Politicians are always proposing some new policy to please one of their electoral groups. However when these politicians and as a consequence government passes these laws they never look at the total consequences. Most of these laws and rules have consequences in places that are easy to see but are rarely studied and fully understood. Lets take 2 examples.
Ban on export of sugar. I always found this a strange law in India. For the longest time, sugar export is banned, restricted or constrained to certain times and certain quantities. This is ostensibly for the purpose of keeping inflation in check. But since this is not really a necessary item like wheat, rice or dal, or even onions, it is a 100% populist measure. Now when the government passes this law it has absolutely no cost to the government. So who will bear the cost for this law. Its the sugar farmers. Since the price they will get will be less, and in some cases the money they get will not be paid in time, since most of the sugar mills need exports to make some money because of other government imposed problems.
Wages for nurses. Its easy to see that nurses in Kerala were getting exploited. They were being paid a pittance and made to work long hours. So the government came in with a minimum wage law and restricted work hours. Now the government is overcompensating saying that nurses should get paid 12500 a month. The problem with this is that, the cost of all this nursing care will be passed on straight to the consumer. So you are creating one problem by solving another. Often times, besides setting a minimum wage and setting work standards that reduce exploitation, its best to leave things to the marketplace and let demand and supply take care of things.
Ban on export of sugar. I always found this a strange law in India. For the longest time, sugar export is banned, restricted or constrained to certain times and certain quantities. This is ostensibly for the purpose of keeping inflation in check. But since this is not really a necessary item like wheat, rice or dal, or even onions, it is a 100% populist measure. Now when the government passes this law it has absolutely no cost to the government. So who will bear the cost for this law. Its the sugar farmers. Since the price they will get will be less, and in some cases the money they get will not be paid in time, since most of the sugar mills need exports to make some money because of other government imposed problems.
Wages for nurses. Its easy to see that nurses in Kerala were getting exploited. They were being paid a pittance and made to work long hours. So the government came in with a minimum wage law and restricted work hours. Now the government is overcompensating saying that nurses should get paid 12500 a month. The problem with this is that, the cost of all this nursing care will be passed on straight to the consumer. So you are creating one problem by solving another. Often times, besides setting a minimum wage and setting work standards that reduce exploitation, its best to leave things to the marketplace and let demand and supply take care of things.
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