Letter: Fuel price cuts

I refer to an article titled “Price cuts: Yudhoyono’s generous gift ahead of polls,” (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 13).

How can you really believe that subsidizing fuel will benefit Indonesia? You pay tax and the government uses it to pay for some of the fuel you put in your tank. The problem is that a lot of money is lost in the process, swallowed by the inefficiency of the bureaucratic system.
Fuel is a commodity used mostly by rich people. The richer you are, the more fuel you will use, therefore it is obvious that this policy will benefit the rich than the poor.

Moreover, the real poor do not even own a motorbike! It would have made more sense to subsidize the price of rice and other basic commodities.

I pay a good slice of my income in taxes and I get very little in return, it really upsets me to see my money being spent to finance “traveling” instead of being spent on much-needed infrastructure which could boost the economy. Or it could be spent on scholarships and health care for the poor, schools and hospitals.

And finally, prices will not decrease because no one is guaranteeing businesses that the fuel will not increase again once the elections are over.

I am very disappointed in our President. He has spent the past several months trying to please as many people as possible with short-sighted policies, signing the porn bill to please Muslim organizations and adding red tape and huge taxes to imported products to please local producers.

Our country needs to make sacrifices, a good leader should make people accept them and understand they are necessary, for the sake of our country and for the future of our children.

Jack
Jakarta