sums for individual bailouts borne by the government. Each year when the Attorney-General’s Report is made public, one thing resonates clearly – that our public administration system needs to be reformed, not just with better window dressing but real reforms and unyielding anti-corruption penalties so that we are equipped for the greater complexities of the future.
Competent public administration structures and great foresight are necessary foundations of a respectable government. We want to be a high-income nation, one that is developed, yet we are still debating the details of a minimum wage. Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam, China and Cambodia have either introduced a national minimum wage standard or stipulated an industry or region-based minimum wage. Thailand just increased its minimum wage by 40%, while we play catch up when we should be setting the bar.
The 99% started their sit-in because they believe their government can do better. Ours needs to do better too.
Natalie hopes that the concerns of the 99% don’t just stay on placards but turn into a platform for sustainable and meaningful change.
Comment: letters@thesundaily.com
