Brave Man Never Looks Back But Moves Forward

Mr. Barack Obama, President of USA is a brave man and he is bent upon implementing what he promised when he ran for office in 2008. As Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports in New York Times (Business Friday July 16, 2010) that he used the government as an instrument to try to narrow the gaps between the haves and have-nots. He is a socialist at heart. I admire him irrespective of the fact whether his party wins many seats or less in coming November elections as some have predicted in discouraging tones. A few have even anticipated some slow move or withdrawal of some hard decisions on the economic and social front. We are sure nothing of that sort is going to happen in the near future. He will grow stronger in his resolve and execution. Although the stimulus package involving $787 billion has not led to wholesale correction on the financial system, it was the only remedy available at the time. The health coverage to 32 million uninsured and the way he has achieved the relationship among Washington, Wall Street investors and consumers go to show his sincerity and courage of conviction. US economy is in safe and competent hands.

Fire-works of July 4, 2010 in New York

Macy’s, a giant retail showroom chain specializing in high-end garments among cash rich consumers all over USA has been reported to be organizing a grand finale of United States of America Independence Day celebration in New York every year for some decades now.

I was also one of the spectators of this grand show on this day from a cruise parked on the waters of Hudson River. A view of the skyscrapers on Manhattan from the river is a sight one can never forget easily. How many colors and shapes of buildings glittering and shining on both sides of the river (New York city on the one side and Jersey town on the other) while creating a feeling of ecstasy among the visitors and witnesses? A mesmerizing event was displaying a view of the heaven on earth indeed.

Fireworks had a theme and pattern of their own as designed and executed by those master men sitting and supervising from their respective boats and ships – a minimum of five at least in number. What a variety! What a rhythm? What a combination of colors! What shapes and how many designs & at what designated heights & what a range and richness and selection of colors for various objects on display? A mindboggling exercise and massive planning with a huge expense at the cost of Macy’s is an admirable private event. Hats off to the thought and action on the part of this company for such a wonderful celebration.

How I wish Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Group to undertake a similar venture and underwrite a similar sort of annual event fully from his company on the Arabian Sea-front near the Necklace of Mumbai Marine Drive on the occasion of India's Independence day i.e. 15th of August!

Food and Time for Thought

Who are we? Where are we?
We the humans are a tiny tot on the planet called the earth, one of the nine planets around the sun in the solar system, which in turn is a tiny part of the Milky Way galaxy which is again a tiny tot among the galaxies of the universe.

Shouldn’t we wonder at our stars and feel obliged to the universe or the Creator that we are born into this world at this time and made to realize who we are and what we are in such a context; and start leading a peaceful and satisfied life , rather than indulge in aggression,, arrogance, bullying, unlimitted selfishness and terrorizing & destroying other organic and inorganic objects and lives on the globe?

Stunning Similarity Among Rich Across Continents

Biggest Defaulters

What a strange and strong coincidence in defaults among the rich borrowers and debtors across the globe! According to Sam Khater,the senior economist of CoreLogic (the real estate analytics firm), "The rich are different: they are more ruthless". It is said that the priviledged enclaves like the one in Silican Valley(more than one in seven home-owners with loans in excess of a million dollars) have started behaving worse than the working class and stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population(one in twelve mortgages below the million dollar mark) in USA.

It strikes very similar to Indian situation wherein the actual major defaulters of loans and advances from almost all the commercial banks and financial institutions are none other than our privileged sections namely the rich and influential individuals and industialists in the country. This fact has been revealed more than once in several studies conducted by government agencies and others.

What a Stunning Similarity Among Rich Across Continents??

Travails of US Economy in Recovery

The US economy is undergoing a slow and jobless recovery. Whatever recovery has been achieved so far, it is reportedly driven by strength in manufacturing which in turn was boosted by rebound in global trade and rebuilding of inventories that were cut during recession. But manufacturing has started declining giving rise to doubts about the recovery signs.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM)'s index of nonmanufacturing activity declined to 53.8, compared with 55.4 in May while numbers over 50 do represent growth
(The Wall Street Journal of July 7, 2010). As we are aware, services nearly account for two-thirds of US Gross Domestic Product. Unfortunately the service side hasn’t fully engaged as lamented by the economist Ethan Harris of Bank of America. Recovery in the Service sector hss slowed down in June compared to May, 2010.ISM report showed that more service firms cut jobs than added them in June in view of the fact that service businesses alone employ more than four of every five private sector workers. In other words they added 91000 jobs in June, 2010 but 20000 of which were at temporary staffing agencies whereas many temps actually work for manufacturers.

The temporary lesson one learns from this development is that manufacturing esp. the small and medium enterpries producing goods do play a direct and definite role in creating jobs.

"Punishing the Jobless"

This refers to Paul Krugman's "Punishing the Jobless" in The New York Times of July 5, 2010.He laments therein the clueless and inability of some representatives of US Parliament to understand the advantage of extending the unemployment benefites in view of only partial recovery from the great recession and its comparative economics or opportunity costs.I too agree with his analysis.

Unemployment in USA

Even as the great recession of 2008 has just started petering out, the issue of unemployment (about 15 millions) is still dodging the US economy with Obama administration trying its best to get back the majority of unemployed into jobs. The condtion of labor market needs to be studied in a broader perspective and not in terms of smaller palliatives to solve it as one time measure.

An interesting feature of the emerging scenario is the change in the nature of job-qualification or experience of the work force as the recovery in manufacturing demands. The industry now requires the services of skilled workers and not the type employed earlier in pre-recession days. It is ipso facto an opportunity available to the managements to procure the really-needed and eligible employees to handle the high-end and sophisticated machines that are replacing the old and obsolete equipments day by day.Such a development is revealed best in a survey conducted last year of 779 industrial companies by the National Associations of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, the accounting and consuting firm in which 32 percent of companies reported "moderate to serious" skills shortages and sixty three percent of life science companies and 45 percent of energy firms cited such shortages(The New York Times of July 2,2010).

Now the US economy and the administration needs to train and upgrade the skills of the already unemployed and the incremental additions entering the labor market every year. Nothing less than a National Training Package by the Federal government and implementation at the state level for a period of 4 - 5 years can retrieve the situation in the short or long term. A perfect and thorough study of the possibility of job-generartion in all the three sectors - primary, secondary and tertiary,alone can indicate the scope and preparations needed for such a goal.

Let us see how Obama administration makes moves in this direction.

The Epics

Addressed to Ms Sonia Gandhi
Who knows the actual origin of our epics Ramayana and Mahabharata except through the original narrators as supplemented by illustrious thinkers and writers who succeeded the duo in due course?

But the messages and lessons they teach to the humanity are immense and far-reaching as long as the mankind exists.They are the stories related to the happenings of royal families /dynasties /kingdoms in particular regions or territories of ancient India. They have been fantastically preserved and perpetuated by several generations till date. What a treasure-hove of values and venerations they portrayed and conveyed to the mortals like us for ages!The conduct and behaviour of several characters (including the sacrifices made and the sufferings undergone by them which are exemplery and extraordinary in nature)in the epics depict the ideal relationships between the father and son, husband and wife, brothers and sisters, King and the citizens in the most exalted and edifying manner that are fit to be emulated by similarly placed individuals even in modern society.

Some mortals become immortals by their unusual and extraordinary actions and they acquire the status of saints and gods as the time passes. Mother Teresa has been ordained the sainthood by the Pontiff and similarly where is the guarantee that Mohandas K.Gandhi would not join the Indian pantheon of gods and Goddesses after some hundred years on the basis of his autobiography, biographies, museums, monuments, statues and several thousand books and writings containing his thoughts and actions?

Mohandas K.Gandhi never held a post of perks in the Government till his last breadth. He was above all. His sacrifice to the nation at all costs - not only to his wife and children but his own caste and creed, race and religion - was par excellence. Unfortunately his successors in politics and government after 1960s have failed to learn basic etiquette and principles in their day to day functioning like, for example, in observing punctuality, impartiality and hesitation to pursue self interest and the interest of kith and kin much against public interest (unpardonable act).

One has to note painfully the fact that the public functionaries at the helm of affairs at the moment, in both Government of India and the state governments, are determined not to respond to the letters and reactions even with a positive tone. They stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the receipt of suggestions and ideas meant for the betterment of the society. Father of the nation even during his hectic schedule and travel never failed to respond to the common man. Why such a deterioration in standards and values? Whom are they going to serve and satisfy, God knows!

Madam, being the head of UPA at Delhi, can you please intervene and improve the situation in the government?