This past decade was a one of loss for the United States. We’ve hoped that this decade would be one of recovery. As we noted in our last blog, however, we are not off to a good start in this regard. There were five disquieting events in the first week of February indicating that the loss in the 2010s might continue and even accelerate in 2020s. They were: President Trump’s State of the Union address The Senate’s acquittal of Donald Trump on the impeachment … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
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2010–2019: A Decade Of Loss. 2020–2029: A Decade For Recovery.
The decade 2010–2019 for the United States, to paraphrase T.S. Eliot, was one that “ended not with a bang but with a whimper.” Some of that whimper was President Donald Trump bemoaning the unjustness of his impeachment by the U.S. House. Some of it was writers looking back retrospectively and commenting on those ten years. In their assessment, this past decade was not one of joy and American progress but one of sadness and retreat. The cover page of the Sunday Review … [Read more...]
India’s Budget 2020: Needs a few course corrections (Comment)
In her marathon 2 hours and 46 minutes speech introducing India''s 2020 budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman painted an optimistic picture of the Indian economy. She stated at the outset that her budget''s goal is to boost "incomes and enhanceÂ… purchasing power" of the people of India. "Only through higher growth can we achieve that and have our youth gainfully and meaningfully employed," Sitharaman added. The Finance Minister''s assessment that higher growth and employment … [Read more...]
Combatting Corruption: A Need in Pakistan and Around the World
The 2019 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which ranks 180 countries based on “perceived levels of public sector corruption” released last week revealed that “a majority of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption.” Pakistan falls into this category. It received a CPI score of 32 in 2019 and a ranking of 120 compared to a score of 33 and ranking of 117 in 2018. Pakistan’s score is below the average of 43 … [Read more...]
What the US, India and the world can learn from King and Gandhi
In January, 2020, India, the US, and the world, need more peace, love and healing. We need a renewal and a reawakening of our better angels. Those of us who understand this must hear the voices of King and Gandhi and step forward to “walk in the light” and to “be the change”. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, and Mahatma Gandhi died on January 30, 1948. However, there is a much more indelible connection between these two foremost practitioners of non-violence … [Read more...]
China’s Inexcusable Internment of Uighur Muslims: Reason for a Boycott and Sanctions
On January 15, President Trump announced phase I of a trade deal with China, proclaiming, “This is the biggest deal anybody has ever seen.” In spite of the hoopla surrounding the announcement, many knowledgeable commentators and experts were skeptical about the size and nature of the deal. There has been little skepticism or disagreement, on the other hand, about the gravity of China’s internment of Uighur Muslims there and what the U.S. should do in … [Read more...]
2019 Word of the Year: Trust
As 2019 drew to a close, various organizations announced their word of the year. Oxford Dictionaries named “climate emergency.” Dictionaries.com named “existential.” Merriam Webster named “they.” As this new year begins, our choice for word of the year just past is Trust. We select trust not because of its presence in 2019 but because of its absence. Indeed, this absence of trust could be seen as one of the underlying reasons or a root cause of the climate emergency, which is precipitating an … [Read more...]
Sixty years hence: Are India and US set for a ‘defining partnership’?
This past December, the United States and India celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first visit of a US President to India. That President was Dwight Eisenhower (Ike). Since then five other Presidents have come to India. Their visits and they have all had an impact on the manner in which US-India relations have evolved. In my opinion, there have been three stages for the US- India relations to date: * 1947 – 1990: Fledgling Relationship * 1991 – 2016: … [Read more...]
A 2020 VISION FOR PATRIOTISM
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from their service; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Thomas Paine wrote those words on December 23, 1776 during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. America is in a war today — a war with itself. It is an uncivil war, pitting citizen against citizen, with clashing views of patriotism, and with many on each … [Read more...]
India should be a secular democracy with equal opportunity and economic mobility for all
The county is now being bracketed with some of the worst violators of human rights. Mahatma Gandhi’s India doesn’t belong in that club. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), passed by the Indian Parliament on December 11, has triggered widespread protests across the country. Though large-scale agitations are not new to India, not since the days of the Emergency in the mid-1970s has the country witnessed such a nationwide mobilization on the streets. Protests have erupted in … [Read more...]