One the otherhand he also says some areas suffer from strongly marxist labor unions which understandably cannot always be overcome with bribes (aka pay rises).

Whilst it suffers from a history of affirmative action and nationalisation and a government that still does 5 year plans and gas subsidies the modern Malaysian government only raises around 15% of GDP in taxes and doesn’t do deficit spending.

Furthermore it runs tight monetary policy so the actual damage it’s bureaucracy can do is small and it has enjoyed 7-9% growth for some years. If anything Malaysia (post asian financial crisis) would be better off as an example of what a lack of government achieves rather than a side-by-side with Singapore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMwceo7nVLY

There is development, but it is a messy way of development. Bitter-sweet I would say. There is no euphoria. There is concern but also hope.

Compared to the rest of India, Gurgaon is heaven. The roads are in good shape and relatively calm. Shops are clean and well stocked. Construction is mostly done to a high standard. Power in the well off areas is mostly private, but expensive. One privately powered condo complex I know of has average summer electricity bills greater than a judge’s salary. Small scale power generation is inefficient.

Unfortunately, most low level staff can hardly hope to live there. Next to the beautiful new complexes you’ll find tin shacks and hungry children. The parts of Gurgaon I saw were most certainly inaccessible to the overwhelming majority of the Indian population. The salary advantages of India are significant’y reduced when hiring in Gurgaon.

It’s built like a Western city. Golf Course Road, the main street for businesses, is one glass building after another filled with Western companies. If you are hiring top shelf employees and want a high living standard, Gurgaon is the best India has to offer. I was mostly looking for lower level employees so I picked a smaller city where they could afford to live.

To the poster who said India isn’t a libertarian’s dream, you’re right. Government is downright abusive if they notice you. I’ve heard horror stories of IRS auditors taking over a house and businesses for days, not letting anyone leave. I came home one night and found that they had covered my front door with glued audit notices for the last resident, and months later I’m still not legally allowed to take them down. Law is just what the man with the guns says it is.

That being said, it seems like there is so much activity and energy in India that there won’t ever be enough resources to centrally plan (at least in Bangalore). If how people drive are an indication of the culture of Indians, then you will see things get done, but probably at a higher risk than they might have otherwise.

In my opinion as more families create wealth and are able to take care of more than just their basic needs, the culture will shift to solve the issues that aren’t currently as high of a concern.

I’ve uploaded some photos to my website if y’all want to see what it looks like on the ground floor.

Is this the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen?
Or is this the Lashkar-e-Toi-bay?
Or is this the ULFA?
I thought it was Indi-ay
Or just another country
Another council tenancy

Cayman Islands vs. Cuba
Cayman Islands vs. Jamaica
Singapore vs. Malaysia
Chile vs. any other South American country