Dear Editor,
Leader of the Opposition Portia Simpson Miller has finally released her financial records. According to these records she has liquid assets of approximately $15 million.
A number of people have been praising Simpson Miller for living modestly. However, her relatively small net worth does not suggest modest living. Many people are poor, yet they do not live modestly.
The mostly positive reaction to the individual net worth of Simpson Miller just shows how much we scorn wealth creation as a society. There is nothing wrong with a politician being wealthy, if he has acquired wealth through legal means. Likewise, it should not be an issue if a rich politician’s constituents are poor as long as that politician is not corrupt.
Jamaicans have a tendency to blame politicians for their problems, by refusing to accept that only they can change the course of their lives. When politicians like Simpson Miller boast about having such a small net worth, they perpetuate the view that in Jamaica people should not rise above a certain level financially. Simpson Miller has access to some of the best financial minds in Jamaica; she therefore has no excuse for having such a small net worth. By celebrating her net worth the leader of the Opposition is only encouraging financial mediocrity.
Lipton Matthews
Lo_matthews@yahoo.com
Leader of the Opposition Portia Simpson Miller has finally released her financial records. According to these records she has liquid assets of approximately $15 million.
A number of people have been praising Simpson Miller for living modestly. However, her relatively small net worth does not suggest modest living. Many people are poor, yet they do not live modestly.
The mostly positive reaction to the individual net worth of Simpson Miller just shows how much we scorn wealth creation as a society. There is nothing wrong with a politician being wealthy, if he has acquired wealth through legal means. Likewise, it should not be an issue if a rich politician’s constituents are poor as long as that politician is not corrupt.
Jamaicans have a tendency to blame politicians for their problems, by refusing to accept that only they can change the course of their lives. When politicians like Simpson Miller boast about having such a small net worth, they perpetuate the view that in Jamaica people should not rise above a certain level financially. Simpson Miller has access to some of the best financial minds in Jamaica; she therefore has no excuse for having such a small net worth. By celebrating her net worth the leader of the Opposition is only encouraging financial mediocrity.
Lipton Matthews
Lo_matthews@yahoo.com