A decent goal this Eid

As Muslims across the country reap the spiritual benefits of fasting throughout Ramazan, traders are hoping to make a financial killing. This year they expect to rake in as much as Rs60 billion, the highest since 2016. A year before that (2015) the PML-N government was able to set a record profit of Rs70 billion, living up to its business credentials. However, a turbulent economy with a weakening rupee and rising inflation thwarted growth in the years that followed. Meeting this year’s Rs60 billion goal is ambitious considering last year’s slump of Rs40 billion, but it would be an indication that the economic situation is improving.

It bodes well that we are a goods-based economy and that materialism runs rampant in the South Asian culture. Additionally, over time, in keeping with global trends, we have commercialised sacred holidays and adopted others for economic gain. We acknowledge that the Ramazan season has been torturously hot, resulting in low commercial activity for merchants. Furthermore, it would be a positive movement to see consumers in stores rather than stashing cash away.

However, on a separate note, the socioeconomic gap between the rich and the poor still serves as a grim reminder of the disparities that comprise our economy. The large difference in earnings for a pushcart vegetable seller versus a major grocery store franchise indicates a form of societal injustice that seems to be garnering no attention. In another example, the amount earned in monthly wages by a housekeeper might be spent on one evening meal out by someone else. This is a phenomenon elsewhere in the world, too, but is perhaps more infrequent there, noting that approximately 30 per cent of our population survives below the poverty line. Therefore, while we hope to see more consumers pumping money into the economy, there is significant improvement to be made at the macroscopic level insofar as economic equality is concerned.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2018.

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