On 11/11/06, Vivian D'Souza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Dunno about Selma's experiences. Labor in Goa is now at a premium. If you > want a day laborer, you better be able to pay the price they quote and all > the extras they demand.
Yeah, so what? What Vivian says is absolutely right. But does it mean that workers here earn a good deal? It's like the case of taxis in Goa: taxis are frightfully costly. Yet, most taxi drivers earn peanuts, and don't make a decent living. Compare this with Mumbai, for instance, where you wouldn't think twice before taking a taxi... and yet the drivers there earn far better. How come? Our markets are *highly* inefficient here. Structural flaws ensure that both "buyers" and "sellers" loose out. In the case of taxi-drivers, the market is too overcrowded. Banks offer loans, without realising what would be the impact on the economy (each bank is bothered only about their own profitability.) In addition, the nature of Goa is such that 'return fares' are generally not available. To complicate matters, the Goan business ethic is to 'hit hard' the first customer that comes your way. Charge maximum. Guaranteed that the customer doesn't come back, and you have to only keep charging more to make your small-business viable! The vicious cycle, here we come.... Coconut pluckers and plumbers are hard to come by. But except for a very tiny minority (if any) or big players, these sections often find it difficult to get regular work or a steady income stream. I should know this myself, as my dad ran a small plumbing firm in past decades. So I generally avoid the middle-class fulminations about the impossible-to-find plumber! Information, or the lack of it, is one of the key factors that make the market inefficient. Goa's unusual geography (scattered, try servicing your computer or washing machine... in Parra or Cuncolim, forget about Agonda or Pissurlem) adds to the problem. The small size of the market also means that those offering their services can't depend on volumes to turn more competitive. Entrepreneurship takes a beating, leave aside the less-educated or less-competitive person who has only his or her labour to offer on sale. It is a shame that despite having so much access to telecom (and now, promises of broadband) we have not been able to use these tools to correct such basic problems. Apart from that, there is a total contempt for labour (forget about dignity!) in our caste-driven society. And whom can we blame if the son of a fisherman prefers to be a waiter in a situation where at least the White tourist doesn't regard class/caste/claste markers so strongly? It's a complex situation. You could all it a lose-lose-lose game. High time we acknowledged this and started looking for solutions. Forget about all that official bombast. FN -- FN 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 (phone calls after 1 pm please) Free the airwaves... for India's sake (see the article at the URL below) [http://www.tehelka.com/home/20061111/20061111.asp?filename=18.jpg] _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
