Sajha.com

There was this "Sammelan' that Maoists organized recently somehwere in the capital. The letters in the banners were written in both english and nepali. I am not sure if they wrote correct 'spelling' for the nepali words, but the english words were grossly mis-spelled.
**************

Although some high school drop-out YCL cadres may not have discerned the differences between “insuring” and “ensuring,” I, however, would like to thank them for their blatant abuse of simple english words. At a time when the proposed Constituent Assembly election is being derailed from every possible angle, nothing seems more fitting than insuring this election. Indeed, insuring is a way of ensuring.

We purchase insurance to protect us against a fall in the value of an asset we own. For example, I purchase auto insurance to protect myself from the fall in the value of my vehicle from unforeseen damages, financially at least. My insurer takes the risk of paying my bills in excess of the deductible in the event that my vehicle is damaged. But for taking my risk, I have to pay a certain price, called premiums, to my insurer even when my car is running at its best. So, by paying premiums every month, I transfer my risk to my insurer. At a time when we can protect the fall in the value of every imaginable assets we own, sometimes of assets we don’t even own, why shouldn’t we be able to protect the nation from the fall in the value of our democratic systems as well?

Just like an insured vehicle owner will not have to mourn over the loss if and when his vehicle is damaged, an election-insured nation will not have to feel devastated if and when free and fair elections become only a distant possibility. Just take our own case, the estimated total loss due to postponement of the election that was slated for November is more than $10 million. That is a huge price to pay for the incompetence of our leaders, brazenness of YCL cadres, and cry-baby attitude of the Maoists. But that is not all: we have now lost faith of the public and the international community as well. The excitement and optimism that had permeated through the masses after the success of the April revolution have already been sapped by unrealized hopes of having Constituent Assembly elections one day. Certainly, an insurance contract against this postponement could have at least mitigated that financial loss.

One might argue that there aren’t any insurance policies in the market that insures elections to insure our elections. That is true, but I don’t see why there won’t be any if there is a market for it. You might ask, if there is a market for it, then why aren't insurance companies going into it. True, but this market has not developed yet. That's why the threshold will be higher for any insurance company to go into this line of business. Once they jump into it, not only can insurers develop contract/policies for nations, but they could also develop individual policies for political parties. Definitely, this is a huge untapped market. I would argue that it would be beneficial for even parties like Maoists to purchase insurance against a certain number of seats that they have "asumed* they will win, as most likely they will have a hard time even garnering more than a dozen seats should there be a free and a fair election.

Then, can a poor and a fragile nation like ours pay insurance premiums to conduct a farce election that no one knows will bring even half the changes that our politicians are harping all along? This, I think, is something that a country or a party should decide on a cost-benefit analysis. If a country thinks that a fall in the value would seriously jeopardize the nation and its democratic process, then I think it is worth every penny. At a special and critical juncture such as the current existing situation, even if it means we will be in serious debt for a number of years, we should insure our elections. Only then will we ensure it.

   [ posted by Guest4 @ 12:54 PM ] | Viewed: 1238 times [ Feedback]

**********
I have been told that I am a very patient person, but there have been times I have found myself cussing at a *stupid* traffic light for being red when there was no vehicle a mile away. While this other time, I got hit, possibly, by a drunk driver who turned a blind-eye to the red light and came crashing to my car. Both these events have made me question the very usefulness of traffic lights in our communities.

One of the things that I found strange when I first landed at my scenic college several years ago was how everyone on campus greeted each other. I was surprised by the number of people that cared enough about me to ask me if I was doing well. Better yet, I was equally taken aback when a cute blonde at the check-out line in Wal-Mart asked me how I was doing. Little did I know then that nobody wanted to hear what I had to say; they just weren’t interested to know *how* I was doing. All this makes me question the purpose of greetings.

So, are traffic lights really serving their purposes—reducing congestion and reducing accidents? Statistics shows that there is no significant difference in the number of accidents before and after the introduction of traffic light. In some places, it takes 5 to 10 times more to reach from A to B in presence of traffic light than in its absence. If it hasn’t helped us in any way then why do we need traffic light at those places?

Why do greetings do not really connotate what the words mean? If you didn’t want to know how I was doing, then don’t ask me how I am doing; ask only if you *really* want to know. Also, if I ask you how you are doing, I want you to at least stop for a while and tell me little more than *alright.* Why do you care to ask someone how the person is doing if you have already made up your mind that you are not going to listen to that person for more than few seconds? Don’t waste your time, and mine too.

Some European countries, including Belgium and Germany, have already scraped traffic lights and signs in some of their small towns. The idea has worked remarkably well. No doubt, it puts more responsibility on drivers, and also pedestrians, but this also makes you not look stupid for having to wait at an intersection for some freaking light to tell you when to go when there is no vehicle a mile away.

Ironically, it didn’t take me that long to get used to this greeting system. Before I even realized, I was greeting others without expecting an answer. If I did receive an answer, then I would even go as far as to make fun of that moron who made an attempt to give his full life story about how he was doing. Hell, I don’t want to know how you are doing if I don’t invite you for a dinner at my house or go to movies with you. Then why do I even greet you? Tradition.

I stop at red traffic lights consciously, and I greet you, without expecting a detailed response, sub-coconsciously. Both stopping at red traffic light and asking how you are doing, without really expecting an answer, have not have served their intended purpose, so why should I take steps to fulfill its intended objective. That’s why I continue to pass through yellow traffic light, and I continue to greet others without really meaning it.

*********

   [ posted by Guest4 @ 12:35 PM ] | Viewed: 1236 times [ Feedback]

The Economics of Beggars

Ananta Karki, 53, earns Rs. 200-300 a day. His wife, Til Maya and son earn about the same. So, at the minimum, his family earns a total of Rs.600 a day, which sums up to a total of Rs. 18,000 a month.

Raju Gurung, 25, has been on the same job for 22 years now. He is now the self-proclaimed boss and earns about Rs. 400 a day! His monthly salary amounts to Rs. 12,000.

Both these men--Ananta and Raju--are in the same profession and work in the same place. No, they do not work for INGO's, nor are they politicians; they both beg at Mahankal temple.

Baburam Kharel wrote an interesting piece titled "Beggers by choice and raking it in" in kantipuronline.com on March 25th. The piece, which highlights the economics of Beggars, is an incredible case of market at work.

Both Ananta and Raju, as the writer claims, seem to have taken this profession by choice, a profession in which these men derive maximum utility, given their skill and educational level. By engaging in voluntary exchanges-- donors by being good devotees of “god” and beggars by receiving what they are looking for—both parties become well off. This promotes welfare in the society.

It is highly unlikely that a lot of Beggars read kantipuronline.com, but if they do, then this new information could lead to a steep increase in the number of beggars at Mahankal, thus reducing their--Ananta and Raju's--monthly income. Since this is very costly information--not available to beggars who do not read kantipuronline.com--I doubt there will be any significant increase in the number of beggars at the temple. So, there should not be any downward pressure in revenue of the existing beggars due to an increase in the number of beggars for a foreseeable period of time.

As these "rich" beggars bag handsome revenue, the spillover effect has also been palpabe on nearby restaurants and liquor stores. On Saturdays and Tuesdays, when most devotees come to the temple, the number of beggars reaches as high as 200. Some of them spend about Rs. 50 on liquor and food at nearby restaurants. Raja KC, who owns a restaurant nearby the temple, could not have been any happier. His profit is strongly correlated with the earnings of the beggars. As a stakeholder of this Beggar economy, Raja should invest heavily to create an environment that will enable the beggars to produce a healthy income at the temple.

If those beggars earned so much money, why are not other beggars there? First off, as I said earlier, the information is costly. Beggars do not know where they can make more money. For Ananta, he found it through the other experienced beggars. So it seems that "networking" is an invaluable skill that can come handy in this profession too. Second, if you are just a beginner, without any relevant experience, then you start at the bottom of the hierarchy. Unlike Raju Gurung, a self-proclaimed in-charge of the beggars, who gets to collect money that is offered at the temple, other beggars are left at the mercy of generous devotees. So, the unavailability of information and a stiff competition from the existing beggars make it difficult for any new comer to have any significant earnings at Mahankal.

Since I have this privilege of knowing inside information, I am going to "play beggar" at Mahankal for about two weeks next time I am in Nepal. At the same time I also want to assure Ananta, Raju, and other beggars that they should not fear me as I am not taking away their share of revenue; in fact, I have no other intention than helping them. I will collect some data, perform some analysis, and give some recommendations to Ananta, Raju, and other "aspiring beggars" on ways that will enable them to maximize their revenue.

The original article can be obtained at:
- http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?nid=104585

   [ posted by Guest4 @ 02:46 PM ] | Viewed: 1597 times [ Feedback] (2 Comments)