short comment on recall

[Sanjeev Sabhlok <sabhlok@almaak.usc.edu>]

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Postings not related to the writing of the Manifesto or policy chapters
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Dear friends,

Given that the debate seems to be wanting to move into the recall of
candidates, let me request a pause here.

Is the issue a recall? Are we suffering because we cannot recall our
candidates?

Not at all. We are suffering because which ever side we turn to, we are
faced with (generally) highly corrupt politicians wearing different
brand name shirts. They are all the same inside. Recalling Mr. A and
substituting with Mr. B will make no difference to us anyway.

Why are these fellows the same?

They are all the same inside NOT because of absence of recall, but
because WE the People of India desperately WANT only corrupt people to
run elections.

In our great urge to hurt ourselves, we MAKE SURE that honest people
cannot ever dream of running elections. We insist that only altruistic
fools or the highly corrupt try to be our leaders. Stiff barriers have
been erected by us against other categories. To be honest and competent
is as bad as being insane.

I made the preliminary analysis at

	../clearinghouse/corruption.html

But in the more complete analysis, one will have to account for three
kinds of costs to contesting an election, one uncertainty and four kinds
of risk:

Costs
=====

	-	opportunity cost of career forgone for 6 years
		(one year before elections, to familiarize the people
		and 5 years as MP)
	-	cost of campaigning (officially 15 lakhs; unofficially
		more)
	-	security deposit

Uncertainty
===========

	-	Probability of return = 1/n	where n = major candidates

Risk
====
	-	loss of life and limb (many candidates are killed off,
		also many ministers are attacked; Prime Ministers are
		routinely blown up or killed)

	-	loss of future returns from children whose careers
		are ruined due to neglect of children's education
		during these six years.

	- 	risk of divorce since wife is extremely annoyed
		with the continuous infux of people into the house

Inconvenience
=============

	-	high level of inconvenience; job of computer
		engineer is much better, for example.

		(however, this can be cancelled off against the
		reward from public recognition, etc.)

Return
======
	-	official salary of MP

Using a more complete analysis of this nature, the same calculation
needs to be done more carefully.

I would therefore urge the group on IPI to focus attention on this
critical issue of finding out whether we have actually FORCED only the
corrupt to enter politics in India. If that is indeed the case, and we
have an incontrovertible proof, certified by the topmost Indian
economists and financial analysts, then other proposed solutions like
recall, or other things like that, might prove completely ineffective).

To kill the bacteria of corruption, strike the bacterial cell from
within. Find the correct anti-biotic.

In this case, the similie is with bacteria and white blood cells. We can
kill the bad bacteria by cutting the barriers which we have (or the
bacteria have) erected against white blood cells (the honest people). We
need to make the Indian political system into an assembly line where
good folks will at least **enter** politics. That has to be the starting
point of a functional democracy. Today we have, in my opinion, a
completely bacteria-driven democracy. I don't see WB corpuscles
anywhere.

Proviso:
========

If, on the other hand, it is found on further research and study that
the "Theorem of Corruption" is false and that good people can indeed
enter the system today, if they are interested, then we can examine
other issues such as the recall issue, in more detail.

Thanks,

Sanjeev


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