From: sehari@iastate.edu (Babak Sehari)
Subject: Re: Your advice
Originator: sehari@class1.iastate.edu
Organization: Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 04:48:27 GMT

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In <1992Nov10.180004.2400@ra.msstate.edu> eeajm@sunvis1.vislab.olemiss.edu (Movahedi Alireza) writes:

>Salaam doostane garami,

>One night in Mississippi when all our friends were sitting and 
>talking to each other, one of us raised a question that I 
>thought it might be interesting to raise it here in the net.

>The question was "what would be your five most important advice
>to iranian government?".

>For example, someone said "I would ask the Iran's government to 
>put most of his effort into building as many sport club as 
>possible", and so on....

>Please contribute if you wish.

>Thanks 
>Alireza.

First, I should say that they have been doing a good job so far, considering
all the problems they have to face with.  However, these suggestions might
be useful to better our people's prosperity.  Nevertheless,  this is just
my own ideas; it needs to be discussed and evaluated by a group of people
who have more specialization in economy, politics, and generally more
experienced than me.  After all, I am too young to have such experiences.

Well, my suggestion are to:

Privatize,
         Industrialize,
                      Energize and revitalize,
                                              Decenteralize,
                                                             Democratize.

and the most important of all

    *** rationalize every step including all the above steps ***

Here we go explaining these steps:

1.Privatize;  however, before privatization see what should be privatized 
  and what should be kept, due to the public interests, under public custody.
  For example, education is a case where public sector should play major
  role.  We can not afford that even one kid to go uneducated. Even though, no 
  mater what system we choose there will be some who can not benefit from the
  system.  Nevertheless, we should do our best to make this group as small
  as possible.  Main while, private educational institutions should be
  allowed to help to better educate the public.  Nonetheless, we should not
  merely count on private sector to take all the responsibility for educating
  our people.  This is more or less the current system in Iran, so we do not 
  need to change it.  Other things that need the help of public sector and 
  should be kept public are oil mining, health care....

  Things that need to be privatized are power generation plants, telephone
  companies, other governmental non-military factories... these have to be
  done by sale of stock to public, and should be regulated but** not **
  run by the government.  It should be said that the current government has
  plans to this end, and has started to move to achieve this end.

2.Industrialize:  It is obvious why we should industrialize and everybody
  from government to the people are aware of the need for industrialization.
  The industrialization should be on all sectors, from agriculture to 
  the semiconductor industries.  The well being of our children depends
  on industrialization.  There are many ways that the government
  might encourage this process.  For example, government can establish the 
  industries or buy and import the factories, and then sell it back to the 
  people by the means of stock.  As I said before, the government could buy the
  factory say for say $100,000 and then sales 10,000 stocks at $20.00 each.  
  This way the government end up having $200,000 and now can buy two
  factories and continue the process.  Moreover, facilities should be
  provided to private sector, So they can do the same thing.  This way the
  excess money in people's hand would be put in a good use and decrease
  the inflation.
  
  Education is another part of industrialization, we need to learn the skills
  to run the state of the art factories, power plants...  otherwise just having
  them does not solve our problem.

  It should be mentioned that the current government is moving in this
  direction.

3. Energize and revitalize:  People need to be energized.  This could be done
   by manipulating different human emotions. Old soviet union did this with
   use of fear emotion.  United States Used to this by playing on the sex
   emotion.  United State discovered the demoralization factor that playing
   with sex emotion results, not to mentioned the deseases. Later,they switched
   to the emotion of greed. It also has been discovered the demoralizing
   effects of this emotion on the society. They start to go toward the emotion
   of righthood and religious emotions by the end of Bush era, but by election
   of Bill Clinton it is unclear at current time what path they are going to
   take.  It should be mentioned that fear, sex, and greed are very strong
   emotions; however the rightness and religious emotion should be reinforced
   by some degree of the other emotions such as fear, sex, and greed.  As 
   Ali (A) said: there are three types of people who worship god.  The first
   type is the worship of slaves, those who worship god because of the fear
   that they might go to hell or other wise punished.  Second, those who
   worship god for their greed for heaven or otherwise god's favor to them.
   3rd, few who worship god because they find god worth worshiping.  One needs
   all these groups to help rebuilt the country.

   Revitalize:  the armed forces should be kept strong and with the latest
   technology.  If we can not defend ourselves, we are doomed to become
   another Bosnia, or philistine.  We can not depend on the world to be
   logical all the time;  sometimes the greed emotion does not let the
   world or other countries to be logical.  In any case, we should be able
   to fire as hard as possible, if logic fails to prevail.  we should answer
   each fire with equal or greater fire, my own suggestion is much greater
   fire. -:)  
   
   Also, we should renew the technology of the current industrial, 
   educational, medical .... institutions.  Moreover, we should try
   to change the picture of us, which is drawn by western propaganda
   machines, and let everyone to see us in better light.  This way we can 
   attract capital and brain power, that we need to make our country no. 1
   again.  We should take the advantage from current over supply of
   international professionals, such as China, Soviet Union, India,
   which are cheap and in good quality, to rebuilt our country.

   Also, we might revise our foreign trade with dollars and try to issue
   our own international money for transaction of oil and other imports.
   So, we be able to buy with that currency and sell oil with that currency
   only.

   It should be mentioned, that some of the above is the policy of
   the Iranian government.

4.  Decenteralize:  Even though, we need a very strong central government;
    However, many decision power should be given to the localities.For example,
    each city government should be in charge of decision regarding garbage
    collection, road pavement, gas pipes, ...  This gives the central
    government more resources to concentrate on the bigger picture.  Local
    government should be able to collect tax and get help from the central
    government to do it's job.  Also, in my opinion it is better that local
    officials to be elected by local people, than appointed by central 
    government.  Even though, the central government should be able to control
    these local governments.In case they started to abuse their power and 
    jeopardize the well being of the nation in general or the local people;
    right baby, shoot them like a dog, if they start to make problem for the 
    nation or the local people.

5.  Democratize:  in this effort we should follow the China's lead and not
    the Soviet Union.  Slow but steady progress toward democratization is much
    better than super fast Soviet style recipe for disaster.  Let people
    have time to digest the concept without undue stress.  This would prevent
    our enemies to abuse this process, and create another Soviet Union or
    Yugoslavia.

As I said these were the comments of a young and inexperienced citizen.  I 
also, agree there might be some bad policies presented above.  Therefore, all 
of it should be evaluated by a group of more experienced people.  That is why
our religion Islam ask people to make their decision with "Shora" or
group discussions.

                      With highest regards,
                           Babak   Sehari.


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