Do Away With The Old & In With The New

After watching our seemingly exhausted politicians bicker in parliament during the budget debate last month, it dawned on me that what this country needs is a complete change of government. Those on the verge of retirement need to pack their bags, leave and make way for a fresh crop of young, brilliant minds to steer Jamaica into achieving its Vision 2030 mandate. In the same way you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, its the same way the minds of these old politicians are too tired to bring new ideas to the table.

“Children are often admired for their humility, but they also possess some unfortunate attributes; for example their inability at times to take responsibility for their actions. At first most onlookers sympathize with youngsters but eventually maturity is thrust upon them, however some opt not to evolve since it is easier to identify scapegoats. This is a replica of Jamaica’s political system. Politicians are viewed as villains, but none of them could implement unsavory policies without the assistance of an electorate” ~Matthews

One major flaw with Jamaica’s political system is that emphasis is placed on welfare and not wealth creation, and too many of us accept the view that pro-poor programs should be a priority of a responsible government. Consequently, we have no problem in supporting politicians who spend billions on social programs even if the money is borrowed and ironically, these are the same people who accuse the poor of being too dependent on politicians.

Before we can discuss social safety nets for the poor we must craft a strategy for long-term growth. The fruits which countries like Taiwan and Singapore are now reaping are due to years of economic planning and close collaboration with the private sector. Many politicians proudly boast about creating social programs to assist the poor but it would be better to finance the boosting of R&D talent; social programs will ameliorate the living conditions of the less fortunate for a short period but investing in the former will result in innovations which will make our businesses and economy more competitive. We need to decide what we want for Jamaica’s future (Vision 2030 that we so like to talk about). Do we want to develop a global business brand or create a class of permanent dependents?

Patronizing politicians may sound appealing, but more than anything else those affected by poverty need an environment to empower themselves, not a government handout. Portia Simpson Miller likes to brag about her dedication to the poor but this won’t improve their living conditions. Jamaica’s future is in the hands of the electorate, if we are truly serious about developing our country then we must reject populist politicians rather than elect them and then complain like an immature child who is never the cause of his problems.

I am Ms. Laydee Sharmz saying “live by faith, there’s hope for Jamaica”

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