🦈 @giftakestime - Twitter Profile

1 day ago

The economic and demographic effects of corruption. Cost of land in our urban areas is far higher than what our GDP per capita would dictate. The ratio of land value to per capita GDP is probably higher in India than anywhere else. As an example, land prices in Chennai or Bengaluru rival that of cities like New York which has a vastly higher per capita GDP. The key reason? First, vast sums of political corruption money is parked in real estate. This raises real estate prices and high real estate prices affect everything downstream. Second, corruption in building approvals and the like - the famous DTCP - raises construction costs, on top of already higher real estate costs. Third, corruption in private school regulatory compliance enforcement raises school fees. Fourth, corruption in private hospital regulatory compliance enforcement raises health care costs. Fifth, household goods need sales outlets and those pay higher rents due to high real estate prices and construction costs. So housing, education, healthcare and household goods - all of these now cost higher. As a direct consequence, the economic burden on the average person gets worse. Young people, facing all these costs, postpone marriage, and postpone children or have fewer children. That directly affects our demographics. While this issue exists in many parts of India, Tamil Nadu, being the most urbanized of the bigger states, is particularly hit hard. So corruption is becoming an existential threat to our society. If you worry about the super-low birth rate in Tamil Nadu, way below replacement, understand that corruption raising our cost of living is one of the major causes, not the only cause, but a big one in our context.

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giftakestime retweeted

Sridhar Vembu

@svembu

5 days ago

We had nauseating, disgusting levels of corruption in Tamil Nadu under the DMK. This is known to the entire Universe, not some grand secret. It reached such Himalayan heights, their own Finance Minister, someone not corrupt who was caught up with the corrupt crowd, was complaining about it (sadly for him his remarks became public and he was demoted to became the IT Minister). This is not about ideology. Even the Marxists of Kerala, then allied with the DMK, would say how deeply corrupt the DMK was. I have always appreciated people like Shri Balagopal, the former Finance Minister of Kerala, for his devoted public service. I am sure he and I will not agree on political philosophy or ideology but I deeply respect him. If the DMK truly wants to introspect, they must start with their corruption. Instead, they spend their time attacking a messenger like me as a TVK stooge or a Brahmin or a Sanghi and so on. May be they can study Kural 423: focus on the message, even if the message comes from a "Brahmin Sanghi TVK stooge" like me: எப்பொருள் யார்யார்வாய்க் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள் மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்ப தறிவு.

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