ECONOMY and STIMULUS: Rinse, lather, repeat…

US Government is offering a $65 per month paycheck to its citizens to stimulate the economy? Borrowing money from foreign countries, getting in further debt and aggravating the same problem that actually is responsible for this mess yet again? A quick fix?

Here are my quick thoughts on the aftermath of this stimulus. First US won’t be able to pay this amount for a long long time, I mean generations. Our kids and grandkids will take on the burden as we have taken on the burden of our previous generations. In order to wash out the debt, US will try to engage in other wars, maybe with the lender(s) itself and mess it up yet again. You see where I am going with this? History students and buffs are very well aware of what I am talking about.

I am not so sure that this stimulus will work. I think there are tremendous amounts of opportunities out there that can not only fix the economy but will do a lot of other good things. When I say opportunities, I mean problems that yet need to be solved, as I look at every problem as an opportunity to fix it.

Here is one problem: Energy. Yes, we are still using the archaic technology of so called “fossil fuels” and other pollutants to generate power for cars, industry, etc, etc. There are a lot of very talented individuals in the US who have great ideas for solving this problem and who are actually working on it passionately with their own private money, blood and sweat. Why not invest in them? This can create new industry, more jobs, and work towards solving the problem at hand. Investment in this area will eventually reduce dependence on imported energy, reduce cost of supporting US bases in energy corridors of the world. Just imagine the cost reduction just here! Ok so this was one area among many that I can think off.

The other major area is dumping the existing banking system that runs on speculation, convoluted math and stats, racketeering, and loaning the money out that does not exist – yes making money out of thin air. All this has to go away and alternative banking systems need to emerge – another growth area. Banks that operate differently and have some real products to offer with real backing in simple economic terms.

These are my top two to look into – there are 100s on the list that I can talk about later. I am inclined more towards social entrepreneurship for common benefit, doing good while making money.

Now these two major areas of change are going to shake the cores of the status-quo of Big Oil, Bank(er)s, <fill in the blanks>, and yes it will not sit well with them. The problem is people have seen and suffered enough. In this connected world there is no reason for the like minded people not to connect and take matters into their hands. Enough is enough. Government can not just take the tax payers money and then give it back to them as charity, and a laughable one at that. Speaking of which I always wondered why my with-holdings didn’t earn me interest, but when they are owed, interest and penalties rack up…? Anyway I digress!

I am not sure what is it going to take for people to realize that and get moving. Centralized anything is the cause of all problems, banking or government. One part fails and takes down the interconnected system hence offering no redundancy or fault tolerance against any failure that may occur.

In software world we call it tightly coupled systems, and the answer to that is DE-COUPLING. De-coupled code base and software distribution methodologies and patterns can address the ongoing problems. By mashing up all these de-coupled systems we can create useful and competing applications with lots of choices. So far this system and pattern has proved its worth in this arena at least, something what we have termed it as WEB2.0 in a layman’s terms. Interestingly this scenario gave a boost to social media and networking among people. The problem is its being miss-used. There is too much noise and chatter but not enough substance. People need to realize that they have freed themselves from centralized scripted media and have opened themselves up  face to face and real time consumer generated information. Who cares how many coffees you are drinking, what you are listening to, or whether your nagging wife/husband is on your case. Broadcasting that is not helping the economy or solving the energy crisis… Put your skills to some good use, or if you have no skills use this opportunity and means to get some.

Now, lets use it when its needed the most. Lets leverage this creatively and productively to solve the real issues…

01 20 09 – A much anticipated day!

Yep, today is January 20th, 2009 – a historical day for the US, a day when the first black president Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into power. A day that the US and the world will not forget. A black president with Muslim sounding name takes control of the most influential country in the world, a predominantly White and a Christian nation.

These are the signs of hopeful and changing America. Although 47% of the people voted against him, but the fact remains that he is their elected and serving president now is just amazing. Just like most people (about 73%) didn’t agree with the outgoing Bush, but still tolerated him in the White House as long as they had to.

Today starts a new era for the United States and hopefully for the whole world too. Lots of hope and expectations are tied to Obama at the moment. He is the poster child for Hope and Change in America. What was fascinating was how he subtly or not so subtly made the references in his inaugural speech that how Bush Era was a mess in so many fronts and how that didn’t conform to the American Idealogy.

This is all encouraging to hear. He pretty much addressed the world and his pointing out the Muslim world in particular was of great interest. He seems to want to engage in dialogue like civil people and sort out the issues and differences with them. His inaugural speech had the right tone, especially his proper English and cohesiveness, something we haven’t been so used to for the last eight years. I wonder what the comedians are going to pick on now?

Having said that, Obama is no superman nor carries a magic wand. We will have to wait and see how things pan out and how his plans materialize in real. But the signs of hope and change are already being sensed and felt. His first order of business is to shut down Camp Gitmo. His first 100 days of being in the power will set the tone for what’s to expect of him in the long run.

My only hope is that he does not get corrupted by lobbyists and ill-informed or agenda driven people who may be around him or probably going to surround him. I wish logic and rationale prevails and he proves to be a better judge of things.

In hope and anticipation, lets brace this change and get involved on a personal level too… because grass roots is where its all going to change and that’s what made him the president.

Barack Obama’s presidency is going to be of interest to Pakistan. Traditionally its more the Republicans with whom Pakistan aligns itself, but geo-politics need to be played on non-partisan lines in my opinion. Lets see how Pakistani Government reaches out to Obama Administration and how it handles the pending issues regarding the region currently in chaos that is about to implode or explode, depending on how you look at it.

If there is going to be any screw up in this relationship, I can bet it will come from the Pakistani side. The current leadership and government are nothing but a joke. Incompetent, self-centered, dillusional bunch of people. I am sure that there are some exceptions among the bunch but all in all its just that. Needless to say that neo-con era is just about over and their loosing game is in its final minutes – the current Pakistani leadership has no allies to save them from whatever comes their way next… But thats the point, their big brother is powerless now and its time to pull the plug on corrupt and mentally unstable politicians starting from the top.

But having said that I am cautiously optimistic about Obama. Some of the personalities in his administration are questionable. And as for Pakistan, it needs to continue its realistic strategic partnership with China, defend the strategic geographic importance of both the countries, especially Pakistan and stare at any proclaimed adversaries into their eyes at all times. Pakistan’s nuclear deterance is the best weapon it has and any plans to dismember it from such will be costly not only to the region but the world.

This is a new era with lots of possibilities, good or bad. Time will tell…

Peace!