The Cash for Clunkers program is finally winding down as dealers have now received more than half the payments due. Now dealerships are evaluating the program to see satisfaction and optimism. The creativity of some car buyers is also becoming evident. Let me set up a situation for you: an event that has cheering, booing and a wide range of emotions such as happiness, anger, sadness and confusion. No, I’m not talking about a movie on television or in your local theaters right now. I’m talking about the people attending the health care town-hall type lectures at various cities across the United States. The early monsoon failure has cast dark clouds over India’s economic revival in the face of the global recession. Poor monsoon can hurt the economic growth, pushing up food prices and propelling government to spend more on farmer support. It is likely to hurt the GDP by at least 1 to 1.5%. Growth estimates have already been scaled down to 5% from the earlier levels of 9%. Do you remember the Y2k panic in the months before January 1, 2000? People were stockpiling everything from toilet paper to beans. Uneasiness was everywhere because nobody knew exactly what might happen. Fast forward to the mortgage-failing, bank-closing , stock market-plummeting scenario today. Homes are being lost, jobs are in jeopardy, and no one is sure how bad it will get. But some people are not panicking; in fact, they are laughing at the whole mess. How can they do that?
