In an opinion piece published in Business Recorder, Friday, February 12, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin urged Pakistan to raise taxes. Wolin wrote, 'To balance its budget and invest for the future, Pakistan must begin to raise domestic revenues.' Pakistan's Minister of Finance and Revenue should respond to Wolin in this manner:
Mr. Wolin:
I understand you have offered us Pakistanis some advice for getting our financial and economic house in order. One would think that, given the advice you have offered, America's financial house is in order. But, Mr. Wolin, both you and I know that's not the case. When was the last fiscal year your government had a balanced budget? Furthermore, I believe your government's debt is now in the neighborhood of $12 trillion. Your government recently raised the debt ceiling again. Estimates of your unfunded liabilities are even trillions of dollars higher than that. What is your congress and president planning to do to solve this deficit problem?
Perhaps I can offer you some advice. Maybe you can convince President Obama to withdraw your troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, South Korea, Germany, Japan, and all the other locations your military patrols. Empire is prohibitively expensive to maintain, sir. Just ask the leaders of the former U.S.S.R. and Great Britain.
The great American singer/songwriter Willie Nelson recorded a song you should listen to. And, hey, maybe you could forward it on to Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Hillary Clinton. It's a great song, Mr. Wolin, named Mind Your Own Business.
Have a wonderful day.
Yours truly,
Shaukat Tarin
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