Being a peoples’ movement, it is difficult to predict how things would shape up there. Till things clear up at the ground level, everyone’s waiting with bated breath.
The smile pockets a rattling controversy.

Commentators around the world are debating this hot topic in the light of the continued crisis gripping the American economy, and its fabled markets.   Some are convinced that America, the super power, is truly and well on its way to demise.   And going by the increasingly negative news emanating from the United States, one cannot be blamed for imagining the worst.

Whether America can continue to hold its position as the sole super power of the world may depend on a very simple and mundane asset, namely, CASH!   How deep are America’s pockets?   In order to retain its present position in the comity of nations, America may have to go on spending cash, and more cash,  till it reaches a point when its economy finds its feet once again, and America can go back to strutting around on the world stage as the only super power!

What does America need to spend money on?   Here are some of the areas where the U.S. has to spend billions upon billions of dollars without really counting them (saves time!), in order to keep its number one position.

Take Care Of Own:  The American Government has to naturally take care of its own citizens first, like any good Government, and that requires a hell of a lot of money.   Its not an easy task for the American Government to keep its citizens happy, given their proclivity to wasteful spending, and lack of the savings habit.  

The American Government has not only to take care of the basic needs of its citizens, but also to pamper them with innumerable goodies.   Cheap gas, for one.   Americans are hooked to the automobile, and keeping them happy on the road costs the American state quite a packet!

America has to ensure unemployment within its population to the bare minimum, or pay unemployment doles to the unemployed.   On the other hand,it has also to provide job opportunities to a large number of aliens, in order to retain its competitive edge by attracting the best talent from all over the world.   Also a large number of aliens throughout the world, looking up to America for a better future, does its image a whale of good.   And the Social Security system that American citizens are entitled to, takes up a large chunk of the American State spending.

Military Power:  America has to maintain a vast, and first rate defence force, that has the capability of intervening in any part of the world, at short notice.  This entails maintaining and sustaining a steady supply of arms and ammunitions of every variety and description, in huge quanities, and of the best quality of course.   Land, Sea and Air based, and in future, space based weapons systems of the highest quality and accuracy are needed to project America’s muscle power before the rest of the world-to friends and foes alike.

Projecting Power Abroad:   Propping up friendly, even if brutal regimes with little or no concern for human rights, like Israel, and Egypt in the pursuit of its strategic interests, takes up a huge chunk of America’s resources.   Israel is the top beneficiary of American aid, so much so that every morsel of food that the Israelis consume, and every drop of water they drink is either partly or fully financed by America!  The second largest receipient of American aid is Egypt.

And then there are states like Pakistan and South Korea, that are supposed to act as a bulwark against perceived threats to not only American interests, but to world peace and prosperity.   Pakistan is supposed to counter the threat of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and South Korea is supposed to halt the spread of red (communism) from North Korea!   Both these friendly states, especially Pakistan, swallow up a considerable amount of American money year after year.

As if this were not enough, America has a bounden duty to punish unfriendly regimes like Iraq and Afghanistan by occupying these states physically;  and subverting their systems to make them America-friendly requires a virtual pipeline of cash to be put in place between America and these countries.   In spite of all this, the end result may not be satisfactory for America, which means all the money spent going down the drain.

Intelligence gathering:  This is another area where America spends countless billions of dollars to maintain its ‘edge’ over the rest of the world, in the hierarchy of nations.   The American intelligence set up is said to be as expansive as it is expensive.  The cost of  maintaining and running such a vast network of intelligence gathering mechanism, both human and non-human can only be imagined, as a lot of the expenditure is of a secret nature, and not accounted for.

By no means, is the above, a complete list of the expenditure incurred by the American Government to maintain its power and prestige, and more importantly, its ’sole super power’ status.

The current economic crisis that has America in a vice like grip, refuses to ease up soon, thereby putting enormous pressure on the American system, and pushing America into more and more debt, thereby mortgaging the future of the coming generations of Americans.   If this situation continues, America may soon be left with the hard choice of saving its flesh and bones, by letting off its enviable, or hated, as you please, status, of the sole super power of the world.

Major Issues:  What are the major election issues in India, this time around?   Well, the comfort zone of “terrorism” is no longer inviting and safe.   It may, infact, give negative returns.   Economics has overtaken all other considerations, and come on to  the forefront of political battles, that lie ahead.   And jobs, the least glamorous, but the most relevant issue affecting dozens of millions of Indians is now uppermost in the minds of the electorate.   Of course, how much of a “mind” the electorate has, is a different matter altogether, given the voting patterns in the past elections!

The Challenges:  The change of guard in America has also changed the old equations for the Indian ruling classes.   The Indian political elite will definitely miss the indulgence of the Bush administration, towards the various sins of omission and commission merrily committed by the Indian elite.   Having enjoyed a jolly ride for eight long years thus, adjusting to the new realities of the changed situation, is not going to be easy for the Indian rulers.

Compounding  their problems is the current economic crisis in the United States, and elsewhere.   Job opportunities in the U.S. for the Indian middle classes are fast drying up.   And a reverse flow of expatriates back to India, after losing their jobs abroad, has begun.   The new American administration has, inevitably perhaps, come out with legislation to protect the American workers, and industry.   Outsourcing of jobs to other countries at the cost of the local labor, and employing aliens ignoring equally qualified locals would be penalized now.   As it so happens, the majority of the jobs outsourced by American companies go to India;  and naturally, now India has to suffer the most on account of these new laws.   Having enjoyed  free lunches for a long time practically, the Indian establishment is now forced to address the long standing issues that remain unresolved even fifty seven years after Independence-Poverty, Unemployment, Illiteracy,  Diseases, Corruption etc., etc., etc.!

Immature Electorate:  On its part, the Indian electorate has rarely displayed the kind of maturity and common sense expected of it in its approach to voting in national elections, in the past.   Political Parties have almost always succeeded in diverting people’s attention with frivolous and even stupid issues, and away from the real issues.   But this time around, the politicians may not have it so easy.   Primarily, on account of the increasingly precarious job situation.   With industry and businesses laying off employees by the hundreds, practically every week, on account of the economic situation(what else), the increasing number of jobless makes it more complicated for the political classes to come up with a neat and  winning combination of promises and slogans, that have invariably paid dividends in the past.

At this point of time, it is difficult to predict the result of the election.   But the election itself should offer an insight into the minds of the Indian electorate, and the public at large.   Has the Indian electorate grown up?   Has it matured?   Has it developed the capacity of seperating the chaff from the grain?   Has it developed the ability to see through the politician’s empty promises?   Has it, at last, learned to recognize the real issues that affect its interests like poverty, unemployment, health, education etc.?   Or has it not learnt anything from its past experience and continues to labor under illusions and delusions?   Does fatalism still play a prominent role in decision making of the Indian electorate?   These, and many more questions will be answered soon.  

Conclusion:  To be fair,  the Indian voter, does not have much of a choice.   All the major political parties have been tried, tested, and found to be wanting.   And the new and smaller parties do not have the necessary fire power or the horse power to reach the goal post!  

Whatever the outcome of these elections, the winning party or combine may end up cursing their luck in winning the elections, given the developing economic crisis that is likely to hit India squarely in the coming months, if not weeks.  

LET THE TAMASHA BEGIN!

View expressed above are author’s personal.