Rhetoric Politicking Heats Up

Having mishandled its obligation to deliver, the NRO infected government has pushed Pakistan very close to the verge of complete disaster. As such the embattled rulers have no right to claiming unearned pride. A fake delivery is a disservice and the substandard governance is based on dishonesty and incapacitation. The 2008 elections were neither fair nor were they impartial, because a number of irregularities in voters’ list did occur. Such constitutional violation is severe enough to invalidate the results. Ironically, the regime’s addiction to power is meaningless, hence irritating.
Furthermore, the tailored democracy has damaged the system beyond repair. So far the notion “democracy is the best revenge,” has proved to be nothing other than a political ploy.

Quite expectedly, the political temperature is rising up, and the mudslinging has already gotten ugly. The present government has to rely on the politics of reconciliation to continue misleading the nation for the entire tenure despite its negative contribution. However, the government remains “the principal accused” of the contagious corruption & the related governance retardation.
The troubled Railway & PIA and the electricity suppliers including WAPDA and PEPCO are among some of the examples of its failure.

In addition to the current rulers (power addicted vampires), other ‘political eagles’ are already muscling up to hunt for the vulnerable public and national resources. Indeed, that’s a source of further frustration to the general public living below poverty line. The poor people are left helpless suffering from extended hours of electricity deprivation; and are even devoid of basic necessities of life on account of the incompetent government.

Despite PM Gilani’s constitutional empowerment, Zardari is still in the driving seat - busy manuvering/begging for more and more partners. His “unnatural love affair” with the coalition partners means no more agendas based on party’s ideology. Now the commercialists, the feudal lords, the capitalists, the right wingers or the left wingers all are more than welcome on board indiscriminately - enabling the regime to battle the official opposition in the parliament. GREAT!

Oops! Wait a minute – don’t forget the favourite ministries were distributed among the joining partners as bait, of course. Though, the love affair is well insulated for the time being, it remains fragile as Altaf bhai knows exactly well how and when to screw up the rulers.

Politics of reconciliation usually ruins nation’s economy, as the constitutional requirement of check and balance is greatly compromised. In other words, a strong opposition is a guarantee that the political party in power is accountable to the parliament in session.

Unsurprisingly, the ground reality still remains that Pakistan consists of a corrupt society, where people have no choice other than living in an obsolete system. The people, at all levels, are only familiar with a corrupt environment around them. Naturally, they look for the short cuts to get things done and they know for sure about the easy way out to stay off the hook.

Furthermore, the breaking news every few hours on Pak channels is now a norm; thus the audience remain un-responsive. Certainly, the public prefers to ignore the boring stories probably because of their depressing factor.

And now, with the political activity gearing up, the mudslinging is already gone ugly. Moreover, the fresh round of debates among the politicians is already under way. Interestingly enough, political rhetoric by each party is bound to get nastier. With some exception, almost all political parties are trying to impress the public with their misleading Resume/CVs – along with false claims. Thank God, the naive general public is somewhat politically aware now, so the political wrangling definitely remains a tough sell for the political leadership with questionable past record – of no integrity.

The status quo of red tape is the product of poor governance. Even for the genuine matters of daily routine, unlawful gratification is the key for faster facilitation (jumping the queue).

Although, the magic of capitalism has forced the whole world to bend over backward intensifying the financial strain, yet with some appropriate corrective measures quite a few nations have been able to withstand the global crisis.

Most probably, no prosperous progress can be expected from a chaotic Pakistan, where anarchy or rhetoric politicking is on the rise. An ongoing prolonged hours load shedding has crushed the national industries leading to unemployment, lower exports, lower foreign exchange, expensive items of basic necessities of life and less tax collection. Poor governance prepares a breeding ground - ripe for corruption-- from top to bottom. Pathetic!
The uncontrolled power theft is also adding to the misery. Shortage of natural gas, CNG and petrol all are negatively contributing factors. Sadly, the defiant rulers and the incompetent functionaries are unable to appreciate and follow the Law and Constitution as required.

In this tug o war, main players are already on the front line in anticipation of the upcoming general elections in 2013.
As Pakistan has been facing serious challenges for quite a while, there is no time left for political intrigues. In fact, there is an urgent need for a massive common action in search of a positive change to find a flawless political system via re-structuring to defuse the messy condition.

Message is clear: Just be Pakistani! Language and ethnicity card is too dangerous and embarrassing if used for political gains.

A quicker reversal of the ongoing “negative momentum” is absolutely necessary so that a capable political leadership is in place before it’s too late. Historically, such situation gets worse before it gets better to settle the dust for a positive change. Certainly, Pakistan’s woes are far from over unless and until the whole society comes on a single page with heart and soul.

Recessionary Hangover

IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE

Canadian recovery from the last ‘recession’ remains highly vulnerable as it’s going to be overtaken by another dip in the global economy. Fingers are being pointed to the ailing Euro as the faltering economies of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal as well as the level of debt they carry.

The contagious debt crisis in Europe can spread from country to country leaving no one immune from its terrible adverse effects upon the various peoples of the world directly or indirectly.

Most worrisome is the market trading up and down on the ongoing turmoil linked to Greece's debt along with the related/potential failure of the “entire Euro zone.”

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) took notice of the deepening concern about the alarming turmoil and uncertainty within Europe and the USA. Furthermore, financial analysts do believe that Greece is now virtually certain to default on its debt late this year or early next year; may be followed by Spain and Italy too.



google image

Optimistically, Germany feels quite differently and claims, “Once a ‘financial lifeboat’ is prepared, then default by a single member of the Euro can’t be catastrophic.”

In fact, a recession being part of economic cycle is a period of time when the economy contracts due to negative economic growth. It clearly means if the growth remains low, there is an increased spare capacity and increased unemployment. Lower output, lower investment, higher unemployment, increased PSNCR (the amount of money the government borrows to meet its expenditure) and inflationary pressure are seen as disturbing factors against the economic normalcy. Technically speaking, a falling economic growth for two consecutive quarters indicates a period of economic recession.

Currently, share prices are falling in Europe, Christine Lagarde Director IMF commented that the world was in “a very dangerous place.” The president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, talked of concerns that ‘contagion’ would negatively affect emerging economies, as well as the economies of developing nations as the jitter in our own stock markets testifies.

Nevertheless, the top base metal choice is copper, and China accounts for about 40 per cent of global demand for the metal. Yet, a recent drop of price (of copper below three US dollars per pound for the first time in 14 months) signals another loss of investors' confidence that China’s appetite for commodities is strong enough to prevent another global recession.

Clearly, there is a risk out there that China might be slowing more than we anticipate.

On the other hand, even Canada's economy is facing unnoticeable growth prospects through 2011 as a recessionary hangover continues abroad and headwinds emerge at home according to a new report from CIBC World Markets Inc. http://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/fsep10.pdf

At the moment, Canadian economy is also somewhat softening in many sectors. A pessimistic export picture is being blamed on the sluggish global recovery as well as the competitive challenges of a strong Canadian dollar. Nevertheless, Canadian currency is already on its downward trend against the green back.

Image source: Google

Since the U.S. economy is most likely to experience a major drag on growth, overseas economic growth looks too much lopsided with possible negative repercussions on the Canadian economy of course. Other concerns are falling house prices and reduced use of credit that could lead Canadian consumers to cut spending growth.

A cut in immigration quota and retiring baby boomers are simply adding to the scenario.

As the key feature in determining the rate of economic growth remains the level of consumer and business confidence, therefore, with high confidence, rate hikes may not reduce demand.

But, if the U.S. is hit by another recession, Canada would not be able to escape unhurt.

Presently, Canada's economy is on a much better footing than those of the U.S. and other countries, yet fear of recession is genuine under the terrible global turmoil.

To safeguard Canadian economic wellness, the bank of Canada is expected to give new direction about interest rates hikes in the next spring. This action would be causing a pause slowing capital inflow. Resultantly, a huge trade deficit is likely to push the Canadian dollar into the neighbourhood of 92 cents U.S. over the next six months.



A weaker labour market means that consumer demand should remain soft. The proposed austerity measures will also keep a lid on domestic demand, and renewed concerns over sovereign debt risks will weigh on business and financial market sentiment. Canadian imperial bank of commerce (CIBC) expects that the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will take time in raising interest rates.

Moreover, higher rates still pose a longer term threat for gold.

recession worry (google image)

Global recession is still looming and the international finance officials are struggling to reassure markets that Europe will not be tipped into a continent-wide meltdown by a Greek loan default.

The “European indebted countries” still have a way to prepare a strong rescue package, but the short term health of Canadian economy can be in jeopardy again.

Unfortunately, the previous failure to stave off European economic crises of 2008-09 hit the Canadian economy  severely, therefore,  Prime Minister Harper is seriously considering adapting policies accordingly to deal with double digit recession by putting deficit reduction plan on hold.

Diplomatically, Canada backs promises by the IMF and the G20 Meeting in France to help out the European authorities to deal with the widening debt crisis on the continent.

Canada’s majority government is in a “win-win situation” to provide the needed stability in difficult economic times. Similarly, the Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates stable, should the U.S. economy stumble.

It’s more than encouraging that Canada’s economy started the third quarter on a high note, easing fears of another recession. Harper stresses need for belt tightening measures in Europe and the US to trim their heavy debt loads.

According to some experts, a collective stimulus spending is an effective tool to re-generate the world economy. 
Historically speaking, time is what cures a recession, not bailouts.