Many think that the official motto of the United States is ‘e pluribus unum” — from many one. It is not. In fact, given the national drift toward divisiveness over the past few years, that saying should probably be reversed to “e unum pluribus” — from one many. That was the opening of a chapter titled “Citizenship Dysfunction: Coming Together or Coming Apart?” in our book: Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again published in 2013 (Pivot Points). We … [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.
Frank’s most recent blogs are highlighted on this page. To read other blogs or articles by Frank, click on the categories or publications links on the left.
Hitting the Debt Ceiling Should Not Put the U.S. or Us through the Roof
There has been much ado about many things in the nation’s Capitol as the country moves into the second month of this new year. One of those things is the debt ceiling. Debt Ceiling Conversations President Joe Biden and the new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) met in the White House for about hour on February 1 for a conversation to discuss the impasse that’s been created by the Republicans in the House, who are refusing to raise the ceiling. No resolution was reached. After the … [Read more...]
How Tech Layoffs will Affect the H-1B Worker Economy
It is too early to predict what the full and permanent impact of these layoffs will be on the H-1B programme and the Indian economy. If the reading of the tea leaves by the US tech industry on recession turns out to be correct, its effect will be enormous. The technology industry in the United States (US) is shrinking. According to Layoff.fyi, more than a quarter million professionals have lost their jobs since the beginning of 2022, with 95,000 job losses occurring in 2023. This … [Read more...]
What Form of Artificial Intelligence is More Dangerous to Our Future?
What is more dangerous to the future of the American democracy and economy, the artificial intelligence of computers and machines that have been programmed to think like humans or the “artificial intelligence” of we human beings who have been programmed by ourselves and others to believe with confidence that our information and insights are absolutely correct? We believe it is definitely the latter rather than the former. That was our opinion, stated in a blog that we … [Read more...]
Nichelle Nichols, Michael Gerson, Mark Shields: Good Citizens
As we move into the first month of a new year in these United States, it is a good time to reflect on who the nation lost in the old year and what was gained because of them. Those who come top-of-mind for us are Nichelle Nichols, Michael Gerson, and Mark Shields. All three were good citizens. Each, in their own way, spoke to and influenced citizens of their and future generations to be good citizens as well. They led through words and example. In these still highly polarized and … [Read more...]
January 6: A Day to Remember the Four Freedoms
January 6, 2021 is a day that will be remembered in American history. This will be so because of the storming of the halls of Congress on that date by a mob of insurrectionists intent on impeding the democratic process in America. January 6, 1941 is also a day that should be remembered in American history. On that date, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enunciated a commitment to four “essential human freedoms” in America and around the world. President Roosevelt … [Read more...]
G20 presidency: A crucial responsibility
India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1. If activities since then are any indication, it will be quite a ride over the next 11 months. Beginning December 4, New Delhi hosted four back-to-back preparatory meetings in three cities: The G20 Sherpa meeting in Udaipur; the development working group meeting in Mumbai; and meetings of two panels — finance and central bank deputies and framework working group — in Bengaluru. These events, attended by, among others, representatives of … [Read more...]
Republicans Trumped: Reflections on the Midterms and Beyond
This guy (Donald Trump) is the best thing for Democrats since FDR. — Former GOP Rep Francis Rooney (R-FL) Going into the mid-term elections, the conventional wisdom espoused by pundits, pollsters, and the media was that the Democrats were going to take a serious shellacking. They were wrong. On November 8, the Democrats did some shellacking of their own. Politicians, analysts, and reporters cited a number of reasons for this including: abortion, democracy, turnout, boots on … [Read more...]
2022 Thanksgiving Thoughts: The Light of Democracy Still Shines
This Thanksgiving we are thankful that the light of our American democracy still shines. Much of the media in the period from Labor Day in September until the midterm elections on November 8 was consumed with politically-related coverage. That coverage featured stories about: an American people who were polls and poles apart; crazies and conspiracy theorists; threats and intimidations of election officials and workers; voter suppression versus voter expression; lawsuits alleging fraud … [Read more...]
Stop Making Sense: America’s New National Anthem?
In 1984, the American rock band Talking Heads released a classic live album titled Stop Making Sense. That album featured songs such as Psycho Killer, Burning Down the House, and Life During Wartime. That album title could be America’s new national anthem as those cuts are emblematic of the politically and socially divided times in which we Americans find ourselves today. We are living in a country in which truth has become fiction, conspiracy theories have … [Read more...]