Do as I say, not as I do

The phrase ‘do as I say, not as I do’ appears to be as old as time — or as old as language, at the very at least. Given how ubiquitous it has been through the ages, one wonders if being a hypocrite is an intrinsic part of being in charge. It is almost predictable at this point. Whenever the government releases a tax directory, how little those at the very top contribute to our national revenue never ceases to amaze. Publicly, they may rail at length at the ‘corrupt’ and spare no effort exhorting the masses to pay backbreaking taxes. But when it comes to their own selves, well “do as I say, not as I do”.

Only five parliamentarians make for as much as 60 per cent of the taxes paid by our so-called public representatives, the recently released tax directory for the 2018 tax year shows. Ironically, it is a member of the ruling party’s rival faction — former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi — who leads the list of the highest taxpaying lawmakers in the country. How far the taxes our legislators pay reflect their income is for the experts to figure out. But it does not take more than a lay person to notice that by and large, our leaders’ lifestyles are incommensurate with what they pay back.

One wonders what our lawmakers really think about those who vote them to power. Do they really believe that people buy what they peddle or is it a case of outright contempt for the common person’s intellect? In any case, for them and for the country, this path is ultimately untenable. As our experience with the novel coronavirus pandemic and indeed that of many other nations showed, in times of real crisis, there is nothing worse than having a ‘low-trust’ society to deal with. Unfortunately, that is what is borne out of such blatant disregard for laws that our leaders themselves frame.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2020.

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