Amit's Blog

Global Titans of Healthcare: A Comparison of Top Systems The healthcare systems of Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan are global leaders, each blending universal coverage, high-quality care, and innovative funding to reflect societal values. Hong Kong’s tax-funded system prioritizes affordability but faces wait time challenges, while Singapore’s 3M model emphasizes efficiency through individual contributions. Switzerland and the Netherlands leverage regulated private insurance for flexibility and speed, while Australia’s Medicare and Sweden’s tax-based system ensure equity. Canada’s single-payer model, Germany’s statutory insurance, the UK’s NHS, and Japan’s universal insurance system excel in specific domains, like outcomes or accessibility, but grapple with issues like delays or costs. No system is definitively “best,” as rankings hinge on priorities—equity, efficiency, or outcomes. This essay delve...

How Conflating Finance and Economics Distorts Society and Threatens Stability Finance and economics, though intertwined, are distinct disciplines whose conflation creates a perilous misunderstanding with sweeping consequences. Economics explores how societies allocate scarce resources, analyzing systemic behaviors like supply and demand or GDP growth. Finance, however, focuses on managing money, investments, and risks, prioritizing practical tools like portfolio optimization. Their overlap in concepts, tools, and markets, amplified by media, academia, and powerful interests, fuels the perception that financial market success equals economic health. This misstep distorts policy, prioritizing Wall Street over Main Street, misleads the public, exacerbates inequality, heightens systemic risks, and sidelines issues like climate change and labor rights. Driven by financial institutions, media sensationalism, and political expediency, this conflation benefits elites while undermining societ...

India's Economic Surge: Riding the Global Wave India’s GDP growth, with a 5.92% CAGR from 1990–2024, outstrips the global 2.98%. Their 0.65 correlation shows India amplifies global trends, with 1% global growth driving 1.5–2% Indian growth. Reforms and resilience fuel India’s edge in this dynamic economic interplay. The global economy is a vast orchestra, with each nation playing its part. For the past 35 years, India has been the spirited soloist, hitting high notes while syncing with the global rhythm. Since 1990, through booms, busts, and reforms, India’s GDP growth has danced with the world’s, creating a story of correlation, outperformance, and ambition. How closely do these economies move together? What drives India’s edge? Let’s explore this economic symphony, weaving in expert voices, data, and a touch of narrative flair. The Correlation: A Harmonious Yet Distinct Beat The correlation between global and India’s GDP growth rates from 1990 to 2024 is a robust 0.65 , p...

The Neocolonial Magic: Global Dominance, Media Collusion, and the Betrayal of the Working Class   Neocolonialism, the covert continuation of colonial power through economic, political, and cultural means, took hold after World War II (1945–1975) via Bretton Woods institutions, corporate expansion, and Cold War interventions. The rise of East and Southeast Asia was framed as a capitalist triumph, masking dependency, while media outlets like Time and BBC portrayed Western actions as altruistic. Post-USSR (1991–2021), neoliberalism, led by Reagan and Thatcher, entrenched global inequalities through globalization, with media amplifying its inevitability. Meanwhile, deindustrialization and wage stagnation devastated the Western working class, yet resistance faltered due to weakened unions, co-opted politics, and pervasive media collusion. This essay explores neocolonialism’s roots, its persistence, the neoliberal torch, and why resistance failed, emphasizing media’s role in legitimi...

Guru Dutt’s Cinematic Symphony: Painting India’s Soul with Passion, Poetry, and Timeless Tragedy Guru Dutt’s films are like a monsoon-soaked ghazal—intimate, haunting, and deeply human, capturing India’s soul with a poet’s passion. His stories, rooted in the struggles of post-independence India, explored love, betrayal, and the artist’s alienation with a raw yet lyrical intensity. “Dutt’s cinema is India’s conscience,” writes critic Pauline Kael, who praised Pyaasa for its universal cry against societal neglect (Kael, 1957). From Baazi’s gritty noir to Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’s tragic grandeur, Dutt tackled class, ambition, and heartbreak with a sensitivity that made his characters feel alive. “His films are our dreams,” says actress Waheeda Rehman, his muse in Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (Rehman, 1970). A Storyteller’s Soul: Crafting India’s Poetic Heart Take Pyaasa —a poet’s struggle for recognition isn’t just a story; it’s a soul-stirring anthem for the misunderstood, with Guru D...