Marketing experts usually try to gather attention and attract customers by posting huge advertisements displaying “SALE” or “% OFF” outside their business premises or on high street malls to boost their sales.
This same tactic is being worked out by Goa’s present ruling party by gifting freebies ranging from free doles to housewives, VAT free petrol, pension scheme etc. etc. They have recently launched the free LED bulbs scheme and also the Health Insurance scheme. This scheme had already been started by the Central government to issue LED bulbs at Rs.25 to every household in India. The Goa government seemed fit to exploit this golden opportunity to bear that amount so that every household will get cost free LED bulbs and the government hopefully their votes is return. Does any government which gives free gifts to the people in return for their votes is necessarily a better government? No Minister or an MLA has ever contributed their personal income for funding any of the free schemes that the government unleashes one after another to woo the people for votes but are financed by the money we pay by way of taxes every time we spent a rupee from our wallet at the local convenience store. A people’s-friendly government could have simply reduced the taxes so that the common man could have bought their household items at a much cheaper price at the local market. Idea of freebies is simply a publicity stunt by the government to win back the hearts and confidence of the people which it desperately needs for the ensuing election to refurbish their sunken image in the people’s minds and avoid public backlash. Much more surprising is simply why the country’s defense minister has to grace every occasion over the weekend that the Goa government unfolds to increase its TRP ratings with the people of Goa. It would have been appreciated if the government representatives reach out to each and every village and see for themselves where they have failed rather than only beat their own chests at their own Party funded functions and birthday bashes at the tax payer’s expense.
Goans today are being sadly lured by the political establishment by promising freebies like LED bulbs and maybe followed by free tube lights and their free notebooks for their kids. They could have easily reduced the electricity/water tariff if they wanted to so that the light/water bill does not give the common man a shock. No one will promise them one day’s free meal or dinner or a free holiday or a free trip to the Holy land while ministers shamelessly proceed on a holiday tours in the name of promoting football or tourism with their families at the cost of the tax payer. The government has very little to showcase for its performance while in power that they are desperately trying to woo Goans with free LED bulbs hopefully with a five year warranty period. Goa’s infrastructure is still Portugueze era while our roads repairs come with an expiry period and our cities still bear the brunt of traffic with no solution in sight while our educated youth prefer to go abroad due to lack opportunities in Goa. I would say dear Goans, take everything home that comes free as the cost of it has been already recovered from the taxes you pay as we have to realize that in economics there is nothing which is free other than the air we breathe!
The endless queues we see for completing the formalities for gaining these freebies show that we Goans will forget all our ethics when the government free gifts come with a big “FREE” offer. When the free LED bulbs start to light our homes, remember the bulb has not come free but you have indirectly paid for it. At elections time, we will have more offers to come and more discounts to follow. Truth is the freebies come with a simple price tag saying “In Return For your Vote!”.
