The government’s approval rating is dropping sharply and one feels it is mainly related to its economic governance. Ironically, the wound seems to be self-inflicted, pointing towards a complete neglect of the common man and domestic businesses over the last two years; a classic case of a government working for the betterment of the government, but not the people. The prescription, if someone is willing to understand, is relatively simple: dial it back. Meaning, smaller and less destructive taxation, a retreat from brinkmanship with the judiciary, something that invariably erodes market confidence, re-engineering operative competitiveness to quickly arrest de-industrialisation, and reducing, or at least checking, the ever-expanding state’s footprint on the economy. Though one recently hears murmurs of a renewed focus on growth, our economic history tells us that unless this is done while first ringing in the right reforms that aim at establishing transparency and equity, and more importantly at reining in an inefficient........

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