On Chewing Gum and Socialism

Around 1990 as a 10-11-year-old I was enamored by Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum. My cousin came home to India for his grad school holidays and brought me these goodies.  Chewing gums back then in India, were about one-third the size of a Juicy Fruit and were hardly juicy. Within a year, I saw Juicy Fruit spring up in every mom-and-pop grocery store and suddenly, they were affordable. I could get them using my extra dimes, running chores.

How did this transformation happen?  In 1991, India opened to foreign direct investments and multi-national companies. Suddenly, we were surrounded by foreign chocolates - Toblerone, Hershey, and Wrigley's chewing gum of course! That was my entry from the world of primarily socialist India to that of a global, market-led economy. Indians gave up their Maruti cars for Honda Accords, Chevrolets and Skoda Octavias, scooped up Baskin Robbins ice cream, ate McDonalds burgers and shopped for their Nike shoes right at home. My memory of Indian movies before the 1990s is filled with unemployed young graduates depicted as the 'angry young hero'. Alternately, the hero would take  a factory worker job that was beneath him and rise up as a union leader. But with globalization in the 1990s came the multi-national jobs in technology companies, foreign banks and retail companies.  My parents’ generation aimed for a Government job that they kept for 40 years and retired with a life-long pension. But a market-led global economy, benefited many lower middle-class families like mine and raised our standard of living. 

Contrast that with the U.S. There were remnants of socialism before the world war, but post WWII, socialism became synonymous with communist Russia and soon became taboo with the advent of the cold war. Many Americans still don't realize that America is not 100% capitalist. It has 'socialist' initiatives like social security and the public schools’ system. May be public schools need to reinvent and change their paradigms. Instead of teachers’  unions dictating terms on tenure, we replace it with a system  of well-paid, happy teachers who are themselves graded. Social security is fast losing money. It may not even fund those who are paying into it in this generation. It needs a huge revamp. On that note , I am impressed with ideas on universal basic income and how they would especially benefit everyone during the Covid crisis.

But there are pitfalls in pure capitalism. For a developed nation, the U.S probably has the most expensive healthcare system that punishes those with pre-existing conditions and does not work for those not employed full-time.  As a centrist, I was cautious about universal health care, but given the dysfunction of the industry in private sector, it makes me rethink this. This is even after I've heard stories from friends and acquaintances on the demerits of universal healthcare in places like U.K, Germany where you have to wait for months to see a doctor or where they would not try that experimental drug for a chronic disease. If we can balance affordable healthcare with innovation in treatments, drugs, it is a solvable problem.

May be the answer is not capitalism or socialism. I remember the term 'mixed economy' from my civics class. It’s a balance of policies with the right mix of socialism and market economy.  But the devil is in the details as policymakers in each country carve this out for their people.

May be its like chewing gum. A pull here and a roll there should bring the right mix. Maybe we will figure it out in our lifetime!

Mid-life Mantras

Now that nearly half my life is over, there are a few realizations that I am not afraid to put down. Those who know me well know some of the stories behind these!

• It is okay to fall in and out of love.
• Monogamy is over rated . Super moms are over rated . Nostalgia is not. 
• The older you grow , the more effort it takes to make friends. 
• It is okay if your life is not as cool as those in your news feed.
• Your kids behave the way you do. 
• There ARE selfless people in the world who help with no strings attached.
• Patience and tolerance are acquired virtues. They get better with age.
• Pleasing others is a lot of work, you will always fall short with someone , somewhere.

Coping in the days of Covid-19

'House arrest', as some people call it. 'Not fair!' - as the young people missing Spring Break exclaim. It doesn’t have to be either of that.

As a family, we are finding ways to keep us together and entertained in the days of 'shelter-in-place' in California. We were able to find some less inhabited trails in and around the area. So this is still a great option.

We are missing family and friends but found time to periodically video chat with many of them. FaceTime or video chat is better than just audio as it brings us closer. Neighbors , strangers are more amicable now. 'Hows it going?', 'Do you need help with groceries?' are questions that we are exchanging with passers-by while we maintain the social distancing rules.

Don't give up on fitness just because you can't go to the gym or run/walk freely in the neighborhood. Me and my son love  youTube channels like Yoga with Adriene and Popsugar fitness. We even did 'zoom yoga' with my colleagues, one of whom is a yoga instructor. 

Board games have always been our favorite during the long winter days. We love strategy games like  'Settlers of Catan' and 'Ticket to Ride'.
Interestingly, we borrowed this game called 'Pandemic' from my niece. I never knew much about epidemics, outbreaks, cure vs eradication. Playing this game has been very interesting and every time we win against the pandemic, it signals hope that we will all come out of the Covid-19 situation!

So hang in there! 

Nevertheless , she won!

Elizabeth Warren's exit from the 2020 U.S. presidential race is more than disappointing, it is actually crushing for women like me.

She was my beacon of hope for intelligent women making it to the highest office. Now, I doubt if intelligence matters . In the words of late night comedians, “She is over - qualified for the job!” Jokes apart , it IS true. She is too good that she can’t be true and she will not have a chance for that !

I’ve heard first-hand comments from people saying “ her voice is too hoarse “ or “I simply don’t like her “. “I don’t agree with all of her policies”. Tell me, does anyone judge Joe Biden for his stammering or lack of clarity ? Did it matter that president Bush Jr fumbled and goofed up so many times that bushisms were so popular? Did everyone agree with all their policies ? I am at my wits end and completely appalled, so I am not even going into the million things that 45 did wrong !

Talking of qualifications, likeability and the job market, “Men are confident about their ability at 60%, “ 

Here's my wish list inspired by my hero, Warren-

I want women to feel confident even if they’ve not checked off each item on the list. Women should not be forced to leave the workforce when they have kids. We need to create and promote more women managers so there are no more old boys' clubs . And when there are more women managers , there will be more women in executive roles , as VPs, CXOs and founders. Women should not be critical about other women, instead we should build a sisterhood , so what if it’s a parallel to the old boys' networks ? We should stand up for each other .

As for her race , Warren sums it up best - “ If you say, yeah, there was sexism in this race, everyone says, whiner. And if you say, no, there was no sexism, about a bazillion women think, what planet do you live on?”

The good news is that women are now standing for office in city councils , county offices and state governments. But I want to live in this planet and in my lifetime, see a woman president in the USA! That would invigorate every girl, every woman, trying to make it big at school, in college and in her career.

The T-shirt is a symbolism of Warren's victory in putting up a fight. I just purchased it from the Warren shop before they close it. In my mind, it reads “Nevertheless , she won !” 

Why Warren for President?

To my bay area upper middle-class immigrant voter friends

Let's face it. Most of the country forms the exhausted majority that is neither far right nor far left. I’m left leaning myself, but not 100% left. I am both pro-choice and pro-life . Don’t ask me how you can be both, more on that another time! I believe in tighter immigration laws but do not believe in separating families. A better, faster path to citizenship is  long overdue which sadly no one candidate has undertaken, so certain countries like India have a worst case wait time of 151 years for a green card! I  do not believe in big government.

But I still support Warren as a strong candidate for the US 2020 presidency. Here’s why-

I have been following Warren since 2017, when the Republican senate silenced her objection of the Supreme Court judge confirmation hearing of Jeff Sessions. She was subject to mansplaining and was interrupted by the republican senate. "Nevertheless, she persisted". I got her bumper sticker back then and it became my mantra for a strong female lead!

Later in 2017, she brought to light the fraud and crimes of the then  Wells Fargo CEO. "You should be fired", she said. He was fired, as the fraud came to light.

We need her passion and persistence to put right the policies of the Trump era. Policies on trade, climate change, income inequality, healthcare, judicial independence. She will end the corruption in Washington the way she handled financial institutions in the 2008 crisis. She will put Trump in his place, just like the way she handled Bloomberg in the Nevada debate.

She is head-on against income inequality with her “ultra-millionaire's tax” which is misunderstood by my bay area techie friends. 

Thanks to the house prices in the bay area, many of the techies are in the upper middle class and are millionaires if they just own a house.  In 2019, I was on the fence about the wealth tax myself as I read about how it tanked in the Nordic countries in Europe. But this is tax on wealth above $50 million and not tax on income. It does not penalize "a rich retired widow with an inheritance but without the cash flow of a steady income", the way it did in the Nordic countries. Nor is it meant to penalize high income techies. Did the Trump tax cuts benefit you ? Go back and look at your Alternate Minimum Tax and see if it made a significant difference. It most probably didn't.

Income inequality hurts everyone, not just the lower middle class or those below the poverty line. To the upper middle class, it determines if you can safely walk the streets or go out at night . It determines if your neighbor is happy for your new Tesla and cares enough to trim his tree branches from falling over it . It determines the overall happiness and peace of a society by fixing the flat middle class wages  since Reagan's time. It is fair so Warren Buffet can no longer say that he pays taxes at a rate lower than his secretary!

Warren has a plan for everything. But she is criticized for her Medicare for all policy and the media is dinging her on how she will pay for it without raising taxes for the middle class. No one asks Pete Buttigieg or Bernie Sanders to detail all their plans, so why only her? She anyway did, check out her calculator. I am still skeptical about Medicare for all as it has long wait times for simple procedures in the U.K. and the Nordic countries. I am also skeptical about free college tuition for all. May be we should take a leaf or two out of Finland's book as they have one of the best education systems in the world.  These are huge policy changes that require bipartisan congressional approval , just like the Affordable Health Care Act and I support that in general. I trust her to do the right thing.

Warren is a team player unlike Bernie Sanders. Per NYTimes.com, Sanders boasts that compromise is anathema to him. In fact he voted against bipartisan bills like the USMCA which Warren voted yes. Warren is a woman of action, but is not a radical leftist. She is not in the sidelines with moderate policies that marginally improve the conditions of the Trump era, the ones vouched for by Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden. So, if you want a strong candidate who will take Trump head-on, Warren is your person.

Okay, she's good. So what ?

Do you think that we will split the delegates without a clear winner.? The media is focused on her recent polls and performance in Iowa and New Hampshire and is unfairly dinging her on it. Do not be swayed by the media's flavor of the day approach!

The delegate math is more complicated but with recent changes to the super delegates rule, I hope it gets better. Also, delegates are not winner take-all until the democratic convention, so one candidate does not accumulate everything in a primary election. California has 415 delegates , about 9% of the total and there's enough at stake. As an immigrant, it took me a while to understand this, I am not sure I fully understand still, but for now I think it is anyone's game and I will not vote for someone else just because they are popular after Iowa, New Hampshire or that they can buy more television ads like Bloomberg.

Lastly, we've had 44 white male US presidents and one black male president. How many more years would we talk about a woman's likeability and electability whereas these are not attributes that we judge a male candidate by? 

It IS really time for a woman president. Diversity is good, not just for the sake of diversity, but for the inherent benefits it brings. It is really time to break the glass ceiling, this time for good. Give her the chance. 

Get out and vote for Warren!

“Karly hugs”

A “sinking” gut feeling is what I had in a meeting. It’s when your brain decides you don't need digestion anymore. Instead , it pumps more adrenaline because you should either be fighting or fleeing — not giving a presentation to a predisposed group of mostly white men.

It’s hard being a woman of color in a leadership role reporting to bosses who are primarily male or white male.

Forget transparency with your senior management! YOU become transparent.

They don’t want to hear from you. Even when you run the meeting, convene everyone. No, you don’t even get to summarize or say why we are gathered. They interrupt every sentence, rather the beginning of your every sentence, because that’s the most you’ll get to.

They don’t read what you write. Not just your email, nobody reads serious email anyway. Even when you’ve taken the pains to explain things in a document and project it, so everyone could read it in a meeting.

Instead, senior management, who look alike in race and gender have this unspoken, unwritten rule of blind allegiance to each other. "Barney hugs" - you pat me, and I’ll pat you back. Even if what they say and write makes no sense! Even if it means they are rehashing what you were saying or were about to say. And when they are not rehashing, they are man-splaining, because somehow you don't understand.

When will the time come so I can do this with a primarily female audience? When will women "sit at every table”, take decisions and TRULY, run the show? I’m waiting for the tables to turn so we could give “Karly hugs “and not “Barney hugs”.

Little Women

Its my story of growing up too!

This was the first novel that I earned as a prize, back in 5th grade when I won the "General Proficiency" in my elementary school. I have read the book over many may years. When I first read it at age 10, it was a tale of resilience as the women in the family kept it together amidst all odds. And it was a tale of giving as they helped those who were poorer than them. It rang true with what my mom said to me - "Never look up to those richer than us and think you don't have it all, instead look at the less fortunate and count your blessings". It is the first real book that I had and I am so glad Mrs Moses, my then headmistress from that tiny little elementary school presented that book to me at that beautiful pre-teen age. Gosh, I loved her and loved that school for the fantastic foundation it gave me!

As I read it in my middle school days, I never went past the initial chapters so the relationship between Jo and Laurie was puzzling to me back then.

Over the years, I read and re-read the book at different times and eventually watched a three-part drama series that was shot in the 1990s. Recently (2019), I watched another drama series"Little Men" by Louisa Mary Alcott. At the end of watching Little Men, I realized that it was actually a sequel to "Little Women"- Jo March from "Little Women" is Jo Bhaer in "Little Men".

During Christmas I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a movie version of this timeless classic that I grew up with is now running!

I can't wait to watch it! It has great critic reviews and and 8+ IMDB rating. I hope to never get tired of this.