I am an economically challenged person. Don't understand the meaning
of the numbers being cited. It does not matter about the magnitudes,
the quantities, and the accuracy of the stats. But what in essence
does it mean, when someone cites X-crores being lost in Y number of
Bondhos and thus Assam is set beck by Z number of years?
** Does it mean that the 'sorkar' lost revenue? If so, which
sorkar, Assam or Central?
** Does it mean that amount of money has evaporated or does it mean
that exchange of goods and services estimated to be worth that much
did not take place?
** Does it mean productivity amounting to that much did not take place?
** Does it mean the numbers are a combination of some or all of the
above?
The reasons for my asking are these:
I think ( I am not sure obviously), the numbers do not tell us much.
They would mean something substantial only when PRODUCTIVITY of goods
and services produced is impacted substantially, and when salary
and profits are impacted.
What is the worth of goods produced in Assam? Not much to begin with.
Assam gets peanuts for its oil, paid as royalty for crude. The rest
goes to the Center, doesn't it? The employees get paid anyway.
The govt. and the lrgest employer does not produce anything--or
almost nothing, anyway. So any value assigned to it would be a fiction.
Commerece, exchange of goods in trade may suffer, consumption
level may drop on those days of the Bondhos, but will be compensated
by increases on the non-Bondho days. Again the employees will get paid
anyway.
Not to suggest here that the Bondhos don't have negative impacts on
society. They obviously do.
But those numbers? I think they are mostly an attempt to look
'scientific', meaning very little.
So where am I wrong :-)?
cm
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