VINDICA

Chennai On the way to the airport in Chennai, my call taxi fell into a pothole and broke its shocks. The journey to the airport completed in an auto. Tokyo, Narita International Airport Tokyo, To=Eastern, Kyo=Capital. All my connections were late and I missed the last flight to Oita. The airline staff are extraordinarily courteous and almost uncomfortably apologetic as they make arrangements for the night's stay. Tokyo, Haneda Domestic Airport I wake up in the morning and look at my ticket. It says "NH812". I don't know which airline NH is, so I head to the first counter. The person behind it signs 14, then walks up from behind the counter, and walks me all the way to counter 14. Turns out I needed to go to All Nippon Airlines, and his counter (and he) represented a different airline. I don't know why, but I was embarrassed. I had not asked him to walk me, that was his choice. Yet, I was embarrassed. Oita, Kyushu Island, Japan Oita, finally! I get dropp...

This article argues that higher taxes lead to more sustainable economic expansion, while lower taxes lead to boom and bust in short order.

Only four years ago, there was talk of Republicans forming a permanent majority. Now there is talk of them being the minority for the next generation . Apparently, a generation is about 4 years long.

A wonderful article on the Edge . Like most articles there, it is difficult to explain concisely, but the author basically starts from different premises when compared to traditional Economists. The author contends that traditional Economic theory considers humans to be infinitely wise and with no self control problems. However, real humans are driven my emotions as well as logic, and have serious issues with self control. In order to take this into consideration and use it for welfare of the society, the author advocates "Libertarian Paternalism". The Libertarian part involves making sure freedom of choice always exists. The Paternalism part involves nudging individuals towards behavior that is helpful to society. A great (and extremely funny) example of "nudging" people to do the right thing by changing a small thing in the environment is an example of a German Airport urinal, where they have a fake fly baked into the urinal. They notice that people aim at th...

At the end of the 2004 US presidential elections, it was clear the Bush had won the popular vote. However, there was still a chance that an extended recount in Ohio could pull in the election for Kerry. At Vindica, I had spoken that it was unfair for Kerry to call for a recount given how much the Democrats had moralized about Bush winning the election without a popular vote in 2000. Commenting the Kerry should concede the election, I also mentioned that the talk of a permanent majority for the Republicans was clearly not borne out by the nuances that the election results threw up. It was clear that the party had lost the middle ground and the long term prognosis for its base was not good. Based on these assumptions, I commented that 2004 may represent the "high water mark" of the Reagan style Republicanism. I was tempted to call victory in 2006, but refrained because I felt the tide had not turned completely. However, now with the decisive victory of Barack Obama, that da...

This one with both Palin and Biden, a preview to the presidential debate: COURIC (to Palin): Why, in your view, is Roe v Wade a bad decision? PALIN: I think it should be a states issue not a federal government–mandated–mandating yes or no on such an important issue. I’m in that sense a federalist, where I believe that states should have more say in the laws of their lands and individual areas. Now foundationally, also, though, it’s no secret that I’m pro life that I believe in a culture of life is very important for this country. Personally that’s what I would like to see further embraced by America. VJ: Great answer. She equates "foundational" with "personal". Thus suggesting that her personal beliefs on this matter rest on a solid foundation, presumably religion. Whether you think this is credible or not is purely your point of view. Trying to contradict Sarah would imply trying to debunk the thinking that religion is the foundation of morality. In a country ...

In the past few weeks, the two giant GSEs (Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae) have been nationalized. Of the five biggest Investment Banks in the US (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns), three have ceased to exist. Congress has been stunned into inactivity as Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader admits the Congress has done nothing because nobody knows what to do. The "doing something" part is in the court of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on bailouts, billions "injected" into the global financial system. Financial institutions have been nationalized. Insurance companies have been taken over. Now there is talk of a "permanent solution" to the credit problems through setting up of a Government Institution to act to buy up bad mortgages from financial institutions so that they can clean up their balance sheets and survive. It is expected th...

Obama called the McCain/Palin team's makeover as lipstick on a pig. McCain claims Obama called Palin a pig. McCain ad claims Obama supports sex education in kindergarten! When Obama questioned McCain campaign's honor because of such an obvious distortion of truth, McCain responds with indignation about his honor being questioned! It is silly season, and the Republicans are doing a great job of making this an election about pigs and pitbulls. It would seem preposterous that cynicism can win. However, Joe Klein of Time Magazine claims to have spent a whole career watching cynicism triumph over truth. So who is to say it wont succeed once more. It would be a sad day for America though.

John McCain introduced the undercooked and under investigated Sarah Palin. Since the surprise announcement, the press has uncovered surprises of their own. - Sarah is pro-life, and opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest. - She supports teaching creationism in schools. - Her husband was a registered member of an Alaska Secessionist group as late as 2004. - Her 17 year old unwed daughter is pregnant - She thinks Iraq was is a holy war - She carried her 5th child to term even though he had downs syndrome It is scary to imagine a US President with such views. But wait! Reagan was pretty similar (evangelical, problem with kids, thought Israel was in the midst of a holy war), and he is now hailed as the great communicator! Maybe Sarah is the next great American President. God Help America.

A monstrous housing bill has been passed by the House, bailing out mortgage companies and irresponsible borrowers (and incidentally, a few deserving individuals in lieu of collateral benefit). This summary by NPR is essential read. The main provision seeks to help homeowners facing foreclosure. Here is how it is claimed to work: - Homeowner originally bought the house for 300K in Las Vegas in 2006 - House value has plummeted to 200K in 2008 - Lender agrees to lower mortgage to 90% of current value (i.e. 180K). Write off 120K. - Homeowner eligble for lower rate FHA loan for the 180K. - FHA pays off Lender 180K. Takes the loan onto its books. - Home prices stabilize because homeowner can afford low interest 180K, avoiding foreclosure. - Taxpayer does not incur any cost since the homeowner is going to pay back 180K on the taxpayers book with interest. As always, you cannot get something for nothing. The something comes from the bankers who need to write off 120K. Why would th...

With the communists making a grand stand on the Nuclear Deal, threatening to pull the rug from under the Congress Govt if it goes ahead, key allies are rallying around the beleaguered government. Manmohan Singh has told Sonia Gandhi that he would rather resign than bow down to the communists. The DMK and RJD have expressed support for the Government's stand. The communists tried to talk them out of it. But Lalu made his stand clear. “I am hopeful the deal will come through and if not, it will be unfortunate for the country,” Lalu Prasad, who had earlier wanted to take the communists on board to take the deal ahead, has said. Sitaram Yechury had met Lalu to gather support for the Left’s stand, but Lalu is clear: “Governments come and go. Nuclear power is a requirement and assets must be created for our next generation.” "Assets must be created for our next generation." Wow! what a great line. I am fast becoming a Lalu fan ever since he became the Railway Minister.

A fantastic column that lays out the effects of compound interest in stark and simple manner. It makes a compelling case that investor and investee companies interests need to be better aligned. And it has also convinced me to stay away from all "managed" mutual funds. I think I will stick with my index funds. It uses the example of Warren Buffet, who has returned 20% on invested capital over his long investing career. He has accumulated 62 billion dollars. It asks a simple question. How much would he have accumulated if he had paid the standard 2% fee to a manager of a mutual fund? The answer is 5 Billion. The manager would have made 57 Billion! The effect of compounding at 14 per cent, rather than at 20 per cent, is to reduce the accumulated pot by over 90 per cent.... The Sage of Omaha has made more money than anyone else without charging management fees. In the long run, the trust of investors and of investee companies may be the most valuable asset of all. And g...

This is one for the ages. Obama's preacher, Jeremiah Wright was shown on video saying God Damn America for its treatment of blacks. His sermons were relentlessly shown on TV day after day and Obama was asked repeatedly to denounce Wright. Then he gave this speech. If everyone expected a defensive crouch, it did not happen. Instead he gave this speech that will go into history books. He denounced Mr. Wright's words, but not the man himself. 1. My wife has the blood of both slaves and slave owners. 2. Racism is so ingrained in people of a different generation. 3. The current generation has made a lot of progress. 4. Much remains to be done. 5. Black people's concerns about racism are not just in their minds. They are real. 6. So too are the concerns of white people. They should not be automatically labelled racist because of those concerns. 7. Affirmative action is a failure. 8. Blacks should embrace personal responsibility. 9. Society should provide equal opportuniti...

A subversive review of Alan Greenspan's new book looks at the rise and rise of the man. Much of the creative critisism is reserved for the end of the scathing review. In the Washington that Greenspan inhabits, some kinds of evasiveness are preferable to others; it helps if you're criticizing out-of-favor Republican greasebags and an unpopular Republican president. And you can see why he would want, at all costs, to preserve his standing. There's something endearing in the evident pleasure he takes from the high life he leads. He refers insouciantly to "the glitter of the White House," the welcome sanctuary of its tennis court, the convenience of the presidential box at the Kennedy Center. At certain points in his book he just flips open his social calendar and lets his ghostwriter jot down the names: "I did build up a wonderful circle of friends: .  .  . Henry and Nancy Kissinger, Oscar and Annette de la Renta, Felix and Liz Rohatyn, Brooke Astor (I knew her...

Read more about Mattel in this story about how Helicopter Ben's huge half percent rate cut is likely to bring America to its knees. Ever picture China and Dubai as two buzzards, preparing to fight over America's corpse? Me neither. In a completely unrelated development, Mattel apologized to China for having tainted toys from China. In related news, in a trailer somewhere, a bruised young boy apologized for getting in the way of his father's fist. *smile*

After a bunch of product recalls related to items made in China, the Chinese government has reacted in its usual brutal manner. Many government officials responsible for quality have been executed. It has also been announced that many managers of factories where these products originated have "committed suicide". And now, they made the Mattel EVP (Mattel is the company that imported all those lead paint infested toys) apologize in public in China in a carefully choreographed public event. ?Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologises personally to you, the Chinese people and all of our customers who received the toys." He (Mattel EVP) added that Mattel now believed it had recalled more products than was justified and that items which may have met US safety standards had been taken off the shelves. Mr Li said this admission was "unacceptable", adding that "you cannot recall 10,000 products just because one is sub-standard". ...

An author looks back at his emotions when reading the Alexandria Quartet for the first time in the 60s and how those opinions have changed. (At the time) I barely noticed that half the characters were novelists or artistic illusionists of some kind, that their preoccupations toggled between the pleasures of the senses and the meaning of life, and that they never paused to earn a living, change a diaper, or wait for the bus.

An extremely interesting article that seeks to provide an evolutionary explanation for everything from preference for Big Breasts and presence of Suicide Bombers.

In the recent elections in the North East, one election official dejectedly told the media how the politicians undermine the people's faith in democracy for 5 years and the Election Commission does its best to restore it, if only for the one day on which polling happens. This detailed and interesting article by Mr. Gopalaswami, Chief Election Commissioner of India about the recent election in UP is inspiring in that it restored my faith in the ability of our Government organisations to do their job exceptionally well. Since bogus voting can be largely prevented only if the identity of the voters is correctly established, a massive attempt was made to issue Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). Between December 2006 and the second week of April, 2007, a total of 2.69 crore EPICs were issued covering 22% of the electorate throughout the state, raising the coverage to an average of 80% in the state. As many as 85% voters who turned up to vote produced the EPIC as identity while the...

A funny and relaxed Christopher Hitchens talks about his new book "God Is Not Great" and how it differs from other books on Atheism that have come out in recent months. What’s your favorite Bible story? “Casting the first stone” is a lovely story, even though we’ve found out how much it wasn’t in the Bible to begin with. And the first of the miracles. Jesus changes water into wine. You can’t object to that. If the Jews had not made the crucial mistake of rejecting Hellenism and philosophy and submitting themselves, or being reconquered, by the Maccabean ultra-Orthodox, everything would have been better and we’d never have had to endure Christianity and Islam.