Let's see what's going around..
************
Rajdeep rooting for Indian Debates : IBN's Rajdeep Sardesai, who and his wife Sagarika Ghosh, redefined "shouting" journalism, argues that Indian Television should have it's share of Election Debates now.
Well let's see here. So I am trying to think how in last general elections, a one on one television debate between Vajpayee and Sonia would have looked. I know. Don't even bother.
He does point out something interesting though - "As for Mrs Gandhi, in over a decade in public life, she has barely given three and a half interviews, most of them carefully choreographed, the questioning in most instances confined to the gentle and routine."
Ahem Ahem. Makes me wonder; are we qualified to judge other country's VP nominees who falters in couple of interviews, when we as a nation have allowed a de-facto ruler to rule us for last 5 years; someone who was as clueless about Indian affairs, both domestic and internationl, as my 8 year old niece?
Don't know. But sounds like a valid point.
************
Terrorism Bail out : As if to take a cue from the on going bailout season, the Sonia Gandhi led UPA government in India has decided to bail out the mushrooming madarsas of the coutry. Times of India reports that a sum of 3.2 Billion rupees is being granted to Madarsas to "upgrade".
Well.. it's only fair. After all, bombing and maiming people does require resources, management, technology and man power to execute plans on such massive scale. The already well funded religious schools, probably needed 'some' Government support after all.
**************
Veeps don't weep : Yesterday's Vice Presidential debate was ok. No home runs scored. No gaffes. I thought it went alrigt. In any case the VP debates, I think have only entertainment value. They are not meant to be game changers in any case.
Biden's, sentimental moment, stuck out for me. May be it was genuine, but certainly not (vice) Presidential. He is expected to be in control all the time.
P.S : I hate it when CNN's Wolf keeps parroting -"Best Political Team in Television" ad nauseum. But CNN is still better than watching left wing haven - MSNBC and right wing idiots at FOX. Hardly a choice though.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
'Save the fat cat'
It took me a while to figure out in actual digits, how to write 700 billion dollars. No Kidding. Here's how it looks - 700,000,000,000 - after adding zeros one by one to 700,000 which is a figure I can relate to as within my realm of existence. And that, if I really look too far from me.
So, Senate today passed the bill to bail out the fat cats of Wall Street and hand over to them 700 Billion US Dollars. We are being told by all the wise men, including journalists and politicians, that this is the right thing to do. And if we don't do that heavens will fall (or something of that order will happen. Doomsday theories you know!)
The idea is, that if the falling banks and their big fat wild cats are flushed with this kind of cash, they in turn will be free to give credit to people, which in turn will roll the economy back on the track over the period of time. On the other hand if Banks keep tumbling for lack of cash, no one will be getting credit which means, no money rolling back and forth into economy and which means "depression".
Now let me tell you quite frankly, I do not like the word depression. It is too fking depressing. And so I am like.. "yeah, do whatever..give those fat cats what they want.. but don't talk of depression please.."
Or is it? Should I as a tax paying resident of this country, who pays his bills regularly, without fail, and who lives within his limits as an honest salaried person not question this bail out?
I am sure, that the 700 Billion figure has my name in it, a small one I agree, somewhere in there. Me and my wife are contributing to bailing out a bunch of greedy CEOs and their Bull Shitting Management gurus and we are being told right now, that do not question this. If you are against bail out, you are a moron.
Ok, fair enough. I am a moron. An honest tax paying moron. But I need to know, the idea behind this RUSH to bail out. Nancy Pelosi's Congress and Bush's managers were sleeping for 1.5 years and all of a sudden they want to apply bandage to a nagging pain and think all is taken care of!!!
I am thinking NO. If you could wait for almost 2 years and sleep over this issue thinking everything is fine, you should wait for another couple of weeks at least. Tell me and my wife, why those greedy cats are not being penalized. Why they are not expected to pay their dues. How do me and my wife not know that these 700 Billion will not vanish in thin air again? Whooooooosh!!!
In a plain, simple, well written op-ed today in New York Time, Nicholas Kristof argues that America should "save the fat cat"
Who am I to question an Harvard educated guy like Nicholas Kristof, who's columns I have been following with great delight?
I am not arguing against the bail out Mr. Kristof. I am arguing against the mad rush to do that without communicating and addressing my fear that the cat is really dependable. I am worried, they are being let off too easily. I am worried that the right lessons are not being learnt here. I am worried that we are not giving ourselves even time to sink in and learn. Quick fixes have a flip side. And you probably have a greater visibility than me to world crisis to know that.
And please do not compare Japan to USA. Japan's economy sunk coz of the financial culture (of obsessive savings by the way) and not because their government did not bail out. I have not been to Harvard or have an MBA degree. But life's own management school of common sense taught me to take each problem on it's merit. If you try to apply Japanese template to USA, you are not going too far.
So, Senate today passed the bill to bail out the fat cats of Wall Street and hand over to them 700 Billion US Dollars. We are being told by all the wise men, including journalists and politicians, that this is the right thing to do. And if we don't do that heavens will fall (or something of that order will happen. Doomsday theories you know!)
The idea is, that if the falling banks and their big fat wild cats are flushed with this kind of cash, they in turn will be free to give credit to people, which in turn will roll the economy back on the track over the period of time. On the other hand if Banks keep tumbling for lack of cash, no one will be getting credit which means, no money rolling back and forth into economy and which means "depression".
Now let me tell you quite frankly, I do not like the word depression. It is too fking depressing. And so I am like.. "yeah, do whatever..give those fat cats what they want.. but don't talk of depression please.."
Or is it? Should I as a tax paying resident of this country, who pays his bills regularly, without fail, and who lives within his limits as an honest salaried person not question this bail out?
I am sure, that the 700 Billion figure has my name in it, a small one I agree, somewhere in there. Me and my wife are contributing to bailing out a bunch of greedy CEOs and their Bull Shitting Management gurus and we are being told right now, that do not question this. If you are against bail out, you are a moron.
Ok, fair enough. I am a moron. An honest tax paying moron. But I need to know, the idea behind this RUSH to bail out. Nancy Pelosi's Congress and Bush's managers were sleeping for 1.5 years and all of a sudden they want to apply bandage to a nagging pain and think all is taken care of!!!
I am thinking NO. If you could wait for almost 2 years and sleep over this issue thinking everything is fine, you should wait for another couple of weeks at least. Tell me and my wife, why those greedy cats are not being penalized. Why they are not expected to pay their dues. How do me and my wife not know that these 700 Billion will not vanish in thin air again? Whooooooosh!!!
In a plain, simple, well written op-ed today in New York Time, Nicholas Kristof argues that America should "save the fat cat"
Who am I to question an Harvard educated guy like Nicholas Kristof, who's columns I have been following with great delight?
I am not arguing against the bail out Mr. Kristof. I am arguing against the mad rush to do that without communicating and addressing my fear that the cat is really dependable. I am worried, they are being let off too easily. I am worried that the right lessons are not being learnt here. I am worried that we are not giving ourselves even time to sink in and learn. Quick fixes have a flip side. And you probably have a greater visibility than me to world crisis to know that.
And please do not compare Japan to USA. Japan's economy sunk coz of the financial culture (of obsessive savings by the way) and not because their government did not bail out. I have not been to Harvard or have an MBA degree. But life's own management school of common sense taught me to take each problem on it's merit. If you try to apply Japanese template to USA, you are not going too far.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Whoa la Nagpurkar
Born in Nagpur, India, 51-year-old Pandit earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University in New York City. He received a doctorate in finance from the school in 1986. At Morgan Stanley, he headed institutional securities, overseeing banking, trading, prime brokerage and investments. While his unit performed well, Pandit often sparred with fixed-income chief Zoe Cruz, who said he was too conservative and unwilling to use leverage to magnify bets.
- Times of India - 2008/09/30 on CitiBank Chief Vikram Pandit
- Times of India - 2008/09/30 on CitiBank Chief Vikram Pandit
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday
I don't know why I am writing this. But if I have to hazard a guess - well it's Friday morning, I am traveling in my local Metra train on my way to office and I have nothing better to do.(Actually it would really help if the lady sitting in my next seat, keeps her stretched out New York Times, away from my nose)
Friday's are usually fun time at work. They come with a few games of "foosball" and a couple of beers with colleagues before the day ends. Not to mention some weird meetings during the days.
I know my opinion counts a squat. But here's one more of my opinions - America, *can* market anything. I mean ANYTHING. Americans can convert a crappy shit of an entity into a brand and still sell it to world. They are world leaders in marketing. That I am utterly and completely convinced about.
Why do I say that? OK, lets see. Let's start with two of America's most known brands. Mickey Mouse and McDonalds. At the very basic, Mickey is a cartoon character to be found in children comics and day time television. That's as far we mortals could have thought. These Americans converted Mickey Mouse, into a multi billion dollar industry.
Same with McD. At the very basic McDonalds sells wada-pavs. Only, it packages it well. But it's a wada pav after all. Nothing more. And McDonalds has a turnover bigger than some nations GDP. Get the drift?
Brits created English language, but Americans made it COOL.
This 'coolness' factor is essential to re-branding something. You can make a shitty stuff cool and all off a sudden it becomes sell able.
Most Indians re-discovered Yoga after they came in contact with Western World. Ideally it should have been the other way round.
All of us are "going green" today. But we Indians were always "going green". We always recycled. Now Americans are making it "cool" to go green (More on this later)
So why am I calling the title of this post - "Friday"? Coz, I just think that it was the Americans who made "Fridays" cool. They branded Friday as the cool day. A day to just loosen yourself. It may be argued that TGIF is not an American term. But who knows how it came into being. The fact that Friday is celebrated across the western world, as the 'coolest' day, does not take away from this notion that it was made cool by Americans.
The term Friday Dressing must have boosted the Mall sales, when it was introduced I am sure. Sometimes I feel there are forces who work together to create this brand so as to induce more market into it.
Just think about it. 'Thank Goodness It's Friday', just makes you feel good even if you know it's going to be a regular day. You have a bounce in your feet. You hang out at those bars shouting loudly. Checking scores on monitors while checking other things and keeping scores of your beers.
(Blame this lame post on the book I am reading - "The Tipping Point". There's a bunch of "branding" crap in it)
Friday's are usually fun time at work. They come with a few games of "foosball" and a couple of beers with colleagues before the day ends. Not to mention some weird meetings during the days.
I know my opinion counts a squat. But here's one more of my opinions - America, *can* market anything. I mean ANYTHING. Americans can convert a crappy shit of an entity into a brand and still sell it to world. They are world leaders in marketing. That I am utterly and completely convinced about.
Why do I say that? OK, lets see. Let's start with two of America's most known brands. Mickey Mouse and McDonalds. At the very basic, Mickey is a cartoon character to be found in children comics and day time television. That's as far we mortals could have thought. These Americans converted Mickey Mouse, into a multi billion dollar industry.
Same with McD. At the very basic McDonalds sells wada-pavs. Only, it packages it well. But it's a wada pav after all. Nothing more. And McDonalds has a turnover bigger than some nations GDP. Get the drift?
Brits created English language, but Americans made it COOL.
This 'coolness' factor is essential to re-branding something. You can make a shitty stuff cool and all off a sudden it becomes sell able.
Most Indians re-discovered Yoga after they came in contact with Western World. Ideally it should have been the other way round.
All of us are "going green" today. But we Indians were always "going green". We always recycled. Now Americans are making it "cool" to go green (More on this later)
So why am I calling the title of this post - "Friday"? Coz, I just think that it was the Americans who made "Fridays" cool. They branded Friday as the cool day. A day to just loosen yourself. It may be argued that TGIF is not an American term. But who knows how it came into being. The fact that Friday is celebrated across the western world, as the 'coolest' day, does not take away from this notion that it was made cool by Americans.
The term Friday Dressing must have boosted the Mall sales, when it was introduced I am sure. Sometimes I feel there are forces who work together to create this brand so as to induce more market into it.
Just think about it. 'Thank Goodness It's Friday', just makes you feel good even if you know it's going to be a regular day. You have a bounce in your feet. You hang out at those bars shouting loudly. Checking scores on monitors while checking other things and keeping scores of your beers.
(Blame this lame post on the book I am reading - "The Tipping Point". There's a bunch of "branding" crap in it)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Terrorism in India
5 stages
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance.
I think we reached the last stage pretty fast. In fact we by passed 2,3 and 4 and have reached the stage of Acceptance after being in Denial for about 15 years.
**************
NDTV, is insulting my intelligence by comparing SIMI and Bajrang Dal. One takes orders from Karachi, places bombs in public places and kills 2 year old innocents and wants Sharia to become Indian law. Other breaks window glass panes of Shops in Manglore and Orrissa and attacks Christian Missionaries who are converting poor tribals in Orissa. Ya both are same, right!
Apparently the argument is - "both are dangerous as both are breaking laws". Ahem, even Sonia Gandhi has broken "Office of Profit" Law. Does that mean she is same as Dawood Ibrahim? Shouldn't we have same punishment then for DUI driving and Parking Ticket? Both are laws broken, yaha..!
This is by the way, a classic "secularist" strategy to dodge blame on "peace loving" and "victimized" organization like SIMI. Make a noise about Bajrang Dal and create a notion of moral equivalence between BD and SIMI. This way, the anger against SIMI can be diminished. The professional "secularists" do not like to loose arguments. So they go to any lenghts to use this classic defense mechanism - "See your guys do it too.. they block traffic, break windows... so what if other side just bombs and maims innocent people.. same difference..right?"
Whatever..
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance.
I think we reached the last stage pretty fast. In fact we by passed 2,3 and 4 and have reached the stage of Acceptance after being in Denial for about 15 years.
**************
NDTV, is insulting my intelligence by comparing SIMI and Bajrang Dal. One takes orders from Karachi, places bombs in public places and kills 2 year old innocents and wants Sharia to become Indian law. Other breaks window glass panes of Shops in Manglore and Orrissa and attacks Christian Missionaries who are converting poor tribals in Orissa. Ya both are same, right!
Apparently the argument is - "both are dangerous as both are breaking laws". Ahem, even Sonia Gandhi has broken "Office of Profit" Law. Does that mean she is same as Dawood Ibrahim? Shouldn't we have same punishment then for DUI driving and Parking Ticket? Both are laws broken, yaha..!
This is by the way, a classic "secularist" strategy to dodge blame on "peace loving" and "victimized" organization like SIMI. Make a noise about Bajrang Dal and create a notion of moral equivalence between BD and SIMI. This way, the anger against SIMI can be diminished. The professional "secularists" do not like to loose arguments. So they go to any lenghts to use this classic defense mechanism - "See your guys do it too.. they block traffic, break windows... so what if other side just bombs and maims innocent people.. same difference..right?"
Whatever..
'Geography of Bliss'
- a book review (attempted)
It's a good feeling when you find validation. A validation of your ideas. And it may sound a bit cliche', but you connect to someone with your ideas instantly.
Nothing like this happened for me when I started reading "Georgraphy of Bliss" - A grump's search for happiest places in the world.
The book dragged for a few pages initially and then it picked. And boy it did!
Once I started sipping each page one by one, the "wine" became tastier and more intoxicating. I sort of found a validation in my own ideas after reading this. I always knew that we as a people are whiners basically. We are looking to run away from what we have. In fact world is getting whinier every day. And this clearly comes out to me after reading this book.
Eric Weiner was an NPR journalist. As an author of this amazing travelogue he goes to about 9 or 10 countries and tries to find out why the people in these countries are happy. He tries to see if they are happy at all? If yes, what ticks.
He goes to strange places like Bhutan, Qatar and Iceland and interacts with the local people to know what's going on. He also goes to the world's unhappiest place - Moldova.
He begins his journey in Netherlands, where a Research institute maintains a list of Happiest places in the world. And he is surprised by some findings of that research. For example, a country like Iceland, where half the year is complete darkness and cold and bitter, is actually a very happy place. He says Iceland is country of only 300,000 people. It's population is about the size of Louisville or as he says the "average bus stop in China" :)
The book is evenly spaced between bouts of humor and some serious information. Weiner does a good job of keeping the balance. It's important for a funny guy who's on a mission to not loose his focus and try to be too funny. As a messenger of this research, Weiner needs to inform his audience in a way that they do not loose interest. And considering the kind of attention span we have these days, Weiner's job is not easy. To his credit he maintains that track all along. Making sure, he does not miss the point, keeping a subtle thread of humor running. I like the smooth narration. It is not preachy or high handed. It makes you feel easy.
He keeps best for the last. His last stop before coming back to his home, America,is India. And here's what he has to say about India -
"Some places are like family. They annoy us no end, specially during holidays, but we keep coming back for more because we know, deep in our hearts, that our destinations are intertwined. For me, that place is India. I hate it. I love it. Not alternatively, but simultaneously"
We all think about that elusive "perfect job". In my head that job is still not completely defined or clear. But if ever there was, Eric Weiner's job of going to 10 different countries, staying with local folks, interacting with them, interviewing them and finding what clicks or not, would be very close to a perfect job. :)
Not a masterpiece or a classic. But a good informative, relaxing read nevertheless.
Recommended : YES
It's a good feeling when you find validation. A validation of your ideas. And it may sound a bit cliche', but you connect to someone with your ideas instantly.
Nothing like this happened for me when I started reading "Georgraphy of Bliss" - A grump's search for happiest places in the world.
The book dragged for a few pages initially and then it picked. And boy it did!
Once I started sipping each page one by one, the "wine" became tastier and more intoxicating. I sort of found a validation in my own ideas after reading this. I always knew that we as a people are whiners basically. We are looking to run away from what we have. In fact world is getting whinier every day. And this clearly comes out to me after reading this book.
Eric Weiner was an NPR journalist. As an author of this amazing travelogue he goes to about 9 or 10 countries and tries to find out why the people in these countries are happy. He tries to see if they are happy at all? If yes, what ticks.
He goes to strange places like Bhutan, Qatar and Iceland and interacts with the local people to know what's going on. He also goes to the world's unhappiest place - Moldova.
He begins his journey in Netherlands, where a Research institute maintains a list of Happiest places in the world. And he is surprised by some findings of that research. For example, a country like Iceland, where half the year is complete darkness and cold and bitter, is actually a very happy place. He says Iceland is country of only 300,000 people. It's population is about the size of Louisville or as he says the "average bus stop in China" :)
The book is evenly spaced between bouts of humor and some serious information. Weiner does a good job of keeping the balance. It's important for a funny guy who's on a mission to not loose his focus and try to be too funny. As a messenger of this research, Weiner needs to inform his audience in a way that they do not loose interest. And considering the kind of attention span we have these days, Weiner's job is not easy. To his credit he maintains that track all along. Making sure, he does not miss the point, keeping a subtle thread of humor running. I like the smooth narration. It is not preachy or high handed. It makes you feel easy.
He keeps best for the last. His last stop before coming back to his home, America,is India. And here's what he has to say about India -
"Some places are like family. They annoy us no end, specially during holidays, but we keep coming back for more because we know, deep in our hearts, that our destinations are intertwined. For me, that place is India. I hate it. I love it. Not alternatively, but simultaneously"
We all think about that elusive "perfect job". In my head that job is still not completely defined or clear. But if ever there was, Eric Weiner's job of going to 10 different countries, staying with local folks, interacting with them, interviewing them and finding what clicks or not, would be very close to a perfect job. :)
Not a masterpiece or a classic. But a good informative, relaxing read nevertheless.
Recommended : YES
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Financial Bloodbath
We din't see it coming. Or may be we did, but we were in denial. What a shocker this was? But was it? Lehman Brothers, one of the biggest investment bankers of our times collapsed yesterday. And how?
NYtimes thinks, today it would be AIG. The biggest Insurance company. AIG has already been downgraded by Moody to it's lowest ever.
Has excessive Greed finally caught on Capitalism? Should we now move to more government regulations as Obama and his campaign managers have already started suggesting? I don't know. But it makes sense to keep a balance for sure. (If I was Obama, btw, I would be very happy with timing of this news. Palinmania, was clearly shifting the sand under him since last two weeks. This Wall Street Bloodbath, should surely help him provide effective argument against Republican capitalism. Let's see how that cow is milked now)
Coming back to my earlier question though- is "evil" Capitalism finally finding it's nemesis? Has uncalibrated greed, made free market Capitalism a failed philosophy?
Before I write obituaries on Capitalism, let me put it this way - if Capitalism as a system is bad, should I move towards Socialism and may be it's more aggressive brother Communism? Meaning, if I loose all my money currently stocked in Fidelity,Chase etc( who knows they may collapse too), should I move to Venezuela ( a socialist dictator's nation) or to China (a Commie Giant) ?
I am thinking NO for now. You know why? Coz, Capitalism as a system has flaws.And when I chose to be a part of it, I knew it (or should have known it) had. No one was putting a gun on me to be a part of this "flawed" system. And what we are seeing today is, one of it's design flaws getting exposed. Now I have a choice. To become an eternal skeptic, like Michael Moore and Bill Maher, and whine about how bad capitalism is and how we are all doomed for ever, while sipping on a nice beer in an Air conditioned room watching the latest Hollywood movie or NFL game on my Plasma, or think hard. A little hard. Does capitalism system with all it's flaws, has a chance to bounce back?
Or more importantly, does a combination of Capitalism and Democracy have a chance to bounce back from this massive setback? Does the US ogre have the capacity to dust off it's butt and bounce back and walk again? Does the checks and balances mechanism work?
I would like to take a brief vacation from cynicism and I would go for later theory - believing that it *does* have a capacity to rebound, like it it did post Enron or post 2001 bubble burst. I mean, I would certainly like to believe that China with it's water tight control over all banks and hard wired regulations is certainly "safer" than the greedy un regulated banks of USA. Or for that matter since Chavez of Venezeula has nationalized everything in sight in his small hapless nation, we should all move to that great socialist "paradise". But I am thinking no. Crisis, keep coming. What's important is, do we as a people, as a system have that ability to re calibrate, recode, regroup to bounce back. Does the system we are in allows us enough leverage to correct it's flaws?
If the answer is yes, I feel it's a rational argument to stick back. Take a deep breath, take a few steps back and re-code the broken piece, rather than just pulverize the whole system itself and say we are Doomed. Leave that job to Bill Maher or as Greeks would say to Cassandra.
I am no blind supporter of USA or Capitalism per se. I don't pretend they are flawless. I am very well aware of their flaws. And, I, as a responsible semi-citizen am equally accountable for it's problems as I myself have made a choice to be a part of this "flawed" system. Nobody forced me to. (Like nobody forced lower middle class people who could not afford to buy mansions at sub prime rates. They were "incentive-ized" alright, but they got themselves into the black hole, like some people going to Las Vegas casinos do)
My problem is I am equally aware of the "other" or alternative systems around the world that are currently looking at me and my professional home (the USA) with a sarcastic - SEE-I-TOLD-YOU-SO look. And I am telling them in my mind, nah.. sorry, enjoy your sarcastic laugh for all you want to.. you are still wishing down in your heart somewhere.. "I should have been there.."
*******
P.S : I am currently reading an excellent book called - "The Geography of Bliss". And this book is what I was looking for since a while. Written by Eric Weiner, of National Public Radio. The book is making a lot of sense to me. More on it later.
NYtimes thinks, today it would be AIG. The biggest Insurance company. AIG has already been downgraded by Moody to it's lowest ever.
Has excessive Greed finally caught on Capitalism? Should we now move to more government regulations as Obama and his campaign managers have already started suggesting? I don't know. But it makes sense to keep a balance for sure. (If I was Obama, btw, I would be very happy with timing of this news. Palinmania, was clearly shifting the sand under him since last two weeks. This Wall Street Bloodbath, should surely help him provide effective argument against Republican capitalism. Let's see how that cow is milked now)
Coming back to my earlier question though- is "evil" Capitalism finally finding it's nemesis? Has uncalibrated greed, made free market Capitalism a failed philosophy?
Before I write obituaries on Capitalism, let me put it this way - if Capitalism as a system is bad, should I move towards Socialism and may be it's more aggressive brother Communism? Meaning, if I loose all my money currently stocked in Fidelity,Chase etc( who knows they may collapse too), should I move to Venezuela ( a socialist dictator's nation) or to China (a Commie Giant) ?
I am thinking NO for now. You know why? Coz, Capitalism as a system has flaws.And when I chose to be a part of it, I knew it (or should have known it) had. No one was putting a gun on me to be a part of this "flawed" system. And what we are seeing today is, one of it's design flaws getting exposed. Now I have a choice. To become an eternal skeptic, like Michael Moore and Bill Maher, and whine about how bad capitalism is and how we are all doomed for ever, while sipping on a nice beer in an Air conditioned room watching the latest Hollywood movie or NFL game on my Plasma, or think hard. A little hard. Does capitalism system with all it's flaws, has a chance to bounce back?
Or more importantly, does a combination of Capitalism and Democracy have a chance to bounce back from this massive setback? Does the US ogre have the capacity to dust off it's butt and bounce back and walk again? Does the checks and balances mechanism work?
I would like to take a brief vacation from cynicism and I would go for later theory - believing that it *does* have a capacity to rebound, like it it did post Enron or post 2001 bubble burst. I mean, I would certainly like to believe that China with it's water tight control over all banks and hard wired regulations is certainly "safer" than the greedy un regulated banks of USA. Or for that matter since Chavez of Venezeula has nationalized everything in sight in his small hapless nation, we should all move to that great socialist "paradise". But I am thinking no. Crisis, keep coming. What's important is, do we as a people, as a system have that ability to re calibrate, recode, regroup to bounce back. Does the system we are in allows us enough leverage to correct it's flaws?
If the answer is yes, I feel it's a rational argument to stick back. Take a deep breath, take a few steps back and re-code the broken piece, rather than just pulverize the whole system itself and say we are Doomed. Leave that job to Bill Maher or as Greeks would say to Cassandra.
I am no blind supporter of USA or Capitalism per se. I don't pretend they are flawless. I am very well aware of their flaws. And, I, as a responsible semi-citizen am equally accountable for it's problems as I myself have made a choice to be a part of this "flawed" system. Nobody forced me to. (Like nobody forced lower middle class people who could not afford to buy mansions at sub prime rates. They were "incentive-ized" alright, but they got themselves into the black hole, like some people going to Las Vegas casinos do)
My problem is I am equally aware of the "other" or alternative systems around the world that are currently looking at me and my professional home (the USA) with a sarcastic - SEE-I-TOLD-YOU-SO look. And I am telling them in my mind, nah.. sorry, enjoy your sarcastic laugh for all you want to.. you are still wishing down in your heart somewhere.. "I should have been there.."
*******
P.S : I am currently reading an excellent book called - "The Geography of Bliss". And this book is what I was looking for since a while. Written by Eric Weiner, of National Public Radio. The book is making a lot of sense to me. More on it later.
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