The editorial "The real shutdown problem" (October 4) is very pithy and is a brilliant exposition of the central ill that is bedevilling the US lately. All said and done, the US directly and indirectly is the economic engine of the world. It is anachronic that in an economy as evolved as the US and a mature democracy, the politicians continue to be inconsiderate and apathetic towards the welfare of the people and in doing so they do not form a part of the solution but the problem, by confrontation. During the 1992 crisis in India, the then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao said to the members of the opposition, "let us not be confrontationist in our approach". However, our politicians did not learn and specialise in confrontation at the detriment of the nation's security and economic well-being. While "wiser counsel" will certainly prevail in the US, I earnestly hope that the average Indian politician also learns about the effects of his/her commissions and omissions on the economy, after witnessing such situations.
N Subrahmanyam Hyderabad
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