Budget 2022 is set to be released in a few days. On the 1st of February 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will open her tablet and read out how the government money is to be allocated amongst the people of India and departments that work for the people of India. Almost every year, like clockwork, the middle-class becomes incredibly unhappy about the Budget. We collectively rue the fact that there were no rebates for the salaries class even though the salaried class pays their taxes diligently.
Nobody really knows what might happen this time. The government may or may not give rebate to the salaries class. However, before that, we must talk about the disgruntlement that we will all deal with it that does not happen.
No government in India can ever satisfy the over swelling Indian Middle class. By some conservative estimates, it is a whopping 500 million out of the 1400 million population of the country which is around 35% of our population. I am a part of this hallowed giant group and am fully aware of what we contribute to society and what our expectations from society are.
In this huge oceanic mass of middle class, there are sub classes like upper middle class middle-middle class and lower-middle class and on the bottom and top fringes you have upper- upper Middle class and Lower-lower Middle class. Therefore, five loosely defined buckets exist in this bulging populace.
While the Middle Class covers a wide spectrum of people whose earning also varies greatly, it is also true that a bulk of this class is in a cozy comfort zone. Most so called middle class guys especially in big cities own a decent home. They have flat TV sets, of course with a fire stick, a nice music system, couple of lap tops, a good broad band connection, one expensive smart phone for every member of the house, air conditioners, microwave, gas connection(s), mixer grinder, cutlery crockery, silverware, oven toasters, car etc. Their children study in the best schools and colleges and afford good tuition classes as well. Our middle class is the one who are hard bargainers too. They happily bargain with everyone and look for discounts from even bhaji wala, poor Matka or Gamla wala. On a traffic light would jump the signal and argue with the cop too, ‘kuch lei de ke khatam karo na’.
They eat out once in a while and more or less, leave a decent lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with this. The middle class earns their money and spends it as they deem fit and everyone is entitled to a decent lifestyle. If they earn their money to fulfil that lifestyle, so be it.
What, however, is intriguing is that the middle class is the one group that seems to be the unhappiest. The middle class often criticizes every system, never appreciate any government effort and forward hundreds of jokes on the sarkar and the government machinery.
The government in the last six seven years has made serious efforts to give some very basic amenities to the poor who are far below the middle-class spectrum. Gas, bank account, electricity, Health cover, toilettes in rural areas and such like basic existential things which any human being requires.
This is a large number of people and for them, it is a life-changer! I am so happy to see our safai karamchari now asking for his monthly salary in a cheque and refusing cash payment. Now he has a bank account and comes with his passbook! You can see the look of pride in his eyes and on his face. Now he feels he is as good as any one of us. This is the biggest leveller or equalizer.
I remember how I felt when as a school kid my dad took me to a bank and opened a small savings account. It is the same feeling of pride more than anything else for everyone who has got an account in the bank through Jan Dhan Yojana.
These are the ‘have nots’. And they are contented and grateful for what you do for them.
The best way to describe ever complaining attitude of our middle class is by looking at a middle-class wedding function. The hosts usually spend a lot of time, effort and money to get the wedding going and leave no stone unturned to ensure that all guests are looked after.
A nice food spread is laid out for the dinner and as they depart it is time to thank the host profusely for the lovely dinner and hospitality. As soon as they are outside the venue they are now free to dissect the wedding arrangements. A usual comment is ‘Bhai, everything was very good but the Jalebi garam nahi thee’.
It is true that the middle-class gets paltry little in terms of direct benefits from the government. It is also true that most taxpayers are from the middle class. They earn their living, pay their dues to the government and live a lifestyle that is comfortable at worst. Before the budget, the expectation of the middle-class soars and if they are not met, all hell often breaks loose. It is true that the middle-class deserves a break, however, for the government, it is important to think in terms of the have-nots. To ensure that they are uplifted. To create a new middle-class that can later tell the governments that they did nothing for them.
The middle-class will have to realise that all the public spending on infrastructure and amenities does favour them. Would they be the middle class had roads and railways not been developed? If highways were not made? The Airports will be used by the middle-class to go on their hard-earned vacations. The new medical colleges will help their children. And from the suburban infrastructure to gramin markets, would be used to make the middle-class section’s life easier. Our tax money goes into the development of the very facilities we use and feel entitled to because we pay taxes. Congress lost its vote base in the middle-class because of the rampant corruption and not particularly because of the kind of socialism they practised.
Largely, the middle-class is content if they know their tax money is being used to uplift the nation without the pilferage that became synonymous with Congress. With the BJP using the tax money, perhaps it is time for the middle-class to not get too disgruntled if rebates are not provided. As a middle-class person myself, I sure hope it is. We need a break. But if it is not, I will find it in my wisdom to calm down and realise that my tax money is being used for the right purposes.
