Vision India - 2025 (Expectations of an Ordinary Person)

Introduction

The way one lyrist has written, "Hum logo ko samajh sako to samjho dilbar jaani; jitna bhi tum samjhoge utni hogi hayerani"...in a nut-shell we Indian's are most "unpredictable". When the expectations are low...we have performed really well and contrary to that when expectations were very high...most of the time we have failed to live up to those expectations.

As we are going to complete 58 yrs of independence on 15th August 2005, it is a pleasure to share with you the facts about India, Vision India 2025 (From Ordinary person's point of View), and India in 21st Century.

From Independence...till now

India was a British colony. It earned its independence from the British on 15th August 1947. Day before that Pakistan which was created as a result of partition of British India was established and flanked on two sides of India: West Pakistan which is called today Pakistan, and east Pakistan, now an independent state called Bangladesh. After its independence, the political leaders of India adopted the liberal democratic system for the country.

Since its independence, India has transformed a lot. When India attained independence in 1947, its population was around 400 million people. Now there are billion people in India. India is the largest democracy in the world. It has the biggest number of people with franchise rights and the largest number of Political Parties, which take part in election campaign.

Before its independence, India was never a single country but a bunch of different entities. Many predicted that India, because of diversities in its cultures, religion, languages, castes, manners, local histories, nationalities and identities, would not survive as a single democratic country, but would break up into smaller countries.

Since independence, India had many political problems. During independence the most burning issues were the riots between the Hindus and Muslims while the Sikhs were siding with Hindus. Another issue was convincing the Princely states not to declare independence or join Pakistan but to join the Indian Union. India also had a few wars with its neighbors on border issues.

India also has many internal problems. Different communities with different identities - regional, language, caste, religion - demanded different rights for their communities. Some communities demanded more autonomy for their cultures within the Indian states. Others demanded autonomous states within the Indian Union, while the others demanded to be independent from India.

With all its problems India survives as a single state with democratic character.

How much do you know about India? (India - Fact File)

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Population: 1,080,264,388 (July 2005 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 1.4% (2005 est.)

Life expectancy: 64.35 years

Sex ratio: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Composition of Religion: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)

Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language

Administrative Break-up: 28 states and 7 union territories

Executive Heads: President A.P.J. Abdul KALAM (since 26 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
Head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since May 2004)

Economic Overview: India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, though two-thirds of the workforce is in agriculture. The UPA government has committed to furthering economic reforms and developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but high tariffs (averaging 20% in 2004) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government has indicated it will do more to liberalize investment in civil aviation, telecom, and insurance sectors in the near term. Privatization of government-owned industries has proceeded slowly, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6.8% since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9% of GDP. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took at least 60,000 lives in India, caused massive destruction of property, and severely affected the fishing fleet.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.319 trillion (2004 est.)

Important Years for India, since independence

1947: India gains independence at the stroke of midnight on Aug. 15. Hours before, Pakistan is born. As many as 6 million people cross the communal border in a two-way exodus. Rampages among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs claim a million lives.

1948: Spiritual leader Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi is shot dead Jan. 30 by a Hindu extremist. An advocate of non-violent political action, Gandhi had campaigned against British rule and sectarian violence for two decades.

The fighting stops in Kashmir; the disputed territory belongs to India.

1951: India's first Five-Year Plan is initiated.

1961: Indian troops move in to liberate Goa from the Portuguese.

1962: Indo-Chinese hostilities break out on the Tibetan border.

1965: Political tension rises with Pakistan over Kashmir. India proclaims Hindi the national language.

1967: Drought and major famine strike India, especially the Bihar region.

1971: India goes to war against Pakistan, recognizes the independent state of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).
1974: Nuclear tests are performed in the Rajasthan desert.

1975: PM Gandhi is accused of electoral crimes. A state of emergency is declared across the country, restricting political and individual rights.

1977: State of emergency ends. Cyclones plague the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu regions.

1984: Sikhs occupy the Golden Temple compound in Amritsar. On June 6, Indian troops storm the temple. On Dec. 2, a leak at the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal kills 2,000 and leaves millions affected by chemical poisoning.

1987: Indian peacekeeping troops are sent to Sri Lanka to deal with Tamil insurrectionists.

1990: Singh announces plans to reserve places for the lower castes in the public service. Riots erupt across the country.

Hindu militants attempt construction of a temple on the site of the former Babri Masjid mosque in Uttar Pradesh. A procession to the site leads to thousands of arrests. Clashes between police and Hindu militants occur throughout Northern India.

1992: India's worst financial scandal, involving state-owned commercial banks, leads to a major slump on the Bombay stock market.

Sectarian violence erupts after Hindu extremists level the 16th century Babri mosque at Ayodhya on Dec. 6. The violence is the worst seen since Partition. The government's offer to build a mosque and a Hindu temple at the site fails to appease both sides.

1993: Hundreds are killed when bombs go off in Bombay public buildings. Four days later, a bomb ignites in Calcutta. Pakistan denies complicity.

1995: The World Bank allocates a $980 million loan, its largest ever, to aid Indian bank reforms.

2002: Communal riots in Gujarat, hundred's of people were killed.

Vision India, 2025 (From an Ordinary Person's Point of View)

1) Ensure dignity, Self-Respect and Pride for each individual, irrespective of age, gender, region or religion.

2) Drinking Water, Food, Cloth, Shelter and education for all.

3) World Class infrastructure: roads, airports and railways.

4) Every year there is a loss of billions of rupees due to flood; only solution is "Unification" of all rivers.

5) Only one caste (Brotherhood) and one religion (Humanity), across the length and breadth of the country.

6) No "reservation", no subsidiary, no "special privilege" and no discount, on the basis of Region, Religion, Community, Profession and Community.

7) Minimum education (Graduate), Minimum Administrative Experience (7-10 yrs) and retirement age (67 yrs) for all politicians. Also, annual appraisal system for all ministers.

(These are the few points, I am able to pen down; however I have not mentioned anything about security and foreign policy...because as an ordinary person above mentioned things are of more importance than anything else)

India in 21st Century

Everyone recognizes that the twenty-first century is the Century of Knowledge. Nations, which have mastered the production of knowledge, its dissemination, its conversion into wealth and social good and its protection have assumed a leadership position in the world today. But it must be recognized that knowledge without innovation is of no value. It is through the process of innovation alone that new knowledge can be created. It is innovation, which converts knowledge into wealth and social good.

India was a leader in innovation several centuries ago. In fact, our innovations were diverse and pioneering. They included

1. Remarkable town planning,

2. The use of standardized burnt bricks for dwelling houses

3. Interlinked drainage systems

4. Wheel-turned ceramics and solid-wheeled carts.

5. The dockyard at Lothal in Gujarat is regarded as the largest maritime structure ever built by a bronze-age community.

6. The discovery of zero and the decimal place value system by Indians dates back to the Vedic period.

7. Our pioneering work in algebra, trigonometry and geometry was truly outstanding.

8. Indian innovations in medicine, especially in Ayurveda, not only aimed at the cure of diseases but, more importantly, on the preservation of health.

9. The innovations in surgery included pioneering efforts in laprotomy, lithotomy and plastic surgery.

10. The iron pillar at Delhi, which testifies to the achievements in metallurgy some 1500 years ago, is truly inspirational even today.

Indian civilization was characterized by scientific thought, capabilities and techniques at levels far more advanced than others.

In spite of this great heritage and record of accomplishments, why did India fall behind in the ensuing centuries? When the scientific and industrial revolutions took place in the West a few hundred years ago, there was a period of stagnation in India. The lack of development over this period was a result of a hierarchical approach, irrational subjective thinking, and build up of superstitions and superficial ritualism. We have lost the leadership position. This cannot continue into the twenty-first century. We must regain this position with determined action.

Our confidence in building the new innovative India of our dreams stems from our major successes in the arena of many technological innovations that have made such a difference to the nation. Some prominent examples include
the blue (space), green (agriculture), white (milk) and gray (software) revolutions. Let us just take one example.

1. The Indian space program, for example, has designed and sent into space a series of satellites that, among other things, comprise the largest domestic communication system in the Asia-Pacific region.

2. It has also developed a range of launch vehicles, the most recent being a geo-synchronous launch vehicle with an 1800 kg payload. These developments have helped in the application of space technology for national needs in communication, meteorology, broadcasting, and remote sensing. All of this has been achieved in a relatively cost-effective manner. The Indian space programmer's current annual budget is equivalent to US $450 million while NASA's budget, in comparison, is over $15 billion.

3. Other innovations serving specific Indian needs include C-DOT digital switches, CorDECT cost-effective wireless-local-loop products, the Simputer, which is a low-cost computer and the Param supercomputer.

4. The last is an example of "denial-driven innovation," illustrating that India has the potential to tackle highly advanced technological issues, given the proper motivation.

Conclusion

Yesterday was good since then we have traveled a lot; covered a lot of distance, but still there are miles to go. Building a nation is not easy. We have to "learn from our past and focus on future". The way ahead is not easy...is not a bed of roses. Instead of pulling each other, lets grow together...lets be a "Team India".

On this independence, this is all I have to share...to write.
Have a great day and take care of yourself.

Awaiting your feedback and comments,

Wag the Dog - How to Conceal Massive Economic Collapse

"I'm in show business, why come to me?"

"War is show business, that's why we're here."

- "Wag the Dog" (1997 film)

The first week of August 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had just announced record losses, and so had most reporting corporations. Unemployment was mounting, the foreclosure crisis was deepening, state budgets were in shambles, and massive bailouts were everywhere. Investors had every reason to expect the dollar and the stock market to plummet, and gold and oil to shoot up. Strangely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 300 points, the dollar strengthened, and gold and oil were crushed. What happened?

It hardly took psychic powers to see that the Plunge Protection Team had come to the rescue. Formally known as the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, the PPT was once concealed and its very existence denied as if it were a matter of strict national security. But the PPT has now come out of the closet. What was once a legally questionable "manipulator" of markets has become a sanctioned stabilizer and protector of markets. The new tone was set in January 2008, when global markets took their worst tumble since September 11, 2001. Senator Hillary Clinton said in a statement reported by the State News Service:

"I think it's imperative that the following step be taken. The President should have already and should do so very quickly, convene the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. That's something that he can ask the Secretary of the Treasury to do. This has to be coordinated across markets with the regulators here and obviously with regulators and central banks around the world."

The mystery over what was going on with the dollar the first week in August was solved by James Turk, founder of GoldMoney, who wrote on August 7:

"[T]he banking problems in the United States continue to mount, while the federal government's deficit continues to soar out of control. So what happened to cause the dollar to rally over the past three weeks? In a word, intervention. Central banks have propped up the dollar, and here's the proof.

"When central banks intervene in the currency markets, they exchange their currency for dollars. Central banks then use the dollars they acquire to buy US government debt instruments so that they can earn interest on their money. The debt instruments central banks acquire are held in custody for them at the Federal Reserve, which reports this amount weekly.

"On July 16, 2008 the Federal Reserve reported holding $2,349 billion of US government paper in custody for central banks. In its report released today, this amount had grown over the past three weeks to $2,401 billion, a 38.4% annual rate of growth. So central banks were accumulating dollars over the past three weeks at a rate far above what one would expect as a result of the US trade deficit. The logical conclusion is that they were intervening in currency markets. They were buying dollars for the purpose of propping it up, to keep the dollar from falling off the edge of the cliff and doing so ignited a short covering rally, which is not too difficult to do given the leverage employed in the markets these days by hedge funds and others."

Just as central banks manipulate currencies in concert, so gold can be manipulated by massive selling of central bank reserves. Oil and any other market can be manipulated as well. But markets can be manipulated by only so much and for only so long without fixing the underlying problem. There is more bad news coming down the pike, news of such magnitude that no amount of ordinary manipulation is liable to conceal it.

For one thing, roughly $400 billion in ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) have or will reset between March and October of this year. Assuming 3 to 6 months for strapped debtors to actually hit the wall with their payments, a huge wave of defaults is about to strike, continuing through March 2009 - just in time for the next huge wave of resets, in option ARMs. Option ARMs are loans with the option to pay even less than just the interest on the loan monthly, increasing the loan balance until the loan reaches a certain amount (typically 110% to 125% of the original loan balance), when it resets. The $800 billion credit line recently opened to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be not only tapped but tapped out, at taxpayer expense. The underlying problem is little discussed but impossible to repair - a one quadrillion dollar derivatives scheme that is now imploding. Banks everywhere are facing massive writeoffs, putting the whole banking system on the brink of collapse. Only public bailouts will save it, but they could bankrupt the nation.

What to do? War and threats of war have been used historically to distract the population and deflect public scrutiny from economic calamity. As the scheme was summed up in the trailer to the 1997 movie "Wag the Dog" -

"There's a crisis in the White House, and to save the election, they'd have to fake a war."

Perhaps that explains the sudden breakout of war in the Eurasian country of Georgia on August 8, just 3 months before the November elections. August 8 was the day the Olympic Games began in Beijing, a distraction that may have been timed to keep China from intervening on Russia's behalf. The mainstream media version of events is that Russia, the bully on the block, invaded its tiny neighbor Georgia; but not all commentators agree. Mikhail Gorbachev, writing in The Washington Post on August 12, observed:

"What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against 'small, defenseless Georgia' is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force."

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power, commented in OpEdNews on August 11:

"The U.S. has long been involved in supporting 'freedom movements' throughout this region that have been attempting to replace Russian influence with U.S. corporate control. The CIA, National Endowment for Democracy and Freedom House (includes Zbigniew Brzezinski, former CIA director James Woolsey, and Obama foreign policy adviser Anthony Lake) have been key funders and supporters of placing politicians in power throughout Central Asia that would play ball with 'our side'. None of this is about the good guys versus the bad guys. It is power bloc politics. Big money is at stake. [B]oth parties (Republican and Democrat) share a bi-partisan history and agenda of advancing corporate interests in this part of the world. Obama's advisers, just like McCain's (one of his top advisers was recently a lobbyist for the current government in Georgia) are thick in this stew."

Brzezinski, who is now Obama's adviser, was Jimmy Carter's foreign policy adviser in the 1970s. He also served in the 1970s as director of the Trilateral Commission, which he co-founded with David Rockefeller Sr., considered by some to be the "master spider" of the Wall Street banking network. Brzezinski, who wrote a book called The Grand Chessboard, later boasted of drawing Russia into war with Afghanistan in 1979, "giving to the Soviet Union its Vietnam War." Is the Georgia affair an attempted repeat of that coup? Mike Whitney, a popular Internet commentator, observed on August 11:

"Washington's bloody fingerprints are all over the invasion of South Ossetia. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili would never dream of launching a massive military attack unless he got explicit orders from his bosses at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. After all, Saakashvili owes his entire political career to American power-brokers and US intelligence agencies. If he disobeyed them, he'd be gone in a fortnight. Besides an operation like this takes months of planning and logistical support; especially if it's perfectly timed to coincide with the beginning of the Olympic games. (another petty neocon touch) That means Pentagon planners must have been working hand in hand with Georgian generals for months in advance. Nothing was left to chance."

Part of that careful planning may have been the unprecedented propping up of the dollar and bombing of gold and oil the week before the curtain opened on the scene. Gold and oil had to be pushed down hard to give them room to rise before anyone shouted "hyperinflation!" As we watch the curtain rise on war in Eurasia, it is well to remember that things are not always as they seem. Markets are manipulated and wars are staged by Grand Chessmen behind the scenes.

Navigating The Economic Recession Of 2008

Panic and fear are everywhere in early 2008. An economic recession in the United States is now the topic on everyone's mind. Most of the world's stock markets have already lost more than twenty percent of their value in the last couple of months. This dramatic drop in stock market values signals a new bear market for domestic and international equities.

Many pundits on the financial channels blame Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke for this economic downturn. The belief is that the Fed did not lower interest rates enough in response to the housing lenders sub prime mortgage problems in 2007. Indeed the massive write-off's of bad loans by Citibank and other mortgage lenders are enough to give anyone pause.

Recently, to head off an economic downturn, the Bush administration proposed an economic stimulus package of tax rebates to increase the consumers' ability to spend. Consumer spending is vital for the United States to avoid a prolonged economic downturn. The Congress (which is now back in session) has promised fast bi-partisan consideration to that stimulus package as soon as possible. Giving back taxpayers their money, without having to cut government spending, is what politicians love to do, especially in an election year. On the campaign trail in the Presidential election in 2008, the focus has shifted away from the war in Iraq to the state of the faltering United States economy.

So, what can we expect during the recession of 2008? First, it helps to know exactly what one is. A recession is defined as a period when real gross national product (GNP) has declined for at least two consecutive quarters. How long this recession will last is anyone's guess. However, history does tells us that the average recession since 1945 in the United States has been an event that has lasted about ten months.

With a recession looming, the Federal Reserve will dramatically lower interest rates to stimulate the economy in the first few months of 2008. A recession in the United States will lead to a worldwide slowdown in economic activity. Oil prices and commodity prices will at least temporarily fall with reduced demand. People will lose jobs as the pace of business slows, leading to a rise in the national unemployment rate. Housing prices will continue to decline as has been the case during the better part of the last year. The stock market decline will continue until the market sees evidence of the beginning of a new period of business expansion.

The psychology of fear plays a major part in all recessions. Job insecurity and the declining prices in people's homes and investment portfolios are not a formula for anything else. Americans may remember the quote of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He said, " The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." before America came out of the Great Depression early in the twentieth century.

The truth is that recessions are unavoidable. They happen as a normal part of the business cycle. Hopefully this recession will be mild and a recovery will begin in the third quarter of 2008. The good news is that recessions do provide opportunity for the long term equity investor. Those who have a long term investment time horizon should consider that equities will be on sale in 2008.

So what should we do to prepare for an economic recession in 2008? It is a time to pay off debt and be financially conservative. We should build an emergency fund in case of job loss. We should be awaiting an opportunity to put excess investment capital for the long term to work. It is also an opportunity to see how the presidential candidates respond to the economy's problems on the campaign trail.

A recession does not mean listening to media hype and selling investment assets in a panic. For the long term investor, it is certainly not the time to sell investments in equities. Remember the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that fear is the real enemy in a recession. "Buying low and selling high" in the stock market really means controlling and conquering this fear. History tell us that the economy should be much better later this year and investment markets are outstanding performers in the years following recessions.

Therefore, to properly navigate the U.S. recession of 2008 is to control fear, be financially prudent, create an emergency fund, and look for attractive investment opportunities with long term investment capital.

Current Housing Market Meltdown Only the First of Many Foreclosure Crises

With all of the bad economic news coming out every day, and the continuing collapse of housing prices and record foreclosure numbers, it often seems like the situation just can not get any worse. Unfortunately, the numbers being reported now about the number of foreclosures compared to a year ago quite underestimate the problem, as foreclosures take months to wind their way through the legal system.

This means that the high foreclosure rates have not yet begun to reflect what is happening in the real estate markets right now, as the numbers only represent how many homeowners defaulted on their mortgages nearly half a year ago or more. In some states with redemption periods after a foreclosure auction, homeowners who are currently falling behind may not be counted in the economic numbers for more than a year or two, depending on how far behind courts and banks are in pursuing foreclosure lawsuits against defaulting homeowners.

All of the current and coming economic collapse may very well indicate the end of the concept of "growth" as a measurement of the health of a nation or its people. Even as it has become more and more difficult to grow out of one problem or another, banks, investment firms, and government have all worked together to keep up an illusion of constant growth. But in order to keep up the illusion, corruption and deception have been relied upon to cook the books and manipulate the numbers.

Various tricks have been used for years to create an illusion of economic growth, when the reality of the situation is simply that more people are working longer hours for more of their lives and never getting ahead. Elderly couples who receive too little from Social Security and retirement accounts to pay their bills have to work, which means economic growth. People who eat out everyday contribute more to economic growth than families who make their own meals. Computers get faster, so the higher processing numbers count as economic growth even though the difference may be negligible. Such delusions of progress at the expense of personal satisfaction can be found in nearly all of the official accounting of growth.

Both political parties have benefited from the subprime mortgage fiasco and both presidential candidates have ties to the mortgage companies that have ensured the impoverishment and homelessness of many of their victims. And no matter who wins the White House, this corruption can be expected to continue as long as the propaganda of infinite economic growth remains firmly entrenched in the public mind. As the economy grows, so too will government regulations and control, which usually restricts the freedom of individuals while rewarding the corruption of politically-connected lobbying groups.

As the country goes into a deeper recession than has been experienced in decades, with June 2008 being the worst June month for the stock market since 1930, homeowners may wish to look to their own families and communities for foreclosure assistance. Even if local banks are able to remain open and avoid falling victim to the financial manipulations of the large money center banks, there may be little credit available for borrowers in the coming years. Local solutions will keep some communities together and in good health, while the subprime crisis turns less well-connected areas of the country into ghost towns.

So Tell Me a Little Bit About AIG?

Why is the Federal Reserve working so hard to bail out AIG? Well, maybe you do not realize this, but AIG is a world-wide company, it is one of the largest companies on the planet. It insures nearly every building, airliner, ship, oil platform and re-insure lease agreements and deals around the World. They are a huge life-insurance company. They have a 10 Billion Dollar aircraft leasing business, they have the largest network of broker dealers and financial planners.

They are the ones who insure and re-insure in case of huge calamities, and have the ability to hold up entire economies if catastrophe strikes. They operate in over 100 companies, they even have insurance policies based on Sharia Law if you can believe that, and in China, it's AIG or no one. See, how big it is? See why it's so important to the world economies? If we allow AIG to go bust, the ripple effect will take out a huge number of companies.

They insured the deals behind Lehman Brothers and so many other investment banks. Can you imagine if all those policies simply stopped? No one would have insurance, no financial asset would be safe, every major company would have their financial credit rating downgraded. Our stock market would lose 2,000 pts and other world stock markets would simple collapse and trillions of dollars would evaporate in an instant.

The Japanese Stock Market was up along with other stock markets round the world as soon as news hit the wires that a deal to loan the company was reached. This loan will enable AIG to make good on all its obligations and insurance deals. AIG is not a company that is full of corruption, not even a little bit, it's one the best companies on the planet in fact.

AIGs recent problems stemmed from exposure to runaway bubble games in the subprime lending fiasco, that took down some of the largest investment banks in the United States and still threatens regular banks in the US and Foreign Banks. AIG's government backed "loan" is a god's send to our trading partners right now and this move most likely saved the US economy from "certain death" in this Earthquake that rocked the financial world like a Hurricane the threatened to blow our house down. Think on this.

The Sluggish Fed - Why Its Bad for the Economy

In recent months, fallout from the sub-prime mortgage scandal has been estimated in the hundreds of billions, up from figures of $100 billion maximum from the Federal Reserve only three months ago. While the Fed has, in an unprecedented move, cut interest rates three consecutive times in as many months, their cuts have always given investors the impression that a later cut was inevitable, cycling in a self-fulfilling prophesy that has played out poorly for the American economy as investment and stocks have been relatively cool. This behavior reflects a prevalent attitude that the situation will get worse before it gets better, and that uncertainty is the single biggest enemy of economic growth.

An interesting point of comparison for the Fed's actions in recent months is to use other central banks, such as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE). These banks have taken a somewhat different tact against the sub-prime problems. As early as August, the ECB and BoE decided to tighten lending standards and require that potential borrowers be have informed consent, so as to avoid a repeat problem of this magnitude. The Fed had to be threatened with losing their ability to set policy in a similar fashion for them to take action. When they did, their rules did not apply retroactively in any respect to the predatory loaning, but it did at least set some precedent for responsibility in the mortgage market.

These actions beg the question: Why is the Fed so darn sluggish? At nearly every turn, the US central bank has taken too little action far too late. All of their rate cuts have been anticipated like thunder after the lightning starts a massive forest fire. Their one response that wasn't completely acknowledged beforehand was the joint decision by the major banks to inject billions into the financial system overnight, which only worked because it was such a concerted effort. These circumstances bely an important aspect of the Fed's ability to help guide the economy: Sometimes a surprise is in order. The only reason for the Fed's reticence against a large, definitive rate cut is because of the ever-present threat of inflation.

Yet as oil reaches the $100- a- barrel mark and food and commodity demand consistently outstrips supply, it seems their ability to exercise control over inflation seems a bit dubious. Granted, this scenario is without precedent, but so would be a 1% Fed cut in a single day. The difference is that a cut of that size would send a message that the economy is in real danger, but that the Federal Reserve is capable of taking that threat seriously and in a timely fashion- something that they have obviously failed to do in recent months.

Their single remaining hope is that the sub-prime crisis will not be felt as heavily outside of the money markets it has already impacted, but as credit card companies and other financial institutions that have no primary connection to the crisis have begun complaining that, if people can't pay their mortgages, they probably won't be able to pay their mounting credit card bills, the Fed's options seem increasingly limited. If nothing else, hopefully recent events will stimulate quicker action on the part of Bernanke and associates.

World Poverty, How Do We Get People Involved The Poverty That Faces Our Country And The World?

Stopping poverty that faces our country and the world today.I know People are starving to death in our country and around the world today. I want to know why are countries not doing more to solve this problem?I want People around the world wake up and see what is happening to children and their families in your country. Look at the poverty that exists every where people live.I want to know how world leaders going to deal with this problem? Poverty is not just a problem in our country poverty affects the whole world. I hope that countries will realize that people are dying everyday around the world for no other reason then nobody can find a answer to world wide poverty. I believe that To long countries have sat by while gets nothing done to solve the poverty situation.

I ask citizens of all countries have to step up to take part in finding answers to end poverty. I do not want any to see another person be born into poverty. I think that it is time for all out countries to work together to change poverty in the world. I believe that changes have to be made in all our countries involved to solve poverty that takes the lives of so many people? I am tired of young children and their families are dying in every country today I know People are tired starving to death from poverty.I think that this is most senseless waste of human life I have ever seen.

Stopping poverty in our country and around the world is all our responsibility. I believe that Countries must reach out and feed their people. I believe all these want people is to be feed and start healing for all of them.I hope People in every country will stop and take a look around and see all the senseless human suffering that exists in all of our countries. Then I would ask all countries what they can do to help to these families that are suffering from poverty? I think that all countries should take time to reach out to help their people with this problem. Maybe all I can do is speak out to these countries to other about how to help solve poverty. I think this will create world wide action to get all countries involved in dealing with world wide poverty.

I believe that Poverty is every countries problem to work with their people to solve. I hope that this article will get conversation going around our world on how every country can contribute to the end of poverty. I am writing this article to raise the worlds awareness to never let any child starve to death again

I Think that all countries should speak out on any idea that they have solve world poverty. I know that this is a problem that faces every country but we all have a responsibility to make sure that all people are feed. No longer can our countries leave all this work for missionaries and charities to handle all this poverty.I am One voice speaking to all countries to get faster action on dealing with poverty that faces our world. I Think about how many countries that have children and families that will die of poverty and it breaks my heart to know so many children and people are dying for no other reason then some body will not feed them. I pray that every will country really standing by and do nothing to stop poverty that kills their own?

I am calling upon all all nations to reach out to help change poverty That ends to many lives to soon. I know Children are dying of poverty every country in the world. I will write to any body I can to change this problem. I believe that no country should ever let their children die of poverty before they have had a chance to live. I believe that Dialogue is the first step to getting world cooperation to help stop poverty.I hope every country realizes young people are the future of all our nations . No religion would allow children to die of starvation why do we. I hope that World wide cooperation against poverty is the answer. I would Speak out on poverty all countries this I hope will bring and end world poverty. No matter what country I would speak out on poverty that exists in any country. I want to Stop hunger for children all over the world. I Will write what ever it takes for conversation to start between countries and their people to stop poverty. I believe that working to stop poverty in all countries has to become top priority for all nations.

Our countries may be separated by beliefs but people are still starving to death in every country of poverty and its time to stop it. I know that I am tired of watching children dying of hunger in every country. Please Speak out on poverty from countries all over the world . Our nations may always go to war over different beliefs this is still no reason for people to die of hunger. I hope all our countries will unite to feed their people and end poverty. I hope that this article will give people hope in all countries that some day no one will have to die of hunger. Our countries may disagree. I do believe Countries can still work to end poverty that takes so many people from our nations.

I believe that these are the basic rights of all people to have food clothing medical attention these are basic human rights of people in all nations. I believe that as long as one person any where in the world is dying of hunger. I believe that we all have a duty to see that no one goes hungry.I hope our country along with other Countries will start dialogs for end to poverty in all countries. I will Spread this message to all nations that poverty must stop. I need voices from all over the world to start action to end to world wide poverty. I think that it is time for all countries to stand and do whats right for all their people. United I believe that all countries can over come poverty that affects all our countries. I think that as American`s we should start the dialogs to stop poverty that is killing people all over the world. Lets prove that our nations voice can change poverty for people and children around the world.

My prayers are that all countries find respect for life to solve poverty in all our countries. Poverty affects all our nations I pray that no one will ever die of hunger again in any country. Think about this.

May god bless all countries in this fight to end poverty. I hope that this article opens up world wide dialogs on to end the problem of poverty that takes so many lives away from our nations to soon.

As always I write with respect.