Dear Editor,
After the Prime Minister's speech, I was left with so many questions and thinking about my business in Jamaica and also my future as a young person.
I am wondering if (1) I will ever build my own house or Government will build it for me.
(2) How should I plan my future, or will Government plan some programme that will have some aspect of my future in mind?
(3) If I should have any children, maybe Government will put them on the PATH programme or after high school they will become involved in repairing roads, bridges and cleaning gullies.
In light of the "recited" speech that was filled with hopelessness, lies, and statistics that tried to paint a colourful and optimistic picture of the Government, nothing is new. Many young Jamaicans like myself are having a problem with the Government in our daily lives.
At no point when we are starting a business do we see them, but yet, they sink their teeth into our business with new regulations and taxes, which do not make any sense at all.
Young people do not have a future in Jamaica. We are not calling for road programmes so that we can be employed. We are also saying that government should step aside and allow the business/private sector to do its job. Small businesses are the backbone of the private sector. Without small businesses, sustainable jobs cannot be created. Jamaica will be in a state of Government dependency and handouts, which simply means a country that will forever be in debt.
Mr Editor, the Prime Minister said: "My fellow Jamaicans, I have always been firm that while we attempt to balance the books, we must also balance people's lives. The most vulnerable must not be left behind on the track of economic development" and she is so right. Now the question is, who is she referring to?. With $500 million being paid out by Government to consultants and advisors and $60 million used to buy sports utility vehicles, whose lives are being balanced at the cost of the poor?
Out of all that the Prime Minister said, the most shocking statement was the paragraph: "The Net International Reserves also dipped, but not our reserve of courage, determination and resilience in the face of the international economic environment and domestic challenges. Yet, our confidence in the Jamaican people has never been stronger." What hope is in that?
The Prime Minister must address the issue of the Net International Reserves, which now represents no sense of direction.
Just like everyone who is not on a Government programme, or who is not socialist, we are wondering what the future holds.
The Prime Minister only spoke to her party supporters and the economic hooligans who are benefiting. We are going right back to the 1970s.
There was no sense of direction detected in her speech and I am yet again forced to dig within my musical ability to find something of hope to give the people to hold onto, because clearly she has done more to highlight the gloom that overshadows our economy than to allay our fears.
Effion Lewis
effionlewis@ymail.com
Too many questions after PM's speech
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After the Prime Minister's speech, I was left with so many questions and thinking about my business in Jamaica and also my future as a young person.
I am wondering if (1) I will ever build my own house or Government will build it for me.
(2) How should I plan my future, or will Government plan some programme that will have some aspect of my future in mind?
(3) If I should have any children, maybe Government will put them on the PATH programme or after high school they will become involved in repairing roads, bridges and cleaning gullies.
In light of the "recited" speech that was filled with hopelessness, lies, and statistics that tried to paint a colourful and optimistic picture of the Government, nothing is new. Many young Jamaicans like myself are having a problem with the Government in our daily lives.
At no point when we are starting a business do we see them, but yet, they sink their teeth into our business with new regulations and taxes, which do not make any sense at all.
Young people do not have a future in Jamaica. We are not calling for road programmes so that we can be employed. We are also saying that government should step aside and allow the business/private sector to do its job. Small businesses are the backbone of the private sector. Without small businesses, sustainable jobs cannot be created. Jamaica will be in a state of Government dependency and handouts, which simply means a country that will forever be in debt.
Mr Editor, the Prime Minister said: "My fellow Jamaicans, I have always been firm that while we attempt to balance the books, we must also balance people's lives. The most vulnerable must not be left behind on the track of economic development" and she is so right. Now the question is, who is she referring to?. With $500 million being paid out by Government to consultants and advisors and $60 million used to buy sports utility vehicles, whose lives are being balanced at the cost of the poor?
Out of all that the Prime Minister said, the most shocking statement was the paragraph: "The Net International Reserves also dipped, but not our reserve of courage, determination and resilience in the face of the international economic environment and domestic challenges. Yet, our confidence in the Jamaican people has never been stronger." What hope is in that?
The Prime Minister must address the issue of the Net International Reserves, which now represents no sense of direction.
Just like everyone who is not on a Government programme, or who is not socialist, we are wondering what the future holds.
The Prime Minister only spoke to her party supporters and the economic hooligans who are benefiting. We are going right back to the 1970s.
There was no sense of direction detected in her speech and I am yet again forced to dig within my musical ability to find something of hope to give the people to hold onto, because clearly she has done more to highlight the gloom that overshadows our economy than to allay our fears.
Effion Lewis
effionlewis@ymail.com
Too many questions after PM's speech
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