Anand Virgincar note the following: 1: Goa's gross domestic product has increased from approximately 10 million US dollars in 1980 to an estimated 3500 million US dollars in 2007....And remember, we are only taking the white economy into account here.
2: Has the living standard of the average Goan increased in proportion to this ? 3: If not , where has the money gone ? 4: I submit that there is no point in just pouring charitable finances into Goa. 5: Before that , we need to decrease the leakage. 6: And the only way to do it is to have a stable, competent and responsible government in situ over a long term. == jc's response: a: I agree entirely with what Anand has written above. b: Because of my limited knowledge of economic matters, I'd apply two calculating factors to limit the skew between 1980 and 2007 i.e. the escalation of the cost of Xitkodi and the depreciation of the value of the USD. In effect then, it can be said that Goa's GDP in 1980 was 500 million PDD (present day dollars). c: Anand's question remains as relevant for 1980 as it is for 2007. Where has the money gone? d: It might also be of worth to recap the 'spin' which had been marketed for years that most of Goa's wealth (and "gold") was swiped by the Portuguese!. Interesting stuff!!. With all the alleged swiping, Portugal remained poor and some of the Goans and Maharashtrians became filthy rich. Wah re Wah! e: There is no need to be an Einstein to decipher where the money went and will continue to go. f: It is crucial to realise that the land and clean water resources of Goa are being demolished while Goan Catholics and Hindus are being divided by nonsense like bogus history VideoCDs and fairy tale stories about the 1950s alleged Freedom Fighters. Where are they or theirs now? Should we not sue them for Negligence?. g: I add my extra support to the point that in order 'to decrease the leakage' Goa needs a 'a stable, competent and responsible government in situ over a long term'. I add a caveat to that. Such a government must not have its apron strings to a partisan group who can call the shots from Delhi. h: At this moment - it rules out Digambar Kamat and Manohar Parrikar in their present dispositions. i: I am a firm believer in Manohar Parrikar's ability to lead a stable, competent, responsible and less corrupt government in Goa for a prolonged period. What I am not convinced of - is his ability to shake of the apron strings which tie him to the very same financial leaks that Anand writes about. I am also not convinced that Manohar Parrikar is either willing or able to shake off his RSS connections. j: That inability or unwillingness on Parrikar's part will make him incapable of providing the type of government that Anand is rightly suggesting for goa. k: I do understand that it is unfair for anyone to ask Manohar Parrikar to cut loose from the RSS. It is also unfair for anyone to expect that a continuing RSS Manohar Parrikar will be any less inequitable than he was the last time around. l: It is a catch 22 that Goa will unfortunately have to live with and suffer as a result of. m: The writing has always been on the wall: When two members of the same family cannot compromise enough to build trust amongst each other, a "bhaillo" will swipe their sheth ani bhaatt! sincerely jc