Back after a long hiatus. Lots of changes and some more expected. Whatever. :)
I was somewhat taken aback at the largesse showered upon the victorious T20 team (does anyone else think that it sounds like a new Terminator model number?). BCCI, I can understand. They have fleeced the paying public and the TV channels and probably have enough moolah to drown their cricketers in. Where, however, do the state governments get the money from? Is my hard-earned (gasp!) and not-quite-cheerfully-given tax money at work here?!
I have a basic problem with the guv'mint putting their paws in entertainment and sports. From a governing point of view, aren't these non-essentials? Why should my taxes be used to reward sportsmen and artists? Why not labourers and farmers or software engineers or CEOs? A token of appreciation is probably fine, but what's with the plots of land and petrol pumps and cash rewards? Why have I never gotten a flat for writing good code?!
The other hot topic today is "peformance"-linked pay for govt employees. I have a better idea. Why not simply auction off the services of the govt employees to the highest bidder? Completely transparent. You want your file processed? Pay more than the rest and move it to the top of the queue. And since it will be competetive bidding, the govt employees will get as much money as the work they do, and sometimes more money depending on how many people are desperate to get their work done on a given day. What about the poor people? They anyway can't get their work done now without paying a bribe so they will be no worse off. In fact they might be able to get their work done on days when there is less demand.
