Anna, Bapu, Corruption, and Democracy - An Appeal

Anna Hazare's fast unto death from 16 August 2011 at Ramlila maidan, New Delhi,  is a crusade against corruption that has taken the nation by storm. The unprecedented peoples participation was neither expected by  the organizers of India Against Corruption (IAC) nor the Government of India. Much has been said in favour and against  (for a repository of some of the write-ups see  Jan Lokpal Bill and Anna Hazare). I am not reviewing any of these positions here. I just have a few independent observations to make.

First, Anna's fast and the non-violent nature of the movement has its roots with Bapu, the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.  This brings into our domain the parallels with other recent people power based non-violent struggle such as the Tunisian and  Egyptian revolutions or the Burmese struggle (see the two Reith lectures by Aung San Suu Kyi on Liberty and Dissent).

Second, different sections of the polity impute different meanings and have identified it in some way. It brings with it a hope for a just and fair society. Even those who disagree with team Anna's version and their method or approach agree that corruption needs to be done away with it. Put in other words, it is a call for doing away with vested interest. This is easier said than done as those powerful entities who have been benefiting will oppose. A protracted battle and dilly dallying is only expected.

At the core of contention is the Lokpal Bill against corruption, which was first introduced in the Parliament of India 42 years ago in 1968, but even after a number of modifications has not seen the light of the day. In recent years, the civil society spearheaded by IAC has come with an alternative Jan Lokpal Bill (Peoples Ombudsman Bill) and wants this version to be discussed in the parliament so that it forms a base for strong anti-corruption laws. The National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI) have come up with another version. Some of the major differences in these three versions are with regard to the inclusion of the Prime Minister, inclusion of lower level Government functionaries, inclusion of civil society's that receive public funding, and separation of judiciary among others. One feels that good points from all versions can be taken to come up with a strong Lokpal Bill.

While discussing corruption, I want to take a small digression as this reminds me of a lecture given by one of my teachers (Professor Sourindra Barik, a Sahitya Akademi award winner in 1988)  when I was in college about 25 years ago. He said that  tacit toleration or in a sense acceptance of corruption is a matter of degree. For instance, if you want to meet an official and if the peon is preventing you from meeting the person then you grease the person by offering two paans or a five rupee note and you may not be happy about it but brush it aside and think that ye chalta hai (it is fine). But, after meeting the officer if you are told that your work will be done only if you pay (say, Rs.10,000 or some amount that you consider is substantial)  then it will not be at a toleration/acceptance level, but you still cannot do anything about it - either you pay  and get your work done or wait endlessly. In the current movement, the support of people is to show their solidarity to something they did not know what to do. Having got an opportunity, they are saying it loud  and clear that our toleration/acceptance levels have breached and please do something about it. 

This takes us to our last, but not the least, point - the relevance of democracy. On the one hand, we have a non-violent people-based movement. On the other hand, we have the movement raising some questions on parliamentary propriety.  The question before us in a democratic polity is whether people are supreme or is the parliament supreme - a catch 22.

 

A democracy is by the people for the people and of the people. But, then it cannot be based on peoples whims and  fancies - however  reasonable the propositions may be.  To weed out vested interests, there are some norms and institutions.  There is a basic structure required for a democracy to function. They are, as laid down in our  Constitution,  the separation of powers between the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary and then we have the fourth estate - the media.   The question here is if the persons  (or, a dominant section of them) manning the important institutions themselves espouse some powerful vested interest then how do we go about. 

Business as usual is not an option. In the current scenario, there is a need for peoples power indicated through the crusade against corruption to converge with Constitutional propriety. How? In this seeming disagreement, deliberative processes should be initiated to to bring about agreement and order. Some possible suggestions are the following.

First, all parties agree for a strong anti-graft law. Second, the Government agrees to initiate the deliberations in the Parliament in a sincere, honest and transparent manner and discuss all versions and takes the best points from all of these.  Third, transparency requires that the deliberations are open to public so that they know who takes what positions (if possible to include the positions that the Bureaucrats take while providing suggestions).  Fourth, this important discussion requires an open voting by each individual  based on her or his own judgment and constituencies requirement. In short, no party can issue a whip on this.  Fifth, as this is an open-ended discussion that all political parties have committed to, the outcome of the voting will not be construed as a vote for or against the Government. Sixth, all peoples representative should discuss with people from their constituencies as also the civil society and others to form a reasoned opinion.  Seventh, provision may be made by the Government to interact with different representatives of the civil society as and when the situation warrants.

Before I end, I should commend the civil society and their representatives for getting this process on. As I see, this is going to be a long drawn-out struggle. Quoting Robert Frost I can only reiterate: "And miles to go before I sleep,  And miles to go before I sleep." Hence, my humble request to Shri Anna Hazare. Sir,  please  give up your fast. If you so desire, continue it in a limited way, as per your Doctor's advise.   But, please do give up your fast.

Long live Democracy! Long live Mother India. 

(Those interested may see my earlier blog In Defense of Anna Hazare written on 13 April 2011 during his first round of fasting that led to the formation of a joint committee for drafting an anti-graft bill, but differences between them led to the Government and the civil society coming with two versions, and hence, the current logjam).

Poverty Estimates in India

Poverty Estimates in India: Old and New Methods, 2004-05 is the title of a new working paper published from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai. It has been co-authored by Durgesh C. Pathak, a post-doctoral fellow whom I have been mentoring for the last two years, and myself. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Late Professor Suresh D. Tendulkar who passed away recently on 21 June 2011. Below I give excerpts that draw from the two quotations  that the paper begins with, the abstract, introduction and concluding remarks.

The poor are a part of necessary furniture of the earth, a sort of perpetual gymnasium where the rich can practice virtue when they are so inclined. - Francesco Guicciardini (Discorsi Politici)

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams beneath your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams...
- W. B. Yeats

Abstract

This paper provides estimates of poverty and inequality across states as also for different sub-groups of population for 2004-05 by using the old and new methods of the Planning Commission. The new method is critically evaluated with the help of some existing literature and its limitations discussed with regard to doing away with calorie norm, use of median expenditure as a norm for health and education when the distribution is positively skewed, difficulty in reproducing results for earlier rounds acting as a constraint on comparisons, and using urban poverty ration of the old method as a starting point to decide a consumption basket. More importantly, it discusses the implications on financial transfers across states if the share of poor is only taken into account without accounting for an increase in the total number of poor. Despite these limitations, on grounds of parsimony and prudence the state-specific poverty lines suggested in the new method, as also in the old method, are used to calculate incidence, depth (intensity) and severity (inequality among poor) estimates of poverty for different sub-groups of population, viz., NSS regions, social groups and occupation groups.

Introduction

In India, the quinquennial rounds of national sample survey (NSS) of consumption expenditure have been instrumental in providing us with an estimation of head count ratio. The Report of the Task Force on Projections of Minimum Needs and Effective Consumption Demands (Government of India, 1979) looked into the age, sex and activity specific nutritional requirements and arrived at a per capita norm of 2400 calorie for rural and 2100 calorie for urban and based on this a monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of Rs.49.09 in rural and Rs.56.64 in urban was identified as the poverty line for 1973-74. This was updated to accommodate price changes over time. The Report of the Expert Group on Estimation of Proportion and Number of Poor (Government of India, 1993) proposed the use of independent poverty lines for each state and updating them by looking into the state specific changes in prices. This formed the basis for official estimates of poverty provided by the Planning Commission till recently (hereafter, old method).

Some of the criticism of this approach is that the updated prices may not represent the calories norm that they were initially pegged to,  that the calorie norms should change because of demographic shifts in age and sex and change in occupational patterns, that basic requirements like health, education, sanitation and housing are not included in the calculation of poverty line, that a reference period of 30 days may not be appropriate for low frequency items of consumption expenditure among others. These have been partly addressed in the Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Estimation of Poverty (Government of India, 2009) leading to a new set of poverty estimates for the year 2004-05 that have now been accepted by the Planning Commission (hereafter, new method).

The current exercise focuses on three points. First, it discusses critically the new methodology in the light of a brief review of some recent literature by various scholars. Second, it analyses the change in shares of poverty across states and union territories (hereafter, states) that will occur due to this shift. It also tries to briefly hint the possible repercussions of these changes on poverty reduction efforts in states.  Third, it provides estimates of proportion of poor (head count ratio or incidence of poverty), depth (poverty gap or intensity) and the severity (poverty gap squared or inequality among the poor) at various levels of disaggregation like states, NSS regions, social groups and occupational categories.
...

Concluding Remarks

The Planning Commission accepted the suggestions by an Expert Group that it had constituted leading to a new method for estimating poverty in India using NSS's consumption expenditure data for 2004-05. The new method replaces the uniform recall of 30 days for all consumption items to a mixed recall where consumption of five low frequency items were collected for the last year (365 days) and appropriately adjusted to get a monthly per capita expenditure. It also takes into consideration health and education needs that the old method had not incorporated in its calorie norm. While doing these, it also opened up a number of other issues.

First, it did away with the benchmarking of a poverty line with a calorie norm that the old method was based on. They did not let the calorie norm go away totally. A reference is made to an FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) calorie norm being achievable around its poverty line, but then this norm is for light and sedentary activities that may not adequately capture the energy needs of the poor who put in hard labour.  Second, while factoring in health and education expenditure is a positive step, using median expenditure as a norm for a positively skewed expenditure distribution may not represent the actual requirement of a poor person.  Third, having done away with a calorie norm, it begins with the poverty ratio for urban India from the old method as given. Using this ratio on the mixed recall it generates a consumption basket at the aggregate level for urban India and then uses this to generate a poverty line for states around this basket. This means that instead of using state estimates to compute a weighted all India average, it begins with the latter. A bottom-up method is replaced with a top-down approach. Fourth, the computation of consumption basket requires use of data from other rounds of NSS as also from other sources. The whole procedure is quite cumbersome and replicating it for earlier rounds or even for thin rounds is difficult and in many cases not possible. This will also have implications on the usage of time series poverty trends in macro modelling.

From a policy perspective, the new method will lead to change in share of poor. If financial transfers across states do not account for an increase in the number of poor or have a budget constraint then this means that the poorer states would end up getting less.

Despite these limitations, on account of pragmatic considerations as also for parsimony and prudence, the state-specific poverty lines have been used for computation of poverty at various sub-groups. This has been attempted in this paper for NSS regions, social groups and occupation groups for both the old and new methods. The relatively higher incidence of poverty among scheduled tribes in rural areas and scheduled castes in urban areas for social groups and that of agricultural labourers and other labourers in rural areas and casual labourers in urban areas for occupation groups have been discussed.

Though they do not play any active role in poverty estimation, yet the poor have maximum stake in poverty analysis as they are at the receiving end. Thus, a move towards a bottom-up approach where the poor get involved in the understanding of vulnerability, particularly in the implementation of policies (including on identification of poor and poverty alleviation) so as to bring in greater accountability and transparency is called for . In its absence, every attempt to define and measure poverty is like treading on the dreams of poor. If poverty measure chosen is going to help them, at least some of these dreams would become a reality. Otherwise they dry like leaves fallen from trees.

For details see the paper, Poverty Estimates in India: Old and New Methods, 2004-05.

Jharkhand Trip, 9-11 June 2011

Currently I have taken up a work to evaluate PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action), a civil society that has been engaged for more than 25 years in livelihood enhancement in 43 of the poorest districts spread across eight states in India. In this context, I had been to Jharkhand during 9-11 June 2011.

Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand is the new emerging city showing signs of haphazard growth. It is still not late and care should be taken to expand with wide roads and landscaping that is natural to the region. After a quick breakfast, Narendranath (from the Delhi office of PRADAN who had earlier spent a decade of his field days in Goda and Hazaribagh areas when Jharkhand was part of undivided Bihar) and I moved over to Khunti, a newly carved out district from Ranchi on 12 September 2007.  It is a very historical place, as Kunti and her five sons (the Pandavas) were supposed to have stayed here during their agyantavas (years of anonymity) and also the birth place of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, and we happened to be there 111 years after he died under mysterious circumstances in the Ranchi jail when he was just 25 years. I just wonder what would have been the course of Indian history if Bhagwan Birsa was alive for another 50 years. Would there be 'green hunt' today?

I had a quick interaction with a few of their staff and then moved over to a Mundari village - on the way I  saw the path to the village where Bhagwan Birsa was born, the hillock where he organized meetings as also the presence of operation green hunt. PRADAN's intervention in a village begins by organizing women self help groups (SHGs). We were welcomed by flower garlands prepared by the different groups. The local PRADAN staff facilitated the women folk in drawing out a village resource mapping and planning of what could be done. With help from a special Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), which has now become the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). Mango plantation has been done in lands that were otherwise barren. Some poultry and goat rearing activities have also been initiated. Most importantly, it is this village that featured in Ek Ropa Dhan, on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) cultivation, that bagged the best promotional film at the 58th National Film Awards in 2010. The intervention in this village for SHGs for women built on the existing strength of the traditional gram sabha (which even today is largely a male affair) that has been functioning regularly. Today, however, there are occasions when the views of women are sought at times. 

We went to another village where I was shown of an intervention facilitated by PRADAN that has transformed a rocky barren land to a mango orchard. Seeing the success, other similar land are also being extended to orchards. I had a late evening interaction with PRADAN staff who had returned from their field locations and then returned back to Ranchi.

Early in the morning we left for Hazaribagh, rather Barhi block. Unlike, Khunti, this is not a tribal belt. Small women owned poultry farms and tasar weaving are some of the interventions in this region. Some SHGs have been operating for nearly two decades. I was told that some of these are functioning independently and some are now part of other groups - splintered from PRADAN. It would be worthwhile to know the level of interactions and the benefits. Also relevant would be to know about the SHGs that  might have closed down.  

We also went to a village with a number of women-run poultry farms. Some of the questions raised during discussions were risks associated with poultry farming on account of diseases and price shocks. The system followed by PRADAN spreads the risks and  absorbs the shocks while providing income.The last interaction was at Padma block. Here the women were very articulate. There were strong discussions on dowry, and in particular the issue of desertion of women, particularly among Muslims.

By the time we reached Hazaribagh we were joined by Abhijit and Souvik from Koderma and Goda respectively. One of the problems they indicated is the male migration and the unwillingness of the youth to engage in manual labour work (particularly the youth from the middle peasant communities). Thus agriculture has become a domain of the women whereas men migrate out in search of jobs (handling mechanized earth movers and with increasing susceptibility to diseases like AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome). What are the livelihood interventions that would keep the men back and also save the family are important questions? The next day we returned to Ranchi and had a long discussion with Satya on the tasar story - Silken Spread.

Two days in Boston and back to Mumbai

As indicated in my previous blog we rolled into Boston, a historical city from the American was of Independence, but also from the academic perspective. I did share with my co-participants on the famous Cambridge capital controversy with people from both the Cambridge's taking part in 1960s and early 1970s. The prominent among them being Joan Robinson and Piero Sraffa from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, United States. The former pointed out some important problems in the aggregation of capital, reswitching and on the foundations of neoclassical economics. The latter did concede to some of these but despite that the teaching of economics worldwide (including at University of Cambridge also) got dominated by the neoclassical thinking and students in many schools at the United States not being aware of this problem. A good retrospective of this debate is Whatever Happened to the Cambridge Capital Theory Controversies.

Another development at Harvard is the seminal book by John Rawls, A Theory of Justice in 1971 (though I refer to the more recent Justice as Fairness: A Restatement of 2000 in my classes and in discussions) that had a serious assault on the utilitarian basis of neoclassical economics because of his articulation of reasonable pluralism - different things are intrinsically relevant on their own merit and not because of their relevance to utility.  Rawls also brought on other aspects such as 'original position' which means  that (free and equal) people who take decisions are under a veil so that they do not know who they are and this will help keep away vested interest.  With this and other fundamental ideal he goes on to put forth two principles of justice: First that there has to be equal liberties for all. Second, some inequalities are inevitable and they are of two types. The first inequality is that the most deserving persons should be appointed to positions of power so that societies concerns are carried forward in the best possible way and the second inequality is that while taking decisions the most vulnerable persons or subgroups interest should be maximized. The latter inequality is not a trade-off with better of individuals but rather preempts trade-offs where the interest of better-off is maximized by disregarding the interests of the worse-off.

Getting back to the trip. Our earlier schedule (the one that  I received by email before leaving India) for 20 May 2011 was an evaluation day. But, there was no such official evaluation and it was a free day. We decided to go on a tour of Boston. Just outside Marriott Cambridge, where we were staying, towards the Kendal Station side is also the bus stop for local tours.  At first the person wanted to sell us a ticket for 42 dollars. When we were a little hesitant then he said that he can reduce it to 39 dollars meant for students or give us ticket for another provided that is for 30 dollars - the difference being that the frequency of the latter bus is 20 minutes whereas that of the former is 10 minutes. Again, the latter ticket could also be used for two consecutive days and if we want a ticket for a single day then it would be 24 dollars. We decided for the single day and when we boarded the first bus we were told that we can use this ticket for the  next day also  because some logistics meant that there will be no services for this tour after 2.30 pm on our first day. Of course we did not need it on the second day.

Our first stop was Boston commons (a place traditionally used by farmers to graze their cattle) and one where there are people dressed in 18th century attire and explaining to people about the freedom trail.  It was nice to see the history being told and retold to groups of attentive children.

The second stop was harbor from where we took a boat ride and  were told about Boston's historic significance in maritime trade and some industry that developed but they no longer exist . We got off on  the other side of the harbor at Charles Town where there is a US Naval Meuseum and took the bus ride to Trinity church  near Copley square surrounded by the Westin Hotel, the Public Library and the the Old South church. There was a farmers market in the square and from a baker came to know that they also barter with fellow sellers. This is done at the end of the day when there is a mutual interest and at times they may also sell in exchange for coupons. A coupon is a guarantee given by the farmers market association in exchange for produce sold to those customers who paid by credit card at a central point. In the market one also met a Maple syrup seller from Vermont.

Back in the hotel had a long discussion with Sarthak. He is currently  at Wharton School,  University of Pennsylvania and had planned a visit to Boston to match mine. Both of us talked about  his thesis  and other work that we are doing and walked down to MIT and Harvard and took picture with John Harvard and then took a train back to Kendall and had a nice dinner at The Legal Seafood and discussed about size-class productivity in Indian agriculture late into the night.

On 21 May 2010 my flight was scheduled at 10.15 in the night, but checked out from the hotel at 12 noon. Our luggage was stored and we were given access to the business center but as one of the co-participants,  had a flight in the afternoon and as it is the same waiting in the lobby or at the airport, I  left early.  This  has added to the jet lag and though I am tired I am not able to sleep, and hence, this post. There is lot of work pending but that needs some rest before I start.

The whole experience has been wonderful. Nevertheless, the first feeling when back in  amchi Mumbai is sare jahan se acha hindustan hamara.

From Burlington, Vermont to Boston by Bus

We left the hotel at Burlington by 8.45 and moved over to Tetra Tech ARD's office at Burlington. There interventions in six areas, namely, Agriculture & Economic Growth, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Land Tenure & Property Rights, Water Resources & Infrastructure, and Information & Knowledge Management. They mentioned about their interventions in Bangladesh and Nepal as also many other countries across the world on agriculture related aspects. Some of the larger concerns raised were increasing population pressure, availability of technology to produce more food without increasing costs and risks, and the need to work with farmers. There was a thinking that if farmers are not using fertilizers to increase productivity then they are not taking the rational approach but this questioning also stems from not being able to view the farmers perspective. At the end of the meeting we were given a sample of Vermont's Maple syrup.

Our next stop was Cold Hollow Cider Mill which specialized in making products from Apple, another product of Vermont. Had a sample of fresh and raw apple juice and picked up some tidbits of wooden toys. It is from here that we went to Stowe where we had lunch. Over lunch Roger the driver of the van was mantioning that about 40 millioniores own a vaccation home there. Even Jackie Kennedy used to come here for her skiing. The next stop was at Cabot, a cooperative of dairy farmers since 1919 that is known for its cheese in this region. From here we moved on to the last official stop at Ben and Jerry's took a tour of their ice cream factory which has some fair trade practices in paying appropriate prices to the farmers from whom they get milk and insist that they do not use any growth inducing hormones and also insist that the farmers pay their workers well.

We reached Mariott at about 7.30 pm. This hotel has its class as it is the costliest, but slightly disappointing for the participants as it does not give some facilities that we were used to - complimentary breakfast, free internet in room for those with laptops. In the evening we went out for a stroll to Charles river and then all the participants including Alan had dinner together at the Legal Sea Foods, Kendall square, for the first time. It was a nice evening together where we talked about us being at the intellectual hub lose to MIT, Harvard and the Boston college.

Tour of Hardwick, Craftsbury, Montplier in Vermont

The day began with a nice breakfast and we left at 10 am to Hardwick. The economy of the region has not been doing well in recent years. The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) has been trying to revive some of the farm related business around the region. Their Program Director Elena Gustavson and a Masters student working on her thesis Heather Davis explained to us the situation in Vermont. The amount of crop land growing organic would be about 15 per cent but it is only about two per cent in the whole country. Similalry, the population associated with Community Suported Agriculture (CSA) would be about three-to-four per cent but it is only one per cent in the country. The figures are low, but they are much better than the country as a whole. On food insecurity for the state, we were told that it has increased from 10 per cent of the population in 2007 to 12.1 per cent in 2009. On the other hand, this is a healthy state and the life expectancy of the state is among the highest. The harsh weather conditions have also developed a camaraderie where people are ready to help each other.

An activity that CAE has been involved is the setting up of the Vermont Food Venture Center. It has come up as an incubator kitchen to facilitate farmers with small business. The center has been built on a federal grant but the day-to-day management expenses have to be borne from the operations. It is likely to commence work soon and the farmers can get their produce to help them come up with finished products for bakery, cutting and processing vegetables and also producing sauces and jams. The farmers will have to pay about 48 dollars per hour to take advantage of this facility. This will help small farmers package and sell their produce and also perhaps help them reduce their costs in the value addition activity.

We then went to Bonnieview farm where there are about 200 sheep from which they produces cheese and  they are helped by an intern, Joe, from an agricultural college who is also learning through this on-the job training. He plans to further study and someday be a farmer on his own. The prolonged winter this year was harsh on the lambs and they lost a few. They have a Llama, an animal that saves the sheep from predators. There are plans of expanding the business by getting more lamb and also some cows.

Our next stop was Pete's Green, a village farm at Craftsbury, Vermont. They are part of a CSA, but suffered losses due to fire in their storage yards in January 2011. They were underinsured because of astronomical insurance costs and received about 250,000 dollars as compensation whereas their total losses was three-to-four times more. Their clients raised funds of about 100,000 to 150,000 dollars. It is this response from the community that has made the proprietor think that in five-to-seven years time they will repay the money to a fund to be managed through the help of CAE that will help similar farmers in distress. Now they are trying to revive their work and they will start CSA again from end June of 2011. They are able to supply through out the year by storing some foods that cannot be produced in winter and also by producing some vegetables under greenhouses during winter.

Our last visit, also at Craftsbury, was Sterling College  where they have a course on sustainable agriculture. They provide hands-on training to students and unlike other agricultural colleges most of the training uses minimum of machines and tools. About 25 students join per year for a four year program. The tuition fees and also lodging and board costs would be around 16,000 dollars. The college also produces 25 per cent of its food requirements - they are not able to increase it more because this could affect the academic content of the program. They also had a greenhouse but this does not use any heat machine during winter. The plants do not grow but are put in a dormant stage. This reminided me of the Scandinavian story of how a man had hid his father in the basement against the kings's dictum of killing all old age people. But, a very harsh food shortage during one winter led him to take advise from his father to plough the lands along side the road where grains would have been burried but the seeds would have been dormant and ploughing in the spring following winter would germinate these seeds. It is this act that saved the land from hunger and the king from realizing his folly. Getting back, the larger concerns of sustainable agriculture is to reduce costs so that more and more farmers take it up while remaining small.

On our way back we stopped and Montplier the capital of Vermont. Their capitol has a statue of Ceres the Roman godess of agriculture indicating the relevance of agriculture in Vermont's economy. One of the major agricultural products of Vermont is Maple syrup. This is produced by boiling the sap of the maple tree that is collected in a six-week period after winter and before spring, which at times is refered to a fifth season the muddy season. Vermont borders Canada and is about 90 miles from Montreal, the capital of Quebec in Canada.

In the evening we went to the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting. Met an wall street analyst who was pissed up that half the Americans need to be given subsidy because they are hungry or old or vulnerable and thought that if this happens then the economy cannot revive. Then on a high he started talking about his horse and how for the last half mile he gets down and walks along with him. I told him that that is perhaps the solution to the financial mess - we need to walk together. He agreed that the greed was indeed a problem if you whip the horse and wound it to take you faster and faster then it will trip and you will ultimately fall. Another financial analyst said that he is now producing onions and tomatoes as a hobby - perhaps he will have time to empathize on the farmers. Another group I met was The Chill Foundation that is helping the undeserved youth - most importantly they teach them patience, persistence, responsibility, courage, respect, and pride. Important lessons here!

Eli was considerate enough to drop me back and on the way showed me the floods along the banks of Lake Champlain, which also borders New York state on the other side. It is time I call it a day. Tomorrow we start early, move around in Vermont and in the evening drive down to Boston.

Reached Burlington, Vermont

The trip was tiring as usual. Things were smooth at Cedar Rapids where we also confirmed at the United Airlines about my return trip, which one is supposed to do 72 hours before departure. The flight to Chicago was short.

We had a two-and-a-half hour stop there and took and soon after being airborne there was a beautiful view of a waterbody. It could not be the seas and less likely to be a river. It is the Lake Michigan. It was really huge and nice to watch as it took some time for the lake to cross the breadth. 

After about two hours of flying we landed at Burlington, Vermont in the midst of a forest. Vermont is referred to as the land of green mountains and the most environment friendly state. Its biggest attraction is tourism - skiing and other ice sports in winter, and also attractive in the othe seasons.

We are putting up at the Green Mountain Suites, a nice place to stay. In the evening just after we arrived they had complimentary drinks (beer, wine, juice or plain water) and snacks given to all, a feature from Monday to Friday in addition to the complimentary breakfast that we were told is quite spread out. This also has this business centre. Our local host here is Vermont Council on World Affairs and our contact person is Eli.

In the eveing we strolled down to the local shopping Mall about 500 meters from here. Not very successful in my endeavours and had to get out before it closed to go to the supermarket and get some grub for dinner. The climate is pleasant and slightly colder than Cedar Rapids. Rain is predicted for the next two days when we are around here, but I am expecting it to be a smooth affair. Tomorrow we are visiting local farms and I am looking forward to it.