On Diagnoses, and Prescriptions

Khemka v. Government of India

I wrote about Khemka, IAS careers, the politics of power, and of ill-gotten riches, last year - Open Letter for Ashok Khemka, and for all of India

I had no doubts then, that Khemka would become a pariah within his fellow IAS cadre, and a political target of the most 'powerful' in India. Khemka's "indictment" by a panel of political sycophants and career climbing-spineless-bureaucrats & self-serving elected officials, should NOT be a surprise to anyone - after all, isn't that norm across India: "Toe the line, or Else" ? Yes, intimidation is alive and well in India too.

While Khemka's twenty plus year crusade, against corruption, has to be a deeply personal choice, he is not your typical whistleblower. Khemka, trust me folks, will take this fight to the Indian Supreme Court, and he will win if he is 'allowed' to reach that August venue. 

In my mind's eye, Ashok Khemka is a National Hero - in the mould of others, who have come before him and changed the country, by sheer force of their will, their integrity and fortitude.

Arvind Kejriwal's (AAP political party, India, and another IIT alum) offer to Khemka, to run for office on the AAP platform is welcome, but I'm sure the realists (and the stoic) amongst us recognize, that it takes a whole village to raise the metaphorical baby that is India.

The global network of pan-IIT alumni (not just KGP) must now take up anti-corruption lobbying and campaign fundraising, that will support and enable awesome guys like Arvind Kejriwal, Khemka, et al, to run a truly national campaign. The resources exist - IIT alums are everywhere, including around the world, and we all share the mutual bond of respect for meritocracy (not sycophancy), of integrity of character, and other values we were trained for during the most formative 4 (or 5) years of our lives.  It is no more than a matter of the pan-IIT board having the courage of conviction, to become politically engaged too, and, to rally around the most just, and imperative, causes there can be.   

I feel, that in their hearts, each IIT alum aches for systemic political change for the better. But, change is seldom accomplished without some personal sacrifice. Just as a wise person once said (paraphrased) "All change is because of unreasonable people, for reasonable people compromise too often", and Mahatma Gandhi once said "Be the Change You want to see in the world", it is time for us - the global body of IIT alumni - to step up and step forward.

I believe even reasonable people must turn into unreasonable hard-heads, when they are morally justified in their view of the world, and when faced with questions that query their very soul. We all have a "Dog in this Fight". It is time for the "Cream of the Nation" to not just rise to its economic top, but to also bury the "Scum of the Nation" - the political flotsam of moral turpitude that rules and lords, over India with impunity - with shameless disregard for its Constitution, its Statutes and Civil code.

I doubt the stakes could be any higher. It is about the very future of India. That baby is crying for a different village.

On Tax Amnesty and Running for Office

Did Mitt Romney receive a Tax "Amnesty" from the IRS?

UBS, the 'Giant' (or, shall we say the 'Monster') Switzerland based Investment Bank paid $760 million in 'fines' to the US Government, in 2006-2007, after a prolonged legal fight, to settle potential criminal charges for aiding & abetting Americans taxpayers into criminal tax shelters, aka undisclosed numbered Swiss Bank accounts. 

US tax law is clear: one MUST disclose 

all income, regardless of its source, and pay federal taxes on ALL income.

Tax-Shelters do exactly what shelters do - provide a facility where current income is sheltered from purview, and deferred indefinitely for tax purposes.

So while the 'Magical' Swiss Bank Account Number is available for spending money, none of the income is reported to the US IRS. Hence the taxpayer has no LEGAL obligation to report such income.

Alongside paying fines, UBS also handed over identities of 4,000 US citizens who had availed themselves of such services. The IRS began reaching out to everyone on this list and offered an Amnesty deal: Pay the taxes owed plus a 20% penalty on the gross cumulative undisclosed income, in exchange for Amnesty from criminal prosecution.

For the uninitiated, Al Capone was indicted, convicted, and served time - for not paying his taxes. The Feds couldn't pin anything else on him at that time.

America is still a place where "Due Process" is a constitutional right. So, each person in that 'Elite' group had to make a choice: take the Amnesty deal, or, roll the dice and have their day in court. By way of reference, the folks over at the IRS do play hardball - the penalty rate today is 27% for anyone who's not taken the deal yet.

Mitt Romney, remember, was running for the GOP nomination during the run-up to our 2008 Presidential elections, until he ended his campaign in favor of Sen. McCain.  

Over the past weekend, Romney release all 375 pages of his 2011 tax returns. While there are some interesting takes on Romney's 1040 for 2011 - the effective tax rate paid of 14 odd percent, etc., the real bomb of a story may lie in his 2009 returns which are not required to be released, and which have not been released by Romney.

We know that Romney had Swiss Bank accounts. Mysteriously enough, his 2011 returns make no mention of any assets in Swiss banks. Cayman Islands,yes. But not in Switzerland.  There's now plenty of chatter to outright dismiss the notion, that Romney accepted such an IRS Amnesty deal, as mere political mud-slinging.

Did Mitt Romney do a la Al Capone in not disclosing ALL his income? I am leaning towards the affirmative. And, if that is true, then Mitt has duped every Republican, of all stripes, in the GOP - in running for and securing the GOP Republican Party Candidate for President of the United States of America.

A criminal act in violation of US laws, not withstanding the Amnesty, must preclude such individuals from occupying any elected office. Forget about becoming the US President. If these allegations are true, Romney shouldn't ever be elected to ANY office - municipal, State, or Federal - in our country. Not even to his local Country Club Board.

Gotta say though Mitt, you got some Brass.

The Kiss of Isaac

He is now Hurricane Isaac, making landfall in Louisiana. SW Florida spent a couple of nervous wind and rain soaked days, with then TS Isaac lashing over the FL Keys, and drenching Miami, Palm Beach, Naples, Ft. Myers, Saint Petersburg, Tampa, and towns and cities across the FL panhandle.  Awesome power if one thinks about the FL peninsula - 577 miles from 'Land's End' to its Northern state line, and 140 miles across as the crow files, at mid-FL. 19 million folks live across the state.  And, while for folks back in India 19 million (or, 1.9 crore) is perhaps just another day in one of India's large metropolitan cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, or Kolkata, 19 million in FL represents the 4th largest US state by population (behind CA, TX, and NY). Incidentally, fully a third (33%) of the US population (about 300 million) is concentrated in these four most populous US states. Coincidentally, these 4 states represent only 14% of the US 50 states' combined land area.  So tonight, FL breathes a sigh of relief.

For 4.5 million people of Louisiana though, and for those across the US with some ties to LA, and in particular New Orleans, the next 24 hours is likely to feel like eternity.  Hurricane Katrina hit 7 years ago, to the day, and, Hurricane Isaac made landfall at about 7PM Eastern, few miles South-West of New Orleans.

What happened in NOLA, in August 2005, in the aftermath of Katrina is an American national shame and disgrace.  The George W. Bush administration, paralyzed for 'whatever' reason, did NOTHING to send in Federal Disaster Aid, as large swaths of NOLA were being submerged. NOLA's poor, predominantly African Americans living in low lying areas (the 9th ward) were literally buried in watery graves for humans and animals alike. The Superdome, where the New Orleans Saints football team play home games, was the largest dome in America in 2005, and authorities seized upon Superdome as a 'Mega Hurricane Shelter'.  What transpired inside the dome is nothing short of bloody murder and unconscionable dereliction of our Government's duty to protect and preserve life.

Despite the insanity of bigotry and racism, overt or otherwise (yes, it is everywhere in America), on display during Katrina, New Orleans is a very special place.  While a lot of folks left NOLA for good in Katrina's wake, New Orleanians did return, and they have tried to rebuild their city.  Their beloved Saints are now former SuperBowl champions, having devastated teams across the NFL. Quarterback Drew Brees, the one that couldn't get a decent draft coming out of college, only to be picked up by San Diego and dumped by the Chargers in 2005, came to New Orleans in 2006, and took the Saints (the perpetual losers, derisively called the Ain't(s) across America) to its first NFL title.

Bobby Jindal, the son of immigrant parents from India, is presently Governor of Louisiana.  Jindal is Republican, and even though President Obama declared a Federal Emergency for all of LA, well in advance of Isaac's projected landfall, Jindal has been screaming bloody murder at the 'lack of adequate federal response'.  That is just politics, and it is after all RNC Convention week.  Jindal, at one point was rumored to be in consideration for the VP nomination, you see, so his political ambitions are young and perhaps raging enough for him to continue to live in denial of the reality of his home State's plight.

The spirit of NOLA cannot, and will not break because some bureaucrat, or politician, does not like the demographics of New Orleans. I have no doubt that the Obama administration will do everything the Federal Government can, to protect and preserve life across LA, regardless of color, race, or sexual orientation.

I hope I am right.

Good Night, and Good Luck