Sunday, June 26, 2011

How Bad Economics Made Mauritius A Sad Place


Cutting top tax rates by 50% required that the economy grow, on average, at a robust rate: 8% instead of the usual 5%. Maybe a bit less if you got slightly better collections from the MRA and reduced wastage levels. But as the above graphic shows the economy never grew close to where it should have to justify the flat tax. Which would explain why fiscal policy literally became a game of Nintendo and decisions that would have improved our competitiveness and your living conditions took a backseat for several years.

The multi-billion rupee revenue shortfall was financed with a pile of debt too much of which was denominated in foreign currency. Making us more vulnerable. Bean-counters are now likely to ask that the State sell several of its assets which would drastically narrow the opportunities of the many while expanding those of the few. This of course is not the Labour Party's idea of the State.

27 comments:

Ptr Die Hard member said...

Acote mo duster ete, efface ca vite! Pas necessaire dire zot tout ca.

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Non? Nu koz lor kuma Doing Business "relevant" alors?

lakeminou said...

Vous ne croyez pas si bien dire Mons. Jagatsingh. Connaissez-vous la sois-disante specialisation de MAM?

Attardez-vous un brin de temps sur les "seminal papers". Tout devient claire, n'est-ce-pas?

Anonymous said...

Lakeminou, thesis not completed - ki kalite qualifikation ca? explik moi un peu?

akagugo said...

"creative thinking" = copy-paste whatever has not worked from elsewhere / another context and dump it on us?
Wai do!

Anonymous said...

Just read about another one , on Lexpress ,who says he preaches good governance.

ca un maru pays ca ici la

Anonymous said...

Just asking, Is MAM on the High Level Project Monitoring and Implementation Unit?

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Ala enn lot ki pe predir mirak kuma privatiz bann itilite piblic. Enn ti kestyon eski se avek ou sans stimulus pakeg?

Ek kuran ki ti arive? Nu truv mirak la lor nu faktir sak mwa, nespa Andre?

Sekin arive se ki penda 5 banane ti pe esper robust growth ek 2 ti kopin ti pe dir nu bann minis: paisa naiba.

Anonymous said...

Capave privatizer, we need to be selective, guetter coument MBC ca matelo bizin privatizer meme ca!

Anonymous said...

We can call this "Trou Sithanen" in our patois!

Anonymous said...

trou bheenick and how he was forced to step down is never mentioned here

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

A tale of two trous:

Trou Bheenick=>minister steps down=>becomes minister of economic development=>has been governor since 2007.

Trou Sithanen=>minister who always carried letter of resignation in pocket refuses to resign when should have=>dumped before last general elections=>got "international" job=>back with "domestic" job.

Trou Bheenick widely reported in main media. Trou Sithanen? Celebrated as robust growth/early harvest/bumper crop in main media.

Hallelujah!!!

Anonymous said...

still trous are trous. why not write a book on the rama trou:

A best seller you could call:

'Anatomy of the virtual growth - the R.S years'

Now that I have given you a good title, 2 percent of sales commission for me!

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

2%? Baap re baap! Lesli mo burzwaz(burzwa?)

Ala enn: Black Paul's Toohrooh.

Anonymous said...

And yeah the Bheenick Trou was not that honourable as you make it sound. He clearly misled us.In the US such a trou maker would have been thrown into a much bigger trou of history.

Now dont say he is the only one who can look aftre our rupee!

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Guess what you are saying is that the better a trou-maker you are the deeper the trou of history you get thrown into.

Trou Bheenick was something like Rs700 million, right?

Question: How big you think is Trou Sithanen?

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

And no he is not the only one to look after our rupee. But he is certainly one of the best persons we have to do this.

Anonymous said...

Trou Rama is huge, that's why I asked you to write that book(my 2 percent is just a small bonus)......just think about it - JDCL will line up to have his book signed by you at the lauching event!

Still I don't like people full of vanity making trous - virtual(since Beenick's was just a lie)or real like that of Rama.

akagugo said...

@ Anonymous of July 1, 2011 10:36 AM & Anonymous of July 1, 2011 11:59 AM:

Rien que pour ça, nou bizin dakor ki Bheenick was the best person at the moment: he upheld the law as as a responsible Governor. If you believe you can do better now in resisting GLD's and what not, well, by all means, we beg you to go ahead. Merci d'avance.

@ SJ:
Why "Black Paul", please? I can understand the source of the "Black", but the "Paul" part eludes me completely.
I'd propose: "Reform, Robust Growth, Early Harvest and Bumper Crop: C'est un Plaisir"

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Politik moneter korek. Se laksyon guvernmental ki bizin revwar a tut vites. PM bizin kas so somey.

Paul dan Black Paul se akoz Rama so politik ekonomik parey kuma Berenger, En fet Polo a drwat ek Rama a lextrem extrem drwat: disaster capitalism.

Anonymous said...

RS was dubbed Black Paul by Ramapathee G in the wake of the latter's initial bid to launch his Tote company. After Paul's embargo he thought that his initiative would be backed by Navin in 2000. But c'etait sans compter avec l'autre esclave (fully empowered by ce meme Navin) de qui vous savez. Donc apres Paul c'etait Black Paul qui entrava sa demarche jusqu'a ce que Navin decida d'intervenir...

akagugo said...

@ SJ:
Disaster Capitalism? You mean like this? By the way, Canal+ was airing N Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" on last Saturday: I'm still... shell-shocked!

@ Anonymous of July 1, 2011 9:29 PM:
Merci, merci boukou!
Mais, si mo comprend bien, dans cas Ramapathee G's Tote, Rama pas ti content betting, mais apré en 2009-2010, limem ti pé rode servi kass betting tax pou finans enn government body pou conseil bann betting-addicts...? Wai do!

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

@akagugo:
Ya samem. Ti fini truv dan so zwe depi ase lontan (mo dimann mwa sipa mo bizin rod enn lisens pu fer kompetisyon ek Madam Kwok ;-)).

Canal ti zwe sa usi ena inpe letan ek Rezistans so sware End of Poverty (laba ki gagn bon dalpuri!!!) ti tret mem zafer.

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Prezidan MID Fund Committee dir linn demisyone parski finans pe pran kas fonla pu fer lot zafer.

Kifer finans fer sa ein?

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Ein, zis pu sa lane la toohrooh pu kav 4 milyar. Depi komye lane pe fer reform bidon la?

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Should update this toohrooh given that growth rates over the last four consecutive years have been less than 4%. Which is half the 8% promised.

Sanjay Jagatsingh said...

Flat tax = no money to solve problems and... shoddy work?