Where do we stand...

Read this angry post on a blog about corruption in the government and how its ruining us. The anger was justified. Planes dropping out of the sky and not some cheap private airlines planes third hand from Belarus or Uzbekistan (incidentally there are no trains in Uzbekland. You either fly or go horseback); but IAF 'jets'. Homemade MiGs. Planes with a million movable parts, all from the lowest quoted tender. Police officers who've amassed so much wealth that the poor sod who landed himself an 86 lakh p.a. deal looks like a loser now.
But cries of more strict 'policing' and punishment for violators is hardly going to solve the problem. It might for a while but it can only make things worse in the long run. What separates us then from the short-sighted politicians who run the country.
The question is why are people corrupt. Is it because they are inherently greedy? Or in real need of money? Then why are they in their jobs, jobs that don't pay them enough... Beause they don't have a choice... Since independence and the semi-socialistic outlook of the founder fathers, the government has been the major employer. Things have been and are changing but a substantial amount of employment is still generated by and in the government. And the rules are simple. A permanent job is what is says it is - permanent. No matter what you do you cannot be thrown out until you retire. And even then you get taken care of. This stability comes at a cost - renumeration. All this was fine as long as everything was subsidised and though people had to stand in queues in ration shops to buy soap they didn't complain. The economy has seen a change in the past ten or fifteen years both good and bad. Good because there is prosperity and in the long run prosperity hinders corruption. And bad because for the significant portion of people still in and joining the government for the aforementioned stability are now seening the greener grass from across the fence.
But why be in a job that doesn't pay well till you're 60 and pays less after that? Unfortunately we live in a system and a society where what people do is rarely governed by what they want to do. The image of a tired, bored babu in a safari suit behind a mountain of files in a dusty, ceiling- fan cooled office, dreaming of the Bahamas is in fact a reality. Maybe not the Bahamas but real all the same. Familial or social pressures still play a role in what we end up doing with perhaps little regard to what we'd want. This of course leads to inefficiency since the primary reason for doing a job well is actually liking it. A constant salary and constant upgradation ensures that the other reason for doing a job well is also smothered. Quitting is not an option due to the aforementioned pressures. Rising cost of living with a constant income leads to a situation. Simply put - corruption. Human nature propogates this trend since its an easier way to make more money and the result is the corrupt policemen the Lokayukta dug up.
A bad job, notwithstanding, why can't the government change its payscale? If not the job satisfaction the money at least should make an otherwise hellish work at least tolerable (sneaky prod at some people in the IT, marketing and sales industry whom I know). Karnataka has one of the lowest salaries in India (At least for me). And the highest rate of corruption. The administration is corrupt, the police we now know about and doctors too are not as noble as they once were (think that was in the 18th century that they were, but I digress). Not that I'm critisizing anybody or any organisation but the salaries that IT and MNCs give have irked many... a significant contributor to our current mess. Now the situation can go three ways. Utopian - where people work well with their misery simply because they like it or convince themselves the same. Real World - Corruption. Hell - No corruption but everybody's just doing the bare minimum to justify their existance. Think the real world's better than hell. At least this way something is getting done.
Its not hard to understand the how and the why... What to do about it is the question now. (Ye who've been mindlessly scanning, the question has now changed.) Change the system. Currently the system is being run by the corrupt. Who simply keep the system in a state that it runs on corruption. Catch 22.
The few of us who have the option to do what we enjoy or enjoy what we do with little regard to what we get outside of job satisfaction are but a minority. But beware the man(or woman, sorry) who thinks that a small thing cannot make a difference... think mosquito. We can make a difference. How? By doing what we do best - working. and not complaining. The system is too big a jaggernaut for a dramatic change to happen with a small group trying. But this group is increasing in size and someday will take on the Goliath. (Much apologies for the corny lines but it is true). 40% of the country is young. A strong socially responsible middle class is also growing and voicing itself. It's only a matter of time...