So, the newly elected Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Maoist party's second-in-command, has outlined highlights of the upcoming budget. Here are some:
- Relief to civil servants and those displaced by conflict ("to boost the national economy")
- Allowances to elderly people and widows (why not introduce a valid federal mandated Medicare and Medicaid kind of program rather than giving allowances based on pure discretion?)
- Salary of lower level government employees would be increased
- Emphasis on industrialization and boosting economy to increase per capita income
- Support to families of martyrs and those displaced by the state during the armed conflict
The budget is due mid-September. Does not these few highlights sound inflationary? Note that at present the inflation level is hovering around 9 percent.
