Growth at what cost?

I see a growing pessimism about the slowing down of our economy, across all businesses these days. Gone are the heady years of the 2000’s that saw us racing to reach a GDP growth rate of 10% (of course with the blip of 2008, but that wasn’t in our control, was it?). 

But today I want to raise a pertinent question- Why on earth are we so hung up about this ‘growth’ number? What! An MBA from a prestigious B-school and I ask this question?

It’s obvious, you may say: The underlying reason to care about economic growth is that it enables the citizens of this country to have better lives! Very simply put- a bigger economy translates to an increase in per capita income, which means we can afford to buy more products, services, experiences- all those marvelous fruits of human effort that make our lives easier, more enjoyable.

That all sounds wonderful. But hold on for a minute. Take a look at these facts:

1. The top 1% hold 73% of India’s wealth. Why do we talk about per capita anything?

2. Various studies estimates that about 90% of solid waste generated in Indian cities is discarded unscientifically and pose significant (and as yet unmeasured) health and environmental hazards.

3. A study published in The Lancet has estimated that in 2017 air pollution killed 1.24m Indians — half of them younger than 70. The 10 most polluted cities in the world are all in northern India.

4. It's estimated that around 70% of surface water in India is unfit for consumption. According to India’s Central Pollution Control Board, 63 percent of the urban sewage flowing into rivers (some 62 billion litres a day) is untreated

5. Your ears are treated to sound levels of more than 85-90 db at every major intersection. Noise pollution has been shown to cause high stress, tinnitus, loss of hearing, drop in brain activity… the list goes on.

6. If you’re driving during peak hours, this is the additional amount of time you spend commuting per year because of traffic congestion: Bangalore- 243 hours (~10 days), Mumbai- 209 hours (~9 days), Pune- 193 hours (~8 days), Delhi- 190 (~8 days)

7. The average working hours of an employee in India is the highest in the world.

Ok, I’m going to halt here.

Not the kind of global leader we want to be, eh?

(P.S. I have not included references here for the sake of brevity. But do feel free to check up the numbers. A simple internet search will give you ample evidence of the magnitude of the problem.)

So sure, I can afford to buy the Louboutin’s I’ve always wanted without thinking twice; but today I spend 2 hours making a journey that took 30 minutes a decade back. The streets that I cycled down with my friends with not a care in the world, I now venture onto only after midnight. I am not sure about the air I breathe, the food I eat, the water I drink (oh wait, I can afford a triple filter). I have near anxiety attacks living through the 5 km commute home from work.

And if I have such a poor quality of life when I can be counted in the upper echelons of society (not yet the 1% though), what about that 95% who cannot afford a get-away when life starts getting to them.

What about those women who leave their home at 7 in the morning, brave 2-3 hours of a punishing commute, slog their backs (doesn’t have the same ring, does it?) off at work, that commute again and reach home at the earliest by 8 pm. And still must find time to ensure the household is in order and everyone is fed. Because she CANNOT afford a maid. Someone like me is enjoying a single meal with the money she would have spent on hiring help for a month.

Health issues are on the rise; stress, depression, loneliness are the norm. So no- we DO NOT have better lives. At the most, we have better possessions. 

I know a lot of you are thinking: What the hell is she on about, of course the GDP needs to grow! Here’s a fun fact, Simon Kuznets, the man who developed the modern concept of GDP (when asked by the US Congress for a way to calculate how the economy was doing during The Great Depression), had this to say about his formula: “The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income”. I’m pretty sure he never intended it to be used as the heart and soul of a nation’s economy. It’s done because it is by far the easiest measure to estimate. Try estimating what impact cutting down a 500 year old tree has on society’s welfare and you will understand why no one bothers with that calculation. 

To all those well-meaning individuals exhorting society to go out and ‘BUY’ more to boost the economy- please don’t. The nation does not need another ‘Flagship’ phone to add to the leachate in our land-fills. 

Without doubt we still have a way to go before society collectively reaches the point of diminishing marginal utility of extra income. However, HOW the economy grows should be of more concern that just growth. Is it sustainable? Will it be inclusive? Will it actually improve the quality (not just quantity) in our lives? 

Can we make a difference? Yes, Of course we can. But don't just go out and consume. Make a conscious decision about what you are consuming.

If you do have excess money to spare- spread it around. Invest it into medical/ health insurance for your domestic help. Give them a raise. Educate their children. The effect on expenditure is the same- they will spend more on the staples that you and I take for granted.

If you have time for leisure activities, how about volunteering for a clean-up drive? Or a reforestation drive? Just once a year, that’s all. If you don’t have the time for that- segregate your garbage. Compost your kitchen waste (it will take you 5 minutes extra in the day), rinse those plastic bottles and send them directly to recycling, don’t ever discard metal- the one material that can be recycled infinitely. Ensure every waste you generate goes back into the circular economy. 

You get the drift.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT a socialist or an ascetic. I love having the luxuries of life that were out of reach of my parents. But if you ask me the question- would I take those at the cost of fresh air to breathe, or uncontaminated water to drink? Well, the answer to that is a resounding, NO!

So, unless we, as a society, can fix this problem of economic gain at the expense of our habitat, our social fabric, our environment, our LIVES- throw us back to the dark ages, I say! (Minus the testosterone overload, of course).

Maybe it’s about time we reinvent mainstream economics. To hell with the GDP. We should be scrutinizing income inequality, city congestion growth rates, land-fill growth rates, pollution growth rates, deforestation rates, and the list goes on. 

Aren’t those better indicators of the kind of lives the citizens of this country lead?