Universal Minimum Pension ?
Context :
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister calls for higher retirement age / Eco Times / 17 Aug 2021
Extract :
Ø EAC-PM has recommended :
# Increase the retirement age ( no mention till what age )
# Introduce Universal Pension Income programme for ALL old people ( to begin with for old people
living in districts identified under the Aspirational District Programme
# Pay a minimum pension of Rs 1500 – 2500 per month ( at least 50 % more than the minimum
wages in the country )
# It must be “ non-contributory “ scheme ( - meaning, person receiving pension does not pay )
# Overall pension amount being financed equally by the Central and the State Governments
# The pension amount must be based on BUDGETARY TAXATION INSTRUMENTS
# Pension amount to be credited through Direct Benefit Transfers ( DBT )
# An improvement in FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY of the Atal Pension Yojana , besides
strengthening the Scheme to bring many informal sector workers under its ambit
# Increase in “ Retirement Age “ to align it with increasing “ Life Expectancy “
# The government must ensure that the ratio of “ WORKING LIFE “ to “ TIME SPENT IN
RETIREMENT “ , remained at least stable in the long run
# Data-driven policy measures for the elderly
# Subsidized and Quality Healthcare
# Food Security programmes
# Digital Literacy among the elderly
# Income Security coverage
# Govt-owned Old-Age homes with more than bare minimum facilities
MY TAKE :
Ø This Universal Pension Income ( UPI ) is , perhaps, the BEST recommendation so far by EAC . It is far more sensible than Universal Basic Income ( UBI )
Ø I urge Shri Modiji to discuss this with all the State Chief Ministers and convince them to join
Ø Target should be to implement this scheme ( at least, the pilot project ) by 01 April 2023
Ø I further urge PM not to raise Personal Income Tax of some 3 crore tax-payers to fund this scheme, whose financial burden is shown below :
YEAR | Population of OLD ( > 60 yrs) | Pension Proposed |
| Annual Burden |
|
|
|
|
|
2019 | 139 million | (ave) Rs 2000 PM | Rs 24,000 / Year | Rs 3.36 Lakh*Crore |
|
|
|
|
|
2950 | 319 million ( 2.8 times growth in 30 years ) | (ave) Rs 2000 PM | Rs 24,000 / Year | Rs 7.65 Lakh*Crore |
Ø Next 18 months ( till roll out on 01 April 2023 ) should be used to put in place, a robust portal, which will capture following data about our ( citizen ) population ( NPR ? ) :
Ø
# Entire CURRENT POPULATION details (with birthdates to auto determine AGE , everyday )
# All births with full details of every New-Born ( Birthdate ) – to know when reaching age of 60
# All deaths with full details of the deceased of ANY age ( birthdate of deceased will tell whether to
discontinue DBT , if that person was above 60 and getting UPI )
Ø Since not all persons above 60 may even “ want “ to get UPI , there should be provision ( on the portal ) for them to “ OPT OUT “. Many “ above 60 “ persons are well-to-do and / or , being well taken care of by their children. As it happened in case of “ Subsidized LPG cylinder Scheme “ , these people may want to , voluntarily give-up their claim
Ø It is simply impossible to decide in advance , who among those 60 + is POOR – and deserves UPI
Ø Could there be any advantage of linking UPI with e-RUPI scheme just announced ? Of course , e-RUPI vouchers are not only “ RECEPIENT SPECIFIC “ but also “ PURPOSE SPECIFIC “ , whereas a recepent of UPI may want to spend his monthly Rs 2,000 for any purpose !
Ø For funding UPI , government may want to introduce an EXPENDITURE TAX , applicable to any DIGITAL PAYMENT of Rs 50,000 or more. Obviously, the RICH would end-up paying such Expenditure Tax and this will not burden MIDDLE CLASS to finance UPI
Ø To ensure that there is no opposition but an all-around acceptance , I suggest :
> Name this as UNIVERSAL PENSION TAX
> Commit that it will be used exclusively for funding UPI and nothing else
Is there any other way that we can fund UPI , without burdening middle class ?
It seems China too is facing the same question.
Without revealing specifics, China seems to be saying :
THE RICH ( WHETHER INDIVIDUALS OR CORPORATE ), MUST BEAR THIS BURDEN
Following is a POLICY STATEMENT from the Chinese Government :
China Eyes Wealth Redistribution in Push for ‘Common Prosperity’ / Bloomberg / 19 Aug 2021
Extract :
President Xi Jinping put China’s wealthiest citizens on notice Tuesday, offering an outline for “ common prosperity ” that includes income regulation and redistribution, according to state media reports.
Since Xi took office in 2012, the ruling party has made it a priority to end poverty and build a moderately prosperous society, goals that the party sees as central to promoting well-being and strengthening its governance. Income inequality in the country is wide -- the richest 20% earn more than 10 times poorest 20% -- and hasn’t budged since 2015.
Beijing has undertaken massive efforts to reduce poverty, especially in rural areas. More recently, it’s taken aim at the upper end of the spectrum, with a crackdown on the technology industry, which has minted several billionaires, and criticism of the excesses of celebrity culture.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, the government detailed new strategies to target the upper echelons.
Officials vowed to “strengthen the regulation and adjustment of high income, protect legal income, reasonably adjust excessive income, and encourage high-income groups and enterprises to give back to society more,” according to a summary of the meeting published by state media Xinhua.
==============================
Ø Now, besides considering introduction of an EXPENDITURE TAX ( including withdrawals from Bank Accounts ? ), we MUST consider some ( democratic / fair / transparent ) method to make BIG TECH / BIG SOCIAL MEDIA companies to directly pay their Users ( of any AGE ), whose PERSONAL / PRIVATE DATA, they are collecting / compiling / selling ( to their advertisers ) and, in the process minting tons of money
Ø Here is “ how much “ money some of these BIG TECH companies made lately, with USER DATA :
# Google…………. $ 182 Billion
# Facebook……….$ 87 Billion
# Microsoft……… $ 126 Billion
# Apple…………… $ 138 Billion
# Amazon………..$ 386 Billion
But then, in India , we keep analysing till we get paralysed with the mere thought of :
Ø What will happen if this solution backfires / does not work-out ?
Ø Will I ( as a Govt Minister / Official ) face ridicule for taking a BOLD ( and HONEST ) decision ?
Ø If things don’t work out as envisaged, will I need to face CBI–ED–PAC–Vigilance Commission etc ?
Ø What would happen to my ( remaining ) Political Career ? Ignominy ? Oblivion ? Harakiri ?
I suspect that the Chinese Leaders, not having been paralysed by such “ FEAR of FAILURE “ would be the first to implement my following suggestions :
Ø Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ] ……………………( 14 Feb 2019 )
Ø SARAL ………………………………………………………………………………
Related Readings :
Ø A Greed-Ship named Facebook ………………………………………………..[ 21 Sept 2020 ]
Ø GAFA ( aka Monopoly V 2.0 ? ) ………………………………………………..[ 30 Sept 2020 ]
Ø The Hidden Agenda of Tech Giants Gatekeepers …………………….[ 17 Oct 2020 ]
With Regards,
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 20 Aug 2021
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