Let's Explore America: The Land the People Society Culture Education Economy Employment Immigration Income Tax Social Security and the Whole Works. Read and Keep a Copy of this Book With You. You Will Be Glad You Did.

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Introduction

European explorer Christopher Columbus who set sail to discover India lost his way (!) and landed on the wrong side of the globe into uncharted territory inhabited by brown people whom he called Indians. You may call him a genius or an accidental discoverer but he is credited with discovering America. That was the year 1492. America and Americans have come a long way since then. Columbus Day is celebrated in some parts of America, even today.

Be that as it may, today most peoples of the world have their own views about America ranging from adulation to envy and outright dislike. This is reflected in the saying Yankee go home, but take me with you!

To me, America is the greatest country on earth on par with my motherland India. It’s even better in several respects than contemporary India. I simply love the land, the people and American ideals.

This book is about America that I know. It is tailored to meet the needs of Students, H1b Visa holders, would be immigrants and visitors to the US for Business or pleasure. As an Indian- American I have tried to see things from Asian and Indian perspectives. A word of caution; Indians refer to persons of British and Indian mixed parentage as Anglo Indians. The term Indian - American does not imply mixed parentage; rather it refers to Indians who are American citizens. As a corollary, green card holders do not qualify to be called Indian – American. Although this book is written with an Indian perspective, I hope that readers in the Indian subcontinent and neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region would find this book to be informative too.

True, Indians and other Asians have some knowledge about America and the American way of life. No society in the world is perfect and so I will not indulge in polemics.

It would take about six months of living in the USA, a lot of reading, observation and interaction with ‘ locals’, to get the lay of the land and feel comfortable in the new environment.

The Gadasalli clan’s love affair with America dates back to the early 194os when one of its brilliant sons, my first cousin Nagaraja Rao arrived in Chicago to pursue higher studies. After obtaining PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Dr Rao served in both private and public sectors in the US, Brazil, Korea and Indonesia with distinction. He was our hero and family role model.

Since then, several Gadasallis have made America their home. At last count the Gadasalli clan had a cumulative experience of over 700 years in the USA, including my own 30 years as an Engineer and International Business Executive. Gadasallis continue to enrich America by giving their best as Doctors, Engineers, Educators, Researchers, Financial Consultants and so forth. All of us love America.

We are especially proud of our Vietnam Veteran Harsha, our Cardiologist- Philanthropist Suresh and our American Peace Corps Volunteer Ajith, who served in a remote region of Africa.

God bless the United States of America.

Raj Gadasalli

Odessa, TX.

September 2009

1

The Land and the People

The Land

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world. It is a varied land of forests, mountains, great lakes, fertile plains, deserts and high flat lands. The country lies mostly in the temperate zone although extreme temperatures are common like the minus 10 degrees F in the north and Midwestern states during winter and 100 degrees plus, during southwestern summers.

Some of the world’s greatest rivers flow in the USA. Native Americans called the Mississippi river father of waters. Water from the source of it’s main branch, the Missouri River flows about 4000 miles from the northern Rocky Mountains to the mouth of the Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico.

Other important rivers are the 2000 miles long Yukon River in Alaska, the 2100 miles long Rio Grande which forms the US – Mexico border and the 1500 miles long Colorado River which begins in the Rocky Mountains and flows south west. For nearly 200 miles the Colorado flows through the breath taking Grand Canyon carved by the river waters through the ages.

Spanning the east coast and mid west are five great lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. The great Niagara Falls is on the Erie.

Lake Tahoe in Northern California covering 193 square miles with its deepest point at 1645 feet is situated an elevation of 6228 feet above sea level. It is unsurpassed for its beauty. And the scenery around it is simply breathtaking.

The country is rich in mineral wealth. The fertile lands of the Midwest alone can feed the entire world.

The US comprises of 48 contiguous states called the Continental United States and stretches for 3600 miles from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It borders Canada in the north and touches Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico, 1500 miles to the south. The states of Alaska and Hawaii make a total of 50 states.

The country is so vast that from east to west that it spans four different time zones. When it is 9 a.m. in New York it is still 6 a.m. in Los Angeles!

The City of Washington in the District of Columbia is the US capital. It is referred to as Washington D.C.

The People

USA has been called the melting pot because most of its’ population consists of descendents of early settlers who moved from England and the Netherlands to make America their home. New waves of immigrants numbering some 60 million also poured in between 1820 and 1990. Even today America has one of the most liberal immigration policies in the world.

Before the discovery of America by Columbus in the year 1492 Native Indians (Red Indians) Eskimos and Aleuts, with a rich history and Culture inhabited the land for at least 8000 years. It is believed that these people came to America from India, China and Scandinavia. After European arrival their numbers dwindled and today less than 2 million Native Americans are living in the United States. Native American history and culture is detailed in Appendix 7.

Black people were first brought to America from Africa as slaves. Slavery was abolished in 1865. Although they once lived in the agricultural south they are scattered all over the country and are now referred to as African Americans They constitute roughly twelve percent of the population.

Hispanics (Spanish race) and Asians are present in large numbers and it is predicted that soon Hispanics would turn out to be the largest minority group. The Asian Indian population (Yes, the real Indians are called Asian Indians!) is about 2 million. Chinese and other Asians number about 8 million.

Despite advances made in Science and Technology, assurance of equal opportunity for all irrespective of color, race and religion, race plays an important part in American life. Discrimination is not blatant as in the past but has taken subtle forms. It is difficult to perceive subtle hues unless one has lived in the US for a while. But in general Indians and other Asians are faring better than some other ethnic groups. Here too, light skinned Indians do much better. Americans in general are very nice people who often wonder why others do not appreciate them. The events of September 11, 2001 have added a new kink in ethnic relations. Hopefully American values will prevail in the end.

Language

English is the official Language of the United States. Spanish is spoken extensively too.

Government

The United States is a federal union of 50 states, with the District of Columbia as the seat of the national government. The constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and activities. The states have their own constitutions and laws. Within each state are counties, townships, cities and villages each of which has its own elective government.

All government in the United States is of, by and for the people. Members of Congress, the President, state, city and county officials are elected by popular vote. The voting age is 18. The constitution divides the power of the government into three branches – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The constitution limits the role of each branch to prevent anyone branch from gaining undue power.

The whole System of American government is based on the principle established in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The people believe that the government should provide a framework of law and order in which they are left free to run their own lives.

The state governments follow much the same pattern as the federal government. Each has a Governor as the Chief executive. However the cities of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have City - Governments headed by elected Mayors. Thus these cities do not come under the jurisdiction of the respective Governors.

Executive Branch

The President of the United States is the head of the Executive branch. He is chosen in a national election for a four-year term of office and may be re-elected for a second term. He cannot run for a third term.

As per the US Constitution, the President has to be an American by birth and at least 35 years of age.

Almost all past Presidents were White Protestant Christians with the sole exception of John F Kennedy who was a Roman Catholic. Election of the first African- American, Barack Obama as President in 2008 is a historic event.

The Whitehouse is the President’s official residence. He works out of the Oval office, which is a part of the same building.

Legislative Branch

The Legislative branch called the Congress of the United States, comprising of two chambers - a Senate and a House of Representatives is on an area called Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. The constitution provides for two Senators from each state and a number of Representatives proportional to population. Thus, currently there are 100 Senators and 435 Reps, collectively called Congressmen.

Senators are elected for six – year terms and Representatives for four- year terms in national elections held during the month of November. Mid term elections are also held for the Senate. Senators are very powerful figures with most of them holding office for decades.

Judicial Branch

The Judicial branch is headed by the US Supreme Court in Washington D.C. The President appoints the nine- member Bench for life after confirmation by the Senate. Honb’le John Roberts is the current Chief Justice.

The American Flag

The American flag is also called, The Star Spangled banner or Stars and Stripes. Red White and Blue are it’s three colors. It has 13 stripes representing the original colonies created by early European settlers and 50 stars representing the 50 states of today.

American National Anthem

The Star Spangled Banner