I previously wrote an article addressing the “then” significant issue of Kuwaitis laid-off from the private sector. The title of that article was a sarcastic one; “Want a one year PAID vacation? Get Fired NOW*”. Unfortunately, there are two major taboos in Kuwait: religion and populist demands. Examples of such populist demands span from debt forgiveness to the ridiculously spoiling laid-off benefits proposals.

Every few days (yes, our parliament is that active!) members propose a new populist demand. Sometimes it is sparked by a newspaper, an event, or merely a random insignificant person. The problem is that our government always falls pray for these demands and gives them extensive attention by simply making the critical assumption that everything brought up by parliament is a significant issue worthy of total consideration. These continuous parliamentary requests, among other things, distract our limited government and derail any potential progress in all fronts. Consequently, our priorities such as health care, education, and economic reform are never addressed.

A perfect example is the issue of Kuwaitis being laid-off the private sector. I was reading Al-Jarida newspaper and it states that only 350 individuals are enrolled in the newly enacted and highly debated laid-off Kuwaitis program. This constitutes a mere 0.035% of our population! Previously, parliament members were suggesting the number was at least 5000 individuals and gave the issue all their attention for over a month. There were never-ending meeting by the parliament’s finance committee and the government established a special committee of high-ranking ministers to solve this “imminent” issue. Was it an issue? Yes. Was it worthy of all this time and attention? Surely NOT. This time should’ve been more efficiently used to address fundamental economic issues such as establishing a “Capital Market Authority” which has been delayed for decades.

Will the parliament stop? No, populist calls give them votes. Will the government say “STOP IT” and start to lead? No. What happens next? Parliament wastes one or two more months discussing another moral hazardous issue: loans write-off proposal. And so it goes..

God bless Kuwait.