What makes a high Tax bracket Indian, a Democrat?

The election is over and Obama continues to be President. I am happy that he gets more time to continue the good things he has done in the last few years and also reflect to change his strategy on accomplishing the things he said he would but failed. 

My parents were not watching the election on TV as the only TV that plays local channels is in our bedroom. The TV in the living room has only south Indian Tamil Channels. So they got to watch the election result as covered by the Tamil channels a good 12 hours after they happened. 

When I came home their first comment was "We saw the details of the US Election and how Obama won by ~300 to Romney's ~200 and we are surprised that you said last night it was a close election. How is 300 to 200 a close election?"

Also they are saying "Obama is anti-Indian and this is not good for India! So why did you vote for him?"

Surely, readers of this blog know my Political leaning on Internet based tests show me to be a "Liberal Democrat" and my lifes experiences in India and in the US which is going to cross the 50% mark soon have got me to this point (yes, came to this country when I was 20 and now I am going to be 40!).

Still how does one answer the "Obama being anti-Indian" question? Where are they getting that from? Guess the IT corridor in India is not happy with Obama's tirade against "American jobs going overseas" and the media picks up on it.

As for me, it is great to live the American dream. Really! Came to this country with ~1000$ of borrowed money.. 

$1050 to be precise and was shocked to learn that opening a bank account cost me ~25$. Almost cried at the bank. The USA was as capitalist as Capitalism was allowed to get but one realized pretty quickly that if you worked you got rewarded. There were no gotchas or at least that was the perception. Didn't realize that there were a lot of Americans who were less fortunate than me at that point who did not have access to what I had!

At the end of the day, all said and done, it was my late Grandpa who made me a democrat without realizing what he was doing..

He taught me "Lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu" which crudely translates to "everywhere everything be happy so it be"!

It was basically a "live and let live" philosophy that he came to after what he went through in his life which somehow made me associate with the "we are all in this together" statement that is a cornerstone of the Democratic party. 

We as a family make good money. We are both educated and we live in Cupertino which is not cheap. We live in an expensive house which comes with a high mortgage and property tax, not to mention our income tax, sales tax, gasoline tax, etc. etc. Most of our friends, especially desi's ask me "dude, you vote for Obama knowing he is going to take money from you and give it away to folks who don't deserve it? Your taxes are going to go up? Why do you want to work so hard for a bunch of folks who don't work so hard?" and that usually makes me go on a long winded speech which goes like this..

I have worked very hard to make a lot of people above me richer. Don't think those people exactly deserved my hard work considering the compensation wasn't fair. So the whole deserve thing is moot! I associate with folks who work hard and get shafted by the system.  

Yes, my taxes are going to go up, but will take that gladly if it is a short term thing that will help solve the long term problems in the country. Have put 10% of my paycheck in a 401k retirement account over the last 15 years only to see that it is value is not anywhere close to what it should be because some unknown hedge fund manager is gambling with that money and is getting richer at my expense and all my smartness is not enough to stop that or track that!

As for the people who don't work hard, it is probably a very small minority that takes advantage of the system. It is true that me and my roommate in Philadelphia walked 7 blocks to the nearest supermarket after what was our "first snow storm" (both of us were from Chennai and had never been in snow before and that happiness quickly wore off when we realized that going to the grocery store by foot and having to haul milk was very painful in snow) and we saw a big 6'6" guy who must have been at least 300 lbs with rippling muscles carried a cartful of groceries and he paid for it with food stamps. We didn't know what food stamps were till that day. He hauled it into his car and drove off. Why an able bodied guy like that had to use stamps was beyond us! One cannot use exceptions to make rules. For every instance of stamp use like that I have observed in those days, have seen hard working single parents and grandmas trying to raise good kids in that same neighborhood with stamps.

There will be exceptions to everything, but to quote my grandfather "when one finger in the hand grows too long, you either have to cut the finger off or you have to lose your hand as it loses its functionality!". That was his way of saying "grow.. but let others grow with you as you grow and prosper!" 

Do I do enough for people around me? Probably not! Do I try? Definitely yes!

In a country where you can work hard and prosper and one can pursue their own happiness as their only goal, there are a large group of people who believe that wellness for all is the path to wellness for oneself and that is reassuring!

To all my desi friends and relatives here and in India who wonder why a high tax bracket Desi is voting democrat that is my long winded answer..

A party that has a diverse crowd of young and old, straight or gay, red, white, black, yellow, brown and beige people that watches a president give a speech at 12:30 AM in Chicago that stands together as a true representation of the melting pot these United States are, appeals to me. 

As a technologist who spends a lot of time explaining complicated things to folks in layman terms, the fact that there are folks who believe the earth is not flat and is much older than 9000 years who will be in charge of our technological future appeals to me.

The short of it is "live and let live" appeals to me! 

Now it is time to hope that the President goes through with his promised immigration reform!

Google News

Knew that Google News was "customized" because my friends get a different headline for the same topics than me.. that means you "get what you like" News..

We can call the default Google News... Romney News!

Sundar : What is the news Today?

Google : What do you want it to be Sundar?

Remind you of someone?!

Here is the kicker.. On the top left sidebar, Google gives you a list of Top Stories (they are supposedly trending stories). When pressed for time, I just click those 10 things and see what it is all about. It it interesting because sometimes the names on the list are totally new to me and then I find out it is some sports star for a sport that we don't follow (which is pretty much all of them these days) or a music star who we dont know (and we don't know anyone except Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift by name.. okay we have seen one Katy Perry video called fireworks at Jr.'s insistance and I have seen a Taylor Swift ad for a Sony Camera at the movies.. but that is pretty much it).. as usual I digress!

The point? Mitt Romney somehow ends up in this trending section all the time. Obama does not show up in this list at all. Find that odd as you would expect them both to be in this section equally!

Got an alert on Google news today saying "Congratulations. You are now a Bronze star ... " or some such thing for guess what ?

Reading more than 10 articles about Romney!  To take the analogy to the extreme, this is like pulling in a stranger who walked past our driveway 10 times and giving them a ribbon!  

Especially someone who doesn't like us much.

Really Google.. Really !!

When it comes to using this blog, I have always written about Foreign Policy and have not done anything in the past, by way of pushing Politics. This election and the way things are going are so polarized because the media has become customized. 

So it is my turn to add a line. 

If you are an undecided voter, please vote Obama. At least he has been saying the same thing for the last year. It is not that I agree with everything he says but we know what he plans to do or will attempt to do. It is just that we agree with a much higher percentage of things he says compared to Romney.

There comes a time when you feel like you Vote against your own interests on some points on a ballot or other. However, like both the candidates are saying "we have tough choices to make" but as long as those choices are clear and set in stone you can make them.. Yes vs No is a clear choice. Yes vs. "Maybe Yes or No" is not a clear choice.

I have been fortunate enough to live in a time and place when Indian Politics  started running Coalition governments. While I have no business talking about Indian Politics (as my desi friends constantly remind me and then start posting things about the American election.. (why is it that I have no right to comment on Indian Politics but my friends can comment on American politics with the logic "what happens in US affects us.. but what happens in India doesn't affect you!").. again, I digress and that is a topic for another day and this post is taking on the makings of a c++ program with mutliple paranthesis).

If you are a Democrat, pelase vote Obama. Why? I am not poor and technically that means, I should have been screwed by Obama policies, right? Not exactly. Last year we switched to Kaiser Permanente from Camino Medical. I was paying a good 2 grand more in insurance and still had a 2k per person deductible. So the year when I broke my arm and San had kidney surgery we spent 4k out of pocket. The follow up surgery at Kaiser did not cost me anything. Their care has gone from one that I critiqued to one that we as a family recommend to everyone.

New Healthcare policies in action! Their service is great, they do preventive care now and there is an attitude change at Kaiser that is commendable. Spoke to a Kaiser doctor, nurse, administrator and a lawyer who sued Kaiser in the past and they all told me the same story. Kaiser does a better job of implementing the policies in the new Healthcare bill and it works! In our old care we paid a premium for our ability to choose our doctor and it was honestly not worth it!

There are no additional wars where our troops are getting slaughtered in exchange for cheaper gas. Which brings me to Google again..

Saw a video on Google plus where Larry Page is talking about self driving cars and how he is worried about his little kid growing up to be a safe driver.. 

Ever heard of a Public bus Larry? It is a self driving car for everyone on the bus except the driver! 

It will create jobs. I know .. I know.. before you jump in and say "if people buy less cars , how will it create more jobs" .. Let me explain. Have learned a thing or two from Romney and Obama.

It will create jobs because as most studies show (there is a study for everything) there will be less cars if the buses move people. Someone has to make those buses! Also most folks who start with the buses will be folks who have gas guzzlers and older cars that need replacement. So they might go for the bus instead of a new car. This will reduce pollution, oil consumption, traffic congestion. The other folks who take the bus will be folks like me who would rather use that time to work or blog instead of sitting on a freeway and getting high on exhaust for 2 hours every day!  

Unlike Larry, I wish that by the time my kids grow older we will have a better public transport system that covers suburbia..

Finally, if you are a Republican, chances are you are standing by Romney, no matter what he says. Just listen to what he is saying and then vote.. and if you still vote for him, at least make sure that if he wins and takes on this Presidency he does not do a quarter of the things he says he will do..

Note.. I didn't say half the things for a reason. Half the things Romney has said are the same as Obama, at least recently. Of the other 50%, 25% is extreme right wing stuff.. at least make sure he doesn't go on more wars and tell women what they should and should not do. In my house San tells me what I should and should not do, and I am actually better off with that setup.

If anyone in any house should be doing the choosing.. you are better off if it is the woman as they always end up making harder choices than the men, at least based on personal family experience.

So... go Vote for sure! 

The blog will go back to regular topics. Just got irritated when Facebook sends me notices saying "so and so Likes Mitt Romney.. do you want to like him too?" and the "so and so" is someone in India who doesn't get to vote in the US election or when google sends me a ribbon for reading "trending articles on Romney" which seems to be fixed!

Need to start watching Jon Stewart again to laugh this off I guess..

All in a day..

Conversation 1 with Little one just before bedtime

Me : please eat fast and eat more! Only then you will grow big.

LO : I want to be a "mouse kutty"! (and makes a small rat face by pouting her lips. She wants to be a baby mouse)

Me : No. be serious. you have to eat fast. tomorrow morning I want you to eat fast so that we will be on time for school.

LO : Daddy, you know something.. I am not eating because if I don't eat, then I won't become bigger.. if I don't become bigger, then I don't have to get married and go away. I want to stay with you always!

Me : !!!!!!! thinking "We have a big big problem". You can stay with me forever.. even if you get bigger and get married. You can bring your husband and make him also live with us. no problem. just start eating okay?

Conversation 2 with MIL:

MIL : What are you taking a photo of now?

Me : a peppercorn!

MIL : I cannot even see it without my glasses from here...

Me : that is the beauty of this lens. The peppercorn looks like a small pockmarked planet when I zoom into it with this lens.. totally amazing. this makes small things look big!

MIL : Do you have a lens that makes big things look small? if you do, use that and get me a new facebook profile photo!

Me : !!!!!! (hmmm.. maybe I can get another lens for this?!)

Conversation 3 with Jr. earlier this evening:

Me : so tell me what happened in school today?

Jr.: there was an election and we all got to vote on a ballot for student council leaders, sports secretary etc.

Me : this is your first time voting?

Jr.: yes. 3rd graders to 5th graders vote. But you have to be in 4th or 5th grade to stand in an election.

Me : so how did it go

Jr.: the people who were in the election had to put signs out everywhere in the school. then they held the signs and shouted "I am responsible. vote for me.." and stuff like that. it was very noisy.

Me : so do you want to stand in the election next year? You aren't exactly responsible but we have one year to get you there! why don't you be sports secretary?

Jr. : well, we have to put way too many posters everywhere

Me : I will help you with it.

Jr.: if you are sports secretary, you get to go clean all the tropies, pump up all the balls and do more work. If you are president you get to announce things in the speaker and ring the bell everyday.

Me : in other words you are saying "why work to get elected and do more work?"

Jr. : exactly. I don't see why they want to shout all day, get elected and do more work.

Me : hmmm.. right now I am not exactly sure if I should coach you on leadership skills or commend you for staying on the sidelines. we will talk about this once amma comes back home. By the way, who did you vote for.

Jr. : I heard them do all the shouting and we had to pick 4 choices out of 5 for all positions. So I picked all the girls.

Me : thinking "great, so the vote pretty much got divvied up along gender lines!"
don't you think it is unfair to just vote for them because they are girls?

Jr. : No! they are also saying they are responsible!

Me : !!!!!!!

So much for democracy. God bless America.

.

Democracy

Today a very well read and knowledgeble Chinese American Colleague (I know he is a US Citizen) told me "India is going to vote today, huh?". They are saying the Beejaaaypeee is going to come back! Aren't these the guys who persecute moslems?

I took him aside and told him that I don't get to vote in India because of my US Citizenship. Got to vote for Obama and that was enough for a lifetime.

Power corrupts. Absoulute power corrups absolutely.

(Most south Indian's attribute this quote to C.N. Annadurai. Apparently it is from Lord Acton)

So no one knows if Obama will end his term or terms with his integrity intact. Still one can always "hope". He is doing things right so far and hopefully will continue to steer change the right way.

That said, it appears as though almost all my desi blog buddies are resoundinly saying that this year going to the polls is a waste of time because all their options are the same and they don't believe anyone is worthy of a vote.

Some have gone far enough to say that the only reason they would walk to the polls is to tick on "I choose not to vote" to make sure someone else doesnt exercise the vote in their name to a standing candidate.

Based on my limited knowledge of today's Indian politics ,explanation to my colleague was :

Congress = pseudo secular communism
BJP = religious socialism

If you have a way of explaining what these two parties stand for in three words or less, do let me know.

Relatives are all just shrugging their shoulders on talking about voting. Their response is "Yaarukkavadhu votu pottu dhane daa aaganum?" (we have to vote for someone right?") and they try to choose the lesser of the two evils.

Democracy is something, isn't it?

So much of this world has been changed, destroyed, remade in the last decade, all in the name of spreading democracy and hundreds of millions of people who are all part of a very large democracy get to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Is democracy something worth losing so many lives across the globe, when politicians the world over seem to be poor choices?

.

And now for the election results

16-Obama, 3-McCain.

this from Jr.'s first grade Mock election today!

Obama wins, at least in first grade!

Hope he wins for real too!

.