Introduction

For a while now I have been an amateur observer of macro-economics, politics and the intersection of the two. While I studied economics from some stalwarts at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, I can’t say I’m an expert. However, I have often been struck by the parallels between macro economic policy at the national level and the common sense economic and financial decisions households often have to make. 

I’ve also often noticed the public’s lack of interest in matters of macro-economic policy and it is my guess that that’s because the jargon and numbers that macro-economists use confuses and turns off the lay public. However, macro economic decisions matter to our daily lives because they govern how taxes are collected and budgets are allocated, and how those monies get spent - on doing up your local road, or upgrading your school, or buying the latest shiny military toy. 

​I therefore decided to try to frame macro-economic policy decisions in terms of the common decisions households make, so that people can decide for themselves whether a particular allocation of resources or a policy is good or bad, depending on how they would have made the decision if they faced it in their own households. Take a loan or use your savings? Buy a computer for the children to study or take a family vacation? Put your child in an expensive private school or the free government school? All of these decisions have parallels in the big decisions governments make. If people can make sensible decisions for their families, why shouldn’t we expect the same from our government, entrusted with the responsibility to raise taxes from us and spend it for our benefit?