Hot air not enough.

Commenting on an interview with our most revered Prime Minister a foot-licking editorial on HT online today says," Mr Singh has, with his acuity as an economist, already identified the steps needed to restore investment climate." Wow, really? So, what are the magic steps that our Great Leader identified? 1. Taxes will be fair and transparent for all classes of investors. What about the largest investors, the people, dying of extortionate taxes on Speed Post to hospitals to passports? Taxes add to inflation and reduce demand. 2. Government borrowing crowding out private investment will be curbed. How? It was your government that increased salaries of millions of useless civil servants by 80%, started the inflationary MNREGA scheme which has idled rural labor by paying them Rs 162/day for 100 days a year for doing nothing and forgave loans to farmers resulting in the soaring fiscal deficit, uncontrolled inflation and the collapsing rupee. Money wasted can never be reclaimed. 3. Household savings will be weaned off gold for more fruitful deployment of capital markets. The reason people are buying gold despite such high prices is because they do not trust you. Money in banks loses value because the rate of inflation is higher than the interest it earns and stock markets are completely manipulated by crooks. Increasing taxes on gold will only encourage smuggling and give birth to another Haji Mastan. Remember him? 4. The government will lower its reaction time to business proposals. The reason it takes so long is because your old friends, the bureaucrats, will do nothing without a hefty bribe. That is why your government has used every trick in the book, from beating sleeping protesters to death in the middle of the night to outright slander of civil society activists, to prevent a strong Lok Pal from coming into existence. 5. The emphasis on infrastructure spending will be renewed, which means more joint ventures with industry. The PPP model is a disaster because of taxes and bribes. Companies constructing roads are desperate to sell out because frequent tolls keep cars away. In other countries cars outnumber trucks and buses by 10 to 1 while in India it is the opposite. Delhi Airport is the most expensive in the world. Freeport AG, the world's second largest airport operator, is thinking of selling its 10% stake in Delhi Airport. Meanwhile Airport Authority earned Rs 29.35 billion from taxes. Give us specifics, facts and figures, on how you will accomplish all that you say. We will role up our sleeves, put our shoulders to the wheel, grit our teeth, strain our sinews, use the sweat of our brows, all these are horse dung. Tell us how you will reduce fiscal and current account deficits, control inflation and reduce government spending. To do that you will have to stand up and be a man. Can you?