Wasteful expenditure? Who is the judge?

By M K George

Rome: It is Covid-19 pandemic times. Men and women are dying like never before. Hunger and destitution stare at the faces of millions. In India, as of May 18, daily deaths had reached 4,529 and total deaths have reached 280,000. More than 25 million have been infected already.

Perhaps the only historical parallel is the Spanish flu of 1918, which infected one third of the world population and killed millions.

In the horrifying context of absolute lack of food, medical facilities, and even cremation or burial facilities, how do we define ‘wasteful expenditure’?

For instance, there is currently a controversy going one whether some of the construction projects of the government, which are now declared essential services, are wasteful expenditures. An “extravagant project” in the “midst of a devastating pandemic, endangering workers, and squandering scarce resources that could be used to save lives,” wrote 76 intellectuals across the world.

Not to forget the rich flying off to Europe in chartered flights hours before the travel bans came into effect. And, of course, the odd palatial residences being built, churches, temples, and mosques being ‘repaired’ or ‘completed,’ marriages being celebrated, even as funerals and burials are becoming no-entry affairs.

Defining wasteful expenditure

Definition of wasteful expenditure is always value-based, ideology related and can even be based on individual whims. The Republic of South Africa, for instance, has guidelines on how to avoid wasteful expenditure. They define wasteful expenditure as “expenditure which was made in vain and would have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised.”

The words in vain as contained in the definition of fruitless and wasteful refers to a transaction, event or condition which was undertaken without value or substance and which did not yield any desired results or outcome. Reasonable care means applying due diligence (careful application, attentiveness, caution) to ensure that the probability of a transaction, event or condition not being achieved as planned is being managed to an acceptable level.

Two other concepts related to ‘wasteful and fruitless expenditure’ are, ‘irregular expenditure’ and ‘unauthorised expenditure’. Most often, we hear them in relation to governmental and other organizational expenditures. Whether it is in governmental or Non-Governmental sector or even the very private lives of individuals and families, wasteful living has become a concern.

Ultimately, it is our priorities that determine whether an expenditure is wasteful or not. It is the value system that one holds on to that finally determine whether something is essential. To illustrate, if the poor and the needy are the primary concerns of a Government, feeding them, treating them and protecting them will become your priority and any other expenditure will become ‘wasteful’. At a personal level, if your family health were your first choice, then taking care of them would take precedence over your habits like alcohol or smoking.

India’s trajectory of extravaganza

The Indians, poor or rich, have a terrible tradition of wasteful and extravagant expenditure. Two instances — Marriages, even among the poor have become extravagant and burdensome. ‘A culture of extravagance and exploitative practices force brides’ families to spend beyond their means,’ observe social scientists. Second instance, spending by the super-rich. Antilia, the Mumbai home of business magnate Mukesh Ambani, is estimated to be the world’s second-most expensive property after the Buckingham Palace. The high-end mansion reportedly costs an estimated $2.6 billion.

Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman, a simple but powerful way to judge

The Father of the Nation has given us a simple, but powerful tool to check whether our way of life is wasteful or not. He says, “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.” (Mahatma Gandhi, 1958:65)

Now when we use this powerful tool to evaluate our projects and expenditure it becomes easy to make a judgment. The million dollar question remains, who will call a spade a spade?

Waste begins with one’s individual life. Say, with your own food. The food that you throw away, while your neighbour goes to bed with an empty stomach. With the way, you clothe yourself. The way you travel. The way you live.

Change starts with oneself

It is amazing. Unbelievable stories of sacrifice and sharing are being heard across the globe. Men and women who are willing to not only avoid wasteful expenditure, but also even to sacrifice their basic needs. Remember a little girl who broke her piggy bank to help a needy child.

Take the striking example of about 1,500 community pantries in the Philippines. Instead of food waste, food pantries across the country. One parish in the southern Indian state of Kerala, leaves food materials at the gate of the church for anyone to take away.

Will this pandemic time invite each one of us to ask ourselves, how much of our spending can be reduced so that another person in need can be helped. Austerity instead of wasteful expenditure. And if the ordinary citizens do it, they will have the moral right to challenge those in authority to question their wasteful expenditures.

Then, finally, there is that kind of wasteful expenditure, even the poor do: Didn’t someone say, ‘If thou hast two loaves of bread, sell one and buy flowers, for bread is food for the body, but flowers are food for the mind’ ( Galen of Pergamon, c. 200 AD)

Pope Francis reminds the world to live a life of care and counter the culture of waste. “I would like us all to make a serious commitment to respect and protect creation, to be attentive to every person, to counter the culture of waste and disposable, to promote a culture of solidarity and of encounter.”

Mind the wasteful expenses in one’s own life first. Then we will have the audacity to challenge the other, even those in power!

(Father M K George is the Jesuits’regional assistant for South Asia. The social scientist is based in Rome.)

Related