Saving Indian Techies

I got this email from my friend which is lately making rounds in IT-enabled inboxes (is that a word?). I think it paints a fair picture of "the situation on the ground". I'm talking about what is going on in that Indian IT guy's/gal's mind when they are not working. Let's walk-through.

Link

"Real Estate price hike is known open robbery from IT guys by brokers / whoever it is and it's not only Flats / Real Estate, IT guys undergo open robbery from all rich shop owners / a person who wanted to become rich as fast as possible...

The salary whatever we get, it's our hard-earned money, most of the times sitting in the night, away from family functions, friends, etc...but all our money or most of the money are going to someone who just takes advantage of our stressful life (both mentally and physically) and our new western life style. "


Very true. There is no doubt that selfish non-IT individuals systematically swindle money from the highly paid IT workers. There is no ground for any increase in expenses and over-charges. The mail points to some instances where there is a price increase for no apparent reason.

"Chicken Biriyani (3 weeks back) - Rs. 65
Today (same Chicken Biriyani) - Rs. 78

Pop Corn (Sathyam Complex) (month and half back) - Rs. 20
Today (almost the same quantity) - Rs. 30

Corn in Garuda Mall (month back) - Rs 20 Small, Rs 30 Medium and Rs 40 High
Now, "real" small has become Rs 35 now and Rs 45 for high...

The moment you say that you are from Software company, the price automatically increases..."

Real Estate

The real estate market is filled with greedy people. With almost no government regulated prices, the sellers and builders quote any price they wish. If a house is quoted at $60,000 and some retard starts a rumor - "there is a new software park coming up next week" - the quote changes to $100,000 immediately. No questions asked.

Almost all the techies get housing loans of $30,000 to $100,000 at alarming rate of 10% or more for 20+ years. By any stretch, $30,000 is a LOT of money if the salary is earned in Indian Rupees. Even with significant increase in salaries, after paying off the mortgage, monthly expenses, groceries, etc, etc they will end up with nothing or fall short. This is of course assuming both the husband and wife work. If the wife is a home-maker, sorry.

I have no idea who sets the real estate prices. Is there any regulatory body? It's just people making up their own estimates. Where is the f*ing government?

Now, what about the average, below average and poor population which is the majority?

That is the most disturbing impact. Families with average and below-average salaries are caught in this spike. Top earning techies are struggling to cope up with increased day-to-day spending. I can't imagine what the average income families are going through.