POVERTY   AND  GOVERNMENT  POLICY                        1)      Unfortunately countries which are relatively poor spend lower fraction                                of  their gdp    behind social welfare,  compared to  richer  countries.                                           2)    Giving free money to the poor, contrary to widely held belief, does not                           make them lazy or work less. This has been shown in empirical re...

                                                2024  USA   ELECTION           This November our presidental election is critical. One candidate is a person who is  unpredictable, authoritarian, of flawed character and non-inclusive. The other one at least  is  predictable and faithful to US constitution. Choice is clear. We should vote to preserve  our democracy and associated freedoms and rule of law. Do not neglect to vote this  November.

                                                TO BE GRATEFUL  &  TO BE FORGIVING                Remembering somebody who has enriched our life, with a sense of gratitude, gives a  soothing feeling to our heart. From our parents, our teachers, great writers, to inspiring leaders:  frequently and sincerely expressing our gratefulness to those who have helped us in any way, brings  peace to our mind.                Another thing to do to be happier is to let go of past resentments. To forgive someone who may have offended us in the past is a wise thing to do. Just as carrying a light luggage in travel  makes our journey more comfortable, reducing vengefulness toward  persons who may have caused us  a grief at some point in life, relieves us of a bu...

                                                            ATTITUDE           In our life and death  there are very few things we can control. Our mental attitude is one of those things which we can relatively control. Our attitude toward things and  people plays a large role in our being happy or miserable.           Some of our suffering is caused by being bothered about what other people think or  talk about  us. Think: "other people's feelings or opinions do not touch my skin. Why  should   I be bothered? It is OK if some people do not like me. So what?"           We often make ourselves miserable by brooding about regrets and resentments  of the past: Why did my father always put me down? Why did I not get admission to a...

                                                     PLIGHT  OF   PALESTINIAN   ARABS                The current Israel-Gaza war is a tragic war. Barbaric killing of Israeli civilians  (including women and children) by Hamas radicals, on October 7, 2023, must be deplored. But the retaliatory Israeli bombardment of Gaza Strip (on a massive scale) has led to killing  and wounding of thousands of innocent civilians. This is equally unacceptable. Many  Gazan cvilians have been uprooted from their homes and are suffering from lack of enough food, water, electricity and medical care. The ravages of this war continue uninterrupted. There is an urgent appeal from international quarters for a ceasefire. What needs to follow  is a multiparty effort at peace negotiations with an u...

                                                            C H I N A           The country's economy has hit a wall, ending the longest running boom in history.  Since the   Party embraced western style market economic policies in the late 1970s, China  has doubled the size of  its economy every decade. Some 800 million Chinese have been  lifted out of poverty. But China grew  its gdp at 3 percent last year--dropping from 7.4  percent a decade earlier. It's partly a  consequence of Xi's three-year "zero Covid"  policy. There is a housing bubble in  China, threatening the savings of millions of Chinese  who invested in the real estate  market.            On top of its economic woes, Beijing is contending with a demographi...

                                                 M O N E Y                Money plays a very important role in life of an individual and society. Its lack brings a lot of  suffering to the poor. Money relieves a person from life of hard labor. Money is necessary but not  sufficient for happiness. Rich people enjoy freedom of choice about what they want to occupy  their time with. Money can go to one's head and make him (or her) arrogant. Money can lead to vice  or corruption.                Money buys power too. Money can influence political elections and policy decisions of the government. Money can inspire a wise man to do many good deeds for society. Money can support  many charitable activities. Thus money can do good things as well as bad. Do not underrate...

                                            RISING  WEALTH  INEQUALITY   There has been rising inequality in wealth as well as iincome (the gap betweenn top 10% and lowest 20  % of the populaton),  in US, over last several years. Such inequality is even greater in India. One of the  striking aspects of wealth inequality has been soaring levels of executive pay. Wealthy also have a  disproportionate influence on public policy thru campaign contributions and heavy lobbying. In India, the nontransparent  electoral bond scheme has facilitated large cororate donations to the ruling party. There has also been a tendency on the part of  large corporations, to exploit the corporate loopholes and use of tax havens, to avoid taxes. Globalizaion, automation and the decline in labor unions have made the life of ordinary workers more precarious. I...

                                            USA The deep red states of the south suffer per capita homicide and suicide rates two to three times greater than those in the Northeast and West Coast, and seven to nine times greater than those in the  greater New York City area. The New York metropolitan area is the country's safest region in terms of  gun deaths. Why? Mostly because it has the lowest level of gun ownership, with 78% of households  reporting no firearms in home, whereas in regions with high per capita gun deaths, about half of  households have guns. There is now majority support in every region for banning assault-style rifles and high capacity  magazines.                                      (From "The Week". June 30 2023)