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There are some comments in this thread bringing out examples of corruption in the West. While Western societies are by no means perfect and have their own warts

There are some comments in this thread bringing out examples of corruption in the West. While Western societies are by no means perfect and have their own warts, they are much better than India when it comes to corruption, effective judiciary, free press or tolerance for scandals. People typically vote with their feet. If you have any doubts about which society treats its citizens better, just look at how many Indians are clamoring to get out of India and immigrate to USA/Europe and the numbers of Americans/Europeans wanting to immigrate to India.

sonink 10y ago
If people voted with their feet, how do you explain Bush and Trump ?
- AstralStorm 10y ago
  You cannot vote with your feet if you cannot leave, and leaving takes both money and will.
- RestlessMind 10y ago
  Maybe because nearly 50% of voting population actually preferred Bush/Trump over the alternative? Especially when federal government has vastly increased its power (defense, education, environment, taxes, social policies) and when president has the rare power of nominating supreme court justices who can then stay forever deciding crucial matters (corporations, abortion, gay marriages, affirmative action...). In such cases, its better to vote for a bad candidate on "my side" rather than a better candidate from "other side". In fewer words - hyper-polarization. Once you win republican or democratic primary, you are guaranteed to win 45% of the vote.
pkd 10y ago
Indians want to immigrate because of the much higher pay and savings in the western economies compared to the pay for the same job locally. I am sure a lot of people are motivated by the much more modern western culture as well but I can assure you that money is the motivation for the majority, as condescending as that sounds.
- RestlessMind 10y ago
  But why is it that its possible to make more money in western economies than in India? I asked this question to myself (and I am sure many others did too) and at least for me, the principle factor came out to be pervasive corruption. In case you are familiar with both India and western economies, can you think of any other bigger factor?
  - pkd 10y ago
    Yes, there is a bigger factor. Western economies are stronger than India's. The average pay is higher and the standard of living is higher (this also means that the cost of living is higher but that gets compensated by the fact that the conversion rates from eg USD to INR are so high that even a little money makes a huge amount of difference). When I did Google Summer of Code in my freshman year in college I got paid $5500 for three months' work, which when converted to INR was more than my father was making in a whole year working fulltime. Rs 1 million (ballpark figure) is considered to be a good salary for an average software engineer in India. By PPP conversion this is only equivalent to $57k, which is less than half of what some freshers make in the Bay Area or NYC.
    - RestlessMind 10y ago
      Sorry if I was unclear, but my question is why are western economies stronger than India's? Its been 70 years since independence. What is it that India is lacking at this stage?
      - sanjayts 10y ago
        The cut goes far deeper than corruption, we have had traitors running our country after Independence; leaders who put themselves and their petty desires before their country. Other factors which contribute to holding back the country are: illiteracy, population explosion, blind faith, diversity used against the masses to incite hate and so on.

sonink 10y ago

If people voted with their feet, how do you explain Bush and Trump ?

AstralStorm 10y ago
You cannot vote with your feet if you cannot leave, and leaving takes both money and will.
RestlessMind 10y ago
Maybe because nearly 50% of voting population actually preferred Bush/Trump over the alternative? Especially when federal government has vastly increased its power (defense, education, environment, taxes, social policies) and when president has the rare power of nominating supreme court justices who can then stay forever deciding crucial matters (corporations, abortion, gay marriages, affirmative action...). In such cases, its better to vote for a bad candidate on "my side" rather than a better candidate from "other side". In fewer words - hyper-polarization. Once you win republican or democratic primary, you are guaranteed to win 45% of the vote.

pkd 10y ago

Indians want to immigrate because of the much higher pay and savings in the western economies compared to the pay for the same job locally. I am sure a lot of people are motivated by the much more modern western culture as well but I can assure you that money is the motivation for the majority, as condescending as that sounds.

RestlessMind 10y ago
But why is it that its possible to make more money in western economies than in India? I asked this question to myself (and I am sure many others did too) and at least for me, the principle factor came out to be pervasive corruption. In case you are familiar with both India and western economies, can you think of any other bigger factor?
- pkd 10y ago
  Yes, there is a bigger factor. Western economies are stronger than India's. The average pay is higher and the standard of living is higher (this also means that the cost of living is higher but that gets compensated by the fact that the conversion rates from eg USD to INR are so high that even a little money makes a huge amount of difference). When I did Google Summer of Code in my freshman year in college I got paid $5500 for three months' work, which when converted to INR was more than my father was making in a whole year working fulltime. Rs 1 million (ballpark figure) is considered to be a good salary for an average software engineer in India. By PPP conversion this is only equivalent to $57k, which is less than half of what some freshers make in the Bay Area or NYC.
  - RestlessMind 10y ago
    Sorry if I was unclear, but my question is why are western economies stronger than India's? Its been 70 years since independence. What is it that India is lacking at this stage?
    - sanjayts 10y ago
      The cut goes far deeper than corruption, we have had traitors running our country after Independence; leaders who put themselves and their petty desires before their country. Other factors which contribute to holding back the country are: illiteracy, population explosion, blind faith, diversity used against the masses to incite hate and so on.