With a traveling camera mint moved around CP to ask "Who is the aam aadmi?" Eight out of 10 people told us they were. While a handful of concerns surfaced, one was a clear winner:
TAXES. TAXES. TAXES - a clear preoccupation among the motley in CP, New Delhi.
While every budget sees the aam aadmi agenda fixated on taxation, this summer it seems louder than ever. Tax cuts aimed at the wealthy, have become something else, a middle-class burden. With few jobs in the market and small business growth plateauing nearly every section of the audience felt they had too little to take home.
With Inflation coming up as another key concern, the aam aadmi of CP clearly feels that tax provisions have not been adjusted for inflation. The traditional middle class and lower middle class seem to have crept into the provisions for the wealthy
How can I pay back my loan with these interest rates? a student asked. Again with jobs hard to come buy loan repayment seems to be causing concern. "Where there are schools there are no teachers and where there are teachers there are not enough schools," another government employee pointed out. Infrastructure across education and transportation was also a recurring theme.
If one were to map the Aam Aadmi of CP: (S)he wants to pay less tax, borrow at manageable rated and asks the government to tackle inflation. (S)he also wants to feel safe, and cares for macroeconomic growth more than is apparent.