A widening gap<\/p>\n
To many people the recently published findings of the Central
\nBureau of Statistics (BPS) are hardly surprising. Many Indonesian
\nobservers of the economy have, although not always correctly,
\nlong since complained about the widening gap which they hold
\nexists between the rich and the poor despite three decades of
\nplanned development.<\/p>\n
To recap: In a recent hearing at the House of Representatives,
\nthe chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics, Sugito Suwito,
\ntold legislators that the gap between the lowest and the highest
\nincome brackets has been growing in the past five years. This
\nfinding is based on surveys of incomes earned by Indonesians
\nsince the mid-1970s.<\/p>\n
While the distribution of incomes seemed to promise a gradual
\nclosing of the gap in the decade from 1975 to 1985, the study
\nshowed that a disparity appeared to have grown again between 1985
\nand 1993. In 1975 for example the ratio between the lowest and
\nthe highest income brackets was 1:6.5. In 1980 it had declined to
\n1:5.3 and to 1:3.8 in 1985. In 1990, however, the ratio had grown
\nagain to 1:4.3 and in 1993 back to 1:6.2 -- almost the same as in
\n1975.<\/p>\n
\"We can see from the data that the gap had been narrowing in
\nthe period between 1975 and 1985, while in the period between
\n1990 and 1993 it widened again,\" Sugito told the House budgetary
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
It is beyond the scope of this column to discuss the method by
\nwhich the BPS findings have been calculated. Of greater immediate
\ninterest are the questions of how and why the disparity between
\nrich and poor incomes have widened again. No one, after all, can
\nspeak with greater authority about trends and patterns in this
\ncountry than the Central Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n
Critics of government economic policies often claim that the
\nbroad pattern of development adopted by our policy makers has, by
\nand large, favored the strong over the weak, usually
\nunintentionally, and in spite of government efforts to promote
\nthe interests of the economically powerless. Although such
\narguments often lack the necessary objective data to support
\nthem, the matter certainly seems worth pondering in the light of
\nthe BPS findings.<\/p>\n
As Indonesia is steadily moving in the direction of becoming a
\ntrue free-market society, those who are economically weak must of
\nnecessity vie with the strong and economically powerful. And in
\nthis contest it is usually the weak who lose out. Despite the
\nfact that measures have been taken to make it easier for small
\nbusinesses to obtain bank credits, for instance, in the
\natmosphere of free competition, banks understandably prefer the
\nrelatively safer and more lucrative option of lending to the
\nrich.<\/p>\n
In many cases monopolistic practices further add to the burden
\nwhich the weak and poor must bear. In many areas farmers are
\nlosing their land, and thereby their livelihood, to real estate
\noperators and big industrialists. In some cases there have even
\nbeen reports of coercion, often through collusion between local
\nadministrators and businessmen.<\/p>\n
In the light of all this we believe it is time that to start
\nthinking seriously about finding ways to empower the weak and the
\npoor so that they, too, will be able to savor the fruits of our
\ndevelopment efforts. A good step in that direction would be to
\nspread opportunities more equitably among the population, bring
\nan end to unhealthy monopolistic practices and pass a law on fair
\nbusiness practices.<\/p>\n
It is not difficult to see that a continuing increase in the
\ndisparity between rich and poor, between the weak and the
\npowerful, is bound to add to potential sources of social tension
\nand unrest. Surely, it is in all of our interests to prevent such
\na development.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-widening-gap-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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