Runoff elections - Are Political Parties forcing avoidable Taxpayer Dollar Spending?

The campaigning is in full swing for the voting on June 20^th to the runoff elections from Georgia to US Congress 6^th district. Unlike in earlier elections, one can see number of volunteers, mostly young boys and girls, knocking your Door and seeking vote and support for their party and candidate. Door to Door Campaign is being adopted by both parties even though it was originally started by Jon Ossoff, the Democrat candidate. In addition to the volunteers visiting your home, you get phone calls every now and then, every alternate day if I am not exaggerating. As I write this, I just received a call from the Ossoff campaign. These calls come from live men and women from the campaigns. This is a change from the earlier Robocall or one or two conference call in the past elections. Different interest groups are organizing town hall type meetings with pre-screened questions. Participants in the town hall meetings are not allowed to ask direct questions to the candidate because the organizers fear that opponents may be sending proxies to ask uncomfortable questions. Tons of paper is used for printing these campaign materials, I may have received at least 15 to 20 from the same candidate. If you are part of the “green campaign”, one will lament the number of trees that may have become pulp to print these materials. As the election day approaches, TV ads with negative campaigns have also increased. In nutshell, millions of dollars are spent in this special election by the candidates running the campaign and by the government in running the elections.

A close examination of the policy postures of the candidates, anti-abortion, anti-immigrants and anti-Iran Nuclear deal, protection of speech for Churches and Balanced Budget Amendment are the decisive stand highlighted by the Republican Candidate, Karen Handle. The Democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, on the other hand promises to support the continuance of Obamacare, Planned Parenthood and Abortion rights. While the Republican campaign accuses Jon Ossoff as an outsider to the 6^th district, inexperienced and a pawn in the hand of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Campaign charges Karen Handle with Corruption in her earlier public positions held by her.

All the above are good stuff and standard political rhetoric heard in every election. In every Country, politicians repeatedly promise to work for the same set of issues election after election.  In America, the Republicans pet issues are Defense Funding, Tax Cuts, Second Amendment, Balanced Budget and illegal immigrants and has been in their agenda ever since I started taking interest in Politics. Social Security revamp used to be another item which is now replaced by repeal and replace of Obamacare which they were trying ever since Obamacare was passed. Democrats on the other hand recycle issues like Abortion Rights, Minimum wages, Gun Control and Climate Change. There are two new items added since 9/11 which are Terrorism & National Security. Education and Infrastructure has started finding place in the agenda of both parties with appropriate color in recent years. Terms of the Government ends, party in power changes and a new leader/representative gets elected but the issues remain unresolved. This cycle makes it easy for the candidates in the next election because there is no need to reinvent a new issue, the list is already long. Some older voters get disenchanted and intermittently stay away on election day, some keep voting as a sacred duty. New voters reading the list of promises first time are enticed and enthusiastic about the newly acquired power to choose their government. The political process goes on. Voters keep experimenting their luck by re-electing or replacing the party in power in the hope that some good things will happen. And it does for some and others continues to be simple voters and remains satisfied that they are part of the system choosing their rulers for the next term. Once elected the elected representatives forgets most of the promises, remains indecisive and makes everything possible to create logjam so that nothing gets resolved. Gun violence continues, drug trafficking increases, your local TV news is full of news about murder and crime every day, more young people are filling the jail, more people are unemployed, the gap between rich and poor widens, the national infrastructure continues to be dilapidated, budget deficit and per capital national debt increases and your representatives spends day and night, resolves nothing but legislate bad and unimplementable laws or Government shutdowns. Legislations passed by the House is modified by Senate, again modified by House and then again by Senate and the game of passing the bucks goes on. Our Legislators and Senators meet too often but seldom reaches on any agreement on what is good for the Country and the People. It is politics for then every day.

With all the shortcomings in the political system, democratic process continues to be the available best option for public participation in Government. Therefore, voting in every election is important. It is the most important right and duty as a citizen. Express your opinion through the ballot. Your one vote may make some positive change in choosing the best alternative legislator who could do something positive for our future generation one day.

Now let us come to the runoff election in the 6^th district and list out some key considerations when you press the button on the voting machine on election day. These are:

1. Why is the runoff election happening and which party forced the runoff election on us?
2. Was the runoff election forced on the voters due to the inability of a political party to narrow down a winnable candidate in the first phase?
3. Was it possible to avoid the runoff election and save millions of tax payer dollars in election expenses spent by your government for conducting the runoff elections and the millions of dollars the two campaigns are spending? Could these funds be used for building roads, bridges or schools?
4. Will the unity of the party to defeat the opponent in the runoff is going to unite and bring team work after the elections are over? Remember that the runoff election was not forced by a third political party or independent candidates but inability of one party to agree on a common candidate from its ranks.
5.  Is it not necessary for those who held positions in government to highlight their achievements during their tenure instead of running negative advertisements?
6. Is inexperience but youthfulness a better qualification for a candidate to represent you in US Congress as opposed to experience, alleged corruptions and perceived non-delivery?

Our informed decision on 20^th will determine who will represent us and whether the candidate and the political party is wisely spending our tax dollars.  Our vote should not only elect our legislator but also send a strong message that insensitivity towards the citizens will not be taken lightly nor rewarded.  

Vote and voice your opinion. Good Luck!

About the Author: The author is a keen political observer and closely follows US and Indian Politics. More Blogs at http://sabrimala.blogspot.com, Twitter: mohanMNair 

Demonetization and OCI My Experience

Demonetization and OCI My Experience

This may be a stale story for many as the “Note Bandhi” is now seven months old and most of you may have read several blogs and news items regarding it by now. However, I thought of writing my personal experience how your genuine wealth became “Kagaz-ka-Tukada” in the words of the RBI Officer and lack of clarity on what should people do with that “Kagaz-ka-Tukada”. This is my personal story and I would like to share it with the readers of my blogs and my social media friends.

I am one of the staunch supporters of Prime Minister Modi long before he was declared the Prime Ministerial candidate. I continue to support his vision and the policy directions. I also supported his demonetization decision which is commonly known as “Note Bandhi” in India. I responded to several blogs, tweets, face book posts and continues to do so. I had two situations to experience the effect of “Note Bandhi”, one on January 25^th dealing with Sate Bank of India and another on February 2^nd, dealing with the Reserve Bank of India. The experience with State Bank was more personal and the one with Reserve Bank is common to all Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) or Person of India Origin (PIO) (by whatever phrase your association with India is known). I will explain both the situations in the following paragraphs in more details.

OCI and NoteBandhi: I arrived in India on 24^th January, 2017, first time after the “Note Bandhi”. Since cash being the main medium of spending in India, one had to carry bundles of rupees during the stay in India. At the end of every India trip, some rupees within the legal limits of carrying foreign currency will be left with you and the same is retained even when after you exit India. This cash comes handy on your next trip to pay for the immediate needs such as to pay for the taxi from the Airport to Home and miscellaneous expenses until you get a chance to go to your Bank and draw money from your NRI account. Most people who make frequent trips to India practice this retention of left over cash. We too had some which was within the limit of the Re.25,000/- allowed to carry abroad. Most of the notes were either Re. 500 or Re. 1000 in old currency. The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) announced that those holding old currency and are abroad on and after the demonetization on 8^th November, can deposit the old currency in select RBI branches until June 30, 2017. Many in the Diaspora wrote detailed blogs on this policy but failed to read the fine prints of the announcement.

After a 45 Minutes wait in the queue (a queue of just one person in front of us with 3 custom officers handling the currency exchange certification in Kochi Airport), the customs officer in Kochi Airport examined the Indian currency with us and issued the prescribed certificate to be presented to the RBI for exchanging it with New Currency. Neither while standing in the queue nor while issuing the certificate, did the learned Customs of Officers of Government of India tell me that this rule is not applicable to OCI holders. They did examine our passport, OCI Card and whatever travel documents we had. I am not sure the Customs Officers were ignorant of their own rules or negligent as I was in reading the notification.

Armed with the Certificate issued by the Customs Officer at the Kochi Airport, I took a flight to New Delhi from Kochi and reached RBI Office in New Delhi on 2^nd February 2017. Contrary to my expectation of a short line as the Note Exchange was only for people who were abroad when the demonetization notification was issued, I saw thousands of people lined up to exchange the old currency with new ones. My wife and my friends who accompanied me occupied a spot at the tail end of the queue. I walked towards the RBI gate to have a feel of how long this could take for us to get our old currency exchanged on that day with that many people in the queue. Reaching at the gate, I found a few people arguing with the Security Guards. There were no Officers at the gate to respond to the queries of the people in the queue. I watched the situation for a while and googled the phone number of RBI. I was routed to Ms. Saroj Kalia, General Manager (Currency). I explained the purpose of my call to Ms. Saroj and apprised her of the situation outside the gate. The decent lady in Ms. Saroj transferred my call to One Mr. Rana, who is the officer-in-charge of currency exchange. I explained to Mr. Rana my purpose of the call. Mr. Rana told me that all that we read from various websites and social media are incorrect and the old currency exchange relaxation until June 2017 is applicable to only for those holding Indian Passport who were abroad since November 8^th 2016 and returning to India for the first time. Mr. Rana further said that the notice is pasted outside the RBI gate which I can read for myself. Several people were crowded in front of the place where the notice was pasted. After significant effort, I positioned myself to read the notification and learnt that OCIs are not NRIs (which I should have known anyway) and the rule to exchange the old notes with new ones is not applicable to me and fellow Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).

Rule is rule and I take pride in abiding by the rule. Educated well enough with the information pasted at the RBI wall and realizing the 22K rupees loss (I spent for myself and my wife to travel to Delhi by Air) in addition to the customs cleared old notes, I attempted to call Mr. Rana again to ask him what should I do with the Old currency notes. Since Mr. Rana did not pick up the phone, I thought he is busy and called the GM (Currency) again. The GM(Currency) gave the line again to Mr. Rana. I asked Mr. Rana that now that I know that I can’t exchange the old currency under the prevailing rule, what should I do with the old currency. Mr. Rana bluntly told me that what I hold is not currency but “Kagaz-ka-Tukada” and I should wait for further notification from the Government on what to do with the old currency. I asked Mr. Rana that since he handles the issue, will he be reporting our concerns to the Finance Ministry to which Mr. Rana said, he only get directions from the Finance Ministry and informing the FM of the issues faced by the public is not part of his role. I pleaded with Mr. Rana to at least send some officers outside and announce what he said to me, so that the thousands like me who are not technically NRIs need not stand in line for hours to learn what I learnt from him. I am glad they did come outside and announced to the public and I could see several people branching out of the queue surprised and disappointed how their money which was legally obtained exchanging foreign currency at some point became “Kagaz-ka-Tukada”. Some OCIs were still standing in line when I left hoping against hope that their old notes will somehow get exchanged. They may have also met with disappointment when they reached the counter of RBI. I followed up with RBI, called Mr. Rana on 5^th May, 2017 seeking a direction on what to do with the old currency and the certificate issued by the customs Officer as I have not come across with any new notification from the Finance Ministry. RBI still hasn’t clarified what should I and people like me should do with it except Mr. Rana repeating that what I hold is “Kagaz-ka-Tukada”.  Never in the past I felt that “I am a complete alien in India” until this incident. This is one of the several examples that all the pronouncements by PM Modi to the diaspora are not trickled down to the policy makers and bureaucracy or are not following up with policy directions.

Currency Withdrawal Limit and my predicament: Unlike previous visits to India, this time I had a special purpose, the wedding of my daughter. The marriage was on 29^th January, 2017. As usual, I visited the state Bank of India Branch in my home village where I maintain my NRE account.  My brother who accompanied me forewarned that there could be a lot of people in the queue. When I entered the bank branch, there were approximately 60 to 70 people thronged in front of the bank counters. Spoiled by the bank facilities and customer service that we enjoy in the US, one could be easily disturbed with that sight. Soon I figured that there are several queues, and the lengthy one is for cash withdrawal. One would wish if the Bank could minimum offer a seat to the waiting customers. Probably the term “Customer is God” is not applicable in “Gods own Country”. In the past, usually, I walk into the Manager’s office and do all my banking items and along with the Bank Manager help me get the cash that I need. This time there were no familiar faces as all the staff in the Branch appeared new. The Branch Manager’s office was empty, so I walked to the Service Manager to enquire about a KYC formality. The service Manager recognized me when referred to the email correspondences that we had previously. I gave the KYC proof which the Service Manage examined and asked me to come back when the Branch Manager would be back. The Branch Manager had gone to get cash which I think is brought every day from the main branch in another city.  My wife had some locker related work which she did with the help of the Service Manager. We left the bank to return after 3 hours to withdraw the cash. This time the Branch Manager was available. We knew that the withdrawal limit is Re. 24,000/- per week and my wife stood in line with the check. We could not use our ATM card as it wasn’t working, possibly due to non-usage. I went into the office of the Branch Manager. There were two people sitting and a few standing in his office. The Branch Manager was multitasking with all of them plus answering the staff. The Service Manager introduced me to the Bank Manager and I was offered a seat. I was a little hesitant to occupy the seat as several customers standing came earlier than me. The Branch Manager asked again to be seated and I happily did and thanked for the gesture. I then introduced the need for additional cash for my daughter’s wedding the following Sunday. The Branch Manager mentioned, that I can only withdraw Re.24,000/- in a week from my account. This is the relaxed ceiling after the Re. 4000/- for a longtime post demonetization. I referred the much-publicized relaxation of drawing up to 3.5 Lakhs for wedding purposes. The Branch Manager mentioned that such a relaxation does not exist. Even if it existed, is not wise to go that route to get that relaxation as the documentation required for it is cumbersome and unlikely to be sanctioned prior to the wedding date which was 29^th January. I enquired whether my wife can draw money from the account as she is a joint account holder with me to which we were told that the limit of Re. 24,000/- per week in cash is per account and not per account holder. By this time, I got the full view of the gap between the policy statements and the implementation reality on the ground. I would however, give my full mark to the Bank Manager and the Bank Staff for their patience and perseverance. One must admit and admire that the Bank Staff have been doing their best with all the odds and constraints. Learning that I can’t get more cash and with just Re.24,000/- in hand, my effort was to save as much in cash for the wedding. I hoped, at least some expenses could be met by check or Credit Card.  I requested the Taxi driver who picked us up from the Airport to accept check or to wait for a week to get more cash otherwise the cash in hand for my daughter’s weeding would have been just Re. 19,200/-. The taxi driver preferred the wait instead of other modes of payment. I braved to get the wedding going with Just Re.24,000/- with me. My sisters and brothers came forward and together collected another Re.50,000/-. There were hardly any takers of check or credit card. Since my daughter already decided that the wedding will be a simple ceremony, the need for money, cash or otherwise was minimum. She did not buy Gold or any other luxuries. If she did, with lakhs white remittance money of US dollars sitting in my account, I would have been a beggar for cash for an important life event like the wedding of my daughter. I am proud of my daughter for the simplicity she practiced in her life including in her own wedding.

In the end, I appeal to the RBI to give proper direction on what to do with the old notes. I am okay to keep the old notes and the customs issued certificate as a souvenir if there are no legal complications in doing so.

About the Author: The author is a keen political observer and closely follows US and Indian Politics. More Blogs at http://sabrimala.blogspot.com, Twitter: mohanMNair 

Anavandi Trip

I am Writing this enroute to Kochi International Airport. I and my wife are heading to Delhi to meet our old friends. This time we chose to ride the Kerala Government owned Anavandi bus service to the Airport. The Airport is two plus hours ride away from my hometown Pattambi. The bus originates from Perinthalmanna, anther town about 40 Kilometers north of  Pattambi. The pick up at Pattambi was at 5:20AM, so we left home around 4:50AM. Amma (my mother) woke up and prepared black coffee for us. Amma is 87 years old. She maintains her belief that it is inauspicious to leave the home empty stomach , no matter what the time of the day it is. We enjoyed the coffee and after seeking her blessings left the home. 

My home is in Kodumunda under the hills, surrounded by paddy fields , plantations and two temples atop the hills scenic, serene and picturesque which is 6 kilometers west of Pattambi. The commute to Pattambi is 10 minutes under normal traffic but we were cautioned about the railroad crossing and the possible delay. My younger brother dropped us at the bus stop in Pattambi. The bus arrived on time which was a bit of surprise to me as I still carry my 22 year old experience of KSRTC.  It was stated to be a luxury bus with place to keep your luggage etc. but it turned out to be just a low floor air conditioned bus. There was some space on the floor where you can keep your luggage. The luggage space was occupied by the passengers boarded from earlier stops. I moved those luggages and created space for my suite cases. The boarding process was completed after the routine  check by the lady conductor. Our seats were occupied by some unreserved passengers. The conductor instructed them to vacate and we got settled in our reserved seats. During the whole boarding process, the conductor did not welcome the passengers nor smiled. After all, the driver and conductor are Government employees and the SOP does not require them to greet the passengers or smile. After all why should they, all these greetings and smiles etc. are western culture. They are doing their duty in itself is a big obligation.

The bus ride was smooth and on time. Thought of catching up with my lost sleep but could not. The bus was brightly lit with no provisions for dimming. Switching off, the conductor said, is unlawful because there are women copassengers.

With the plan to sleep gutted, I started writing and suddenly my attention caught on Saleem , the passenger in the seat in front of my seat . Saleem is a young man of his late thirties. His face was gloomy and looked tired. I broke the ice and asked about his home and family. Saleem is returning to UAE where he works. His wife, two small kids and his mother lives in Kerala, the neighboring village of mine. Saleem said, he was on a short visit to see his family here in His village. Saleem is in Gulf countries earning and supporting his family back home. He visits his family once every year. Said that he cannot continue in Gulf longer leaving the family behind. Saleem wants to come back once his house under construction is completed. He said the face of children when he was leaving after the vacation tells him enough is enough the life separated from home and family. 

Kerala is full of Saleems. My younger brother did the same for 18 years and my nephew is wearing the same boot. Employment situation here compels young boys and girls to migrate to other parts of India and Gulf countries. People vote for politicians in the hope to see developments and employment opportunities and are disappointed. Parliamentarians and legislators are not shy of washing away entire house sessions. New elections, new promises and new government will come and go but the system will compel more and more Saleems to leave their newly wed spouse, elderly mother and younger children behind in search of livelihood.