Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” — Victor Hugo It is reported that President Trump will announce a $1.7 trillion infrastructure package in his State of the Union address on January 30. The idea for a national infrastructure initiative of some type has been around for some time. The question in 2018 is it an idea whose time has come? The odds against that being so appear relatively high. That’s not because there isn’t a tremendous need to repair … [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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India can be a standard-setter for democracy worldwide.
This is written from my adopted homeland of the United States of America to celebrate Republic Day in my motherland of India. It is a love letter to acknowledge the enormous privileges and benefits that I received growing up in India and then maturing in the US -- the two largest democratic republics in the world. Because of that duality, I have come to understand that these two great nation states have travelled somewhat parallel paths constitutionally to become the bulwarks of … [Read more...]
Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button? A New Year’s Lament.
“North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” This tweet from Donald Trump at the beginning of the New Year brought to mind the very serious concern, “Button, button who’s got the button?” In the childhood guessing game, this is a question to … [Read more...]
Frank Islam profile on cover page of Cochin Herald
Success Story of an Indian Immigrant — The Future of America
Dr. Frank Islam Urges New Citizens to Become Active in Community Affairs By Dr. Vishnu Bisram In a feature address last month to 200 newly naturalized citizens at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Dr. Frank Islam urged new naturalized immigrants to be ”citizens of the 21st century by becoming active in their communities.” Islam left Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India at age 16 with only $35 in his pocket. An American professor from Colorado convinced him to … [Read more...]
Education Key to Propelling India’s Prosperity
Frank Islam – entrepreneur, philanthropist and an alumnus of the Aligarh Muslim University – is a Non-Resident Indian based in the US. He and his wife Debbie, have used their fortune to provide targeted financial assistance to educational causes in India. In a conversation with DNA’s Smitha Rajan, Islam, talks about why education is the game changer. On his education initiatives A high-quality education is the only investment that can level the playing field for all. It … [Read more...]
Frank Islam column in India Life and Times on US India relationship
Since the late 1990s, bilateral ties between India and the United States have blossomed under successive Republican and Democratic administrations. They have strengthened and deepened to such an extent that, on his first visit to India in 2009, President Barack Obama characterised the relationship between the two great nations as “one of the defining partnerships for the 21st century”. Because of Donald Trump’s unexpected election as US President in November of 2016, … [Read more...]
Trump’s First Year in Retrospect: Taxing Us
It now appears that the Republicans will get a tax bill to President Trump to sign before the holidays. The bill will be a gift for a few. But, because of its serious inequalities, for most Americans it will be a lump of coal in their stockings. The tax plan was purportedly going to cut taxes for the many. The hard truth is this is not the case. The plan is just an extension of the Trump approach to governing in his first year - which is doing so in a manner which taxes … [Read more...]
Article on Frank Islam in India Abroad on speech at JFK Library
The Tax Plan: A Victory for Republicans. A Loss for the Country.
When victory is more important than values democracy suffers. In the early morning hours on December 2nd the Senate Republicans in passing their tax bill sacrificed our country on a partisan cross. The Senate will now meet with the House in a conference committee to reconcile the many substantial differences between its version of a tax bill with the House’s version. The outcome of this process is uncertain at this point in time. What is certain is that no matter what the final … [Read more...]