One of the reasons attributed for the Financial meltdown of 2008 was the short sighted behaviour of the CEO's and other Senior Executives of the Financial Institutions world wide, who put personal short term goals ahead of the long term health of the Organization and the Economy. In order to earn performance linked fat bonuses, they turned a blind eye to policies and products that were doomed to fail. So called 'innovative' derivatives that were churned out by these Financial Whizkids were aimed at attracting customers in the short term, but not taking into consideration the impact in the long run. Most of them were, in a way, akin to Ponzi Schemes. Prudent Financial Discipline was given a go by, and mortgage loans were given to people who couldn't afford them, creating a Real Estate and Housing bubble that burst at the first prick made by a small needle. How the behaviour of these individuals brought their companies down and took the global economy with them is history.
There is a striking similarity to the 2008 Financial Market scenario with what is happening in the Political front in India during the last few years. Congress and UPA has taken a very very short sighted view to somehow get back to power. They have splurged public money, not on Planned Expenditure, but on welfare schemes that are leaking and are totally unproductive. The avowed objective is to win votes at the cost of the nation. There is no long term vision. Minority (read Muslim) pampering has reached absurd levels. Muslim youth cannot be arrested as per the Home Minister of India, while Karnataka Congress Chief openly exhorts Muslims to not repay loans. How Akhilesh Yadav, BSP and Congress turned a blind eye to the equally guilty Muslims in the Muzzafarpur Riots is known to all. It is a game of one upmanship where the loser is the Country. Fearing negative reaction from Muslims, the Defence Minister craftily declares an invasion by Pak Army as one done my Terrorists dressed in Pak Army Uniforms. The PM is uncaring if our Jawans are beheaded. MNREGS, Loan Waiver, Ordinance against MP disqualification and finally the thoughtless creation of Telengana is tearing the Country apart. For a few seats, Congress, which sat on Telengana demand for more than a decade, came out with a hastily pronounced decision, without arriving at a consensus. And the result is for all to see. Contrast this with how NDA under Vajpayee created Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhan, without any ripple.
One can just hope that, while no one could save the Global Economy from crashing in 2008, at least the electorates are wise enough to throw the Congress and UPA to the Bay of Bengal in the 2014 elections.
