Census 2010 is here. On dog sled. Who says officials in the US don’t accept bribe? In this case, it is just local hospitality, with no money change hands in “bridge-to-no-where” land.
The US is roughly 300 million strong, plus and minus Haitians who are still arriving.
Brain-gain.
Tax-base and voting redistricting.
In Orange County Little Saigon, we have young Vietnamese Americans running for office.
The same in Northern California and Houston, TX.
I call this Golden Triangle: top three most populated clusters of Viet Americans.
The upcoming Census results will show a very different portrait of America: more graying, yet greener at the same time. The heavily taxed middle (Sandwich generation) will have to carry the two baskets just like Vietnamese fruit vendors (with the bounce in each step).
One comment was heard on CNN yesterday on GPS “what are we going to do? keep borrowing from China to help Haiti?”
No further comment on that one.
It says it all: America, debt-laden, yet beacon of light to the world.
US leadership should mean that it serves as a catalyst, but then it passes it on to France, UK, Australia, Canada, and Nordic States.
BRIC nations are also arriving. Let them take their shares of the leadership in world affairs. They might like it.
Anyone who has volunteered their time, or donated to a cause, can testify that giving affirms the goodness in us all.
That we are people with wills, heads and hearts.
Hollywood and Wall Street have mistaken benevolence for weakness (not too quick, says Travolta who is sending a plane). Let’s assume Best of Intentions in each of us, until proven otherwise. We have done this instinctively without realizing. Then when it comes to bigger picture, we start rationalizing (keeping our house in order, but ignoring societal ills). I understand during this hard time, each man is out for his own. Can’t wait for the pendulum to swing back, so I can hear the music once again. Food, drink are on the house (corporate subsidy). Then we are back to our social grace. It must be good to be in the bean-counting business these days. The Quants rule. At least, for the Director of the Census Bureau, on his first field visit in a decade.
Thang Nguyen 555 