Dear Editor,
Michael Manley once said: "We have to learn fast, we better learn fast, or we are doomed."
Jamaicans need to learn, with zeal, the sacrifices required of us for us to recover from the problems we are currently facing. I adamantly say that the solutions are not more IMF capital or loquacious politicians with temporary soul-soothing rhetorical garbage filled with unending promises. The solutions are not temporary short-term band-aid solutions; they emerge from the realms of long-term sustainable self-reliance policies.
Immediately that notion depicts a vivid image of strenuous but necessary sacrifices, which will propel our children into a better future. I anticipate that such changes will cause a certain amount of difficulty and upset, but wherever there's a challenge there's imminent positive change. The reality is that there will be no better Jamaica without some level of immediate temporary sacrifice and challenge, from both politicians and members of civil society.
There will be no fruition from government strategic policies without a collection of leaders with strong backbones, willing to put their political careers on the line by standing up not only to party opposition and unfair capitalistic private-sector hawks, but also to imperialistic agenda-based countries and demand that Jamaica be treated fairly in the international economy on the terms of trade and foreign exchange.
But more importantly, it will take enormous sacrifices by all Jamaicans to bring the country back to a place where our future children and grandchildren will once again enjoy prosperity and security. Some of the most immediate sacrifices include shared tax burdens, longer working hours, less luxury consumption (temporary lower standard of living), among many other things.
To fix our balance of payments account we need to cut back on international consumption and public expenditure. Families do it in times of hardship, so why can't we do it as a country? Globalisation with its hard-nosed consequence of global recession has knocked Jamaica sideways in all sectors. However, there is a resounding trend that reflects our obsession with foreign products and lifestyles. That must change for us to become self-reliant.
Michael Manley in the mid-1970s banned the importation of "gas guzzler-type" vehicles to Jamaica, because he realised that the government could not afford to subsidise gas prices in a country that demanded 97% of its energy from outside oil sources.
That policy saved us millions in liquid dollars that would have otherwise gone to international sources. Why not replicate such a policy, for example?
Secondly, domestic agriculture needs to be the number one development policy strategy in our polity. Revitalise our domestic economy and long-term self-reliance will be the result. We cannot base the solutions to the harsh reality of our current situation on assumptions; we should do so based on factual data and workable policies that will see fruition in the short and long-term future of this country. We cannot base solutions off an idealistic model of the great world powers that underwent centuries of personal sacrifice to develop to the stage they currently enjoy.
Let's learn from our own past to make the necessary sacrifices for a better future. It will require, however, an inherently charismatic and visionary leader with a backbone of steel to successfully get people to believe in the necessary policies for change. The clear-cut reality is that I am yet to see that leader.
Shane McFarlane
shane_jas1@hotmail.com
Self-reliance -- the solution to Jamaica's looming doom
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Michael Manley once said: "We have to learn fast, we better learn fast, or we are doomed."
Jamaicans need to learn, with zeal, the sacrifices required of us for us to recover from the problems we are currently facing. I adamantly say that the solutions are not more IMF capital or loquacious politicians with temporary soul-soothing rhetorical garbage filled with unending promises. The solutions are not temporary short-term band-aid solutions; they emerge from the realms of long-term sustainable self-reliance policies.
Immediately that notion depicts a vivid image of strenuous but necessary sacrifices, which will propel our children into a better future. I anticipate that such changes will cause a certain amount of difficulty and upset, but wherever there's a challenge there's imminent positive change. The reality is that there will be no better Jamaica without some level of immediate temporary sacrifice and challenge, from both politicians and members of civil society.
There will be no fruition from government strategic policies without a collection of leaders with strong backbones, willing to put their political careers on the line by standing up not only to party opposition and unfair capitalistic private-sector hawks, but also to imperialistic agenda-based countries and demand that Jamaica be treated fairly in the international economy on the terms of trade and foreign exchange.
But more importantly, it will take enormous sacrifices by all Jamaicans to bring the country back to a place where our future children and grandchildren will once again enjoy prosperity and security. Some of the most immediate sacrifices include shared tax burdens, longer working hours, less luxury consumption (temporary lower standard of living), among many other things.
To fix our balance of payments account we need to cut back on international consumption and public expenditure. Families do it in times of hardship, so why can't we do it as a country? Globalisation with its hard-nosed consequence of global recession has knocked Jamaica sideways in all sectors. However, there is a resounding trend that reflects our obsession with foreign products and lifestyles. That must change for us to become self-reliant.
Michael Manley in the mid-1970s banned the importation of "gas guzzler-type" vehicles to Jamaica, because he realised that the government could not afford to subsidise gas prices in a country that demanded 97% of its energy from outside oil sources.
That policy saved us millions in liquid dollars that would have otherwise gone to international sources. Why not replicate such a policy, for example?
Secondly, domestic agriculture needs to be the number one development policy strategy in our polity. Revitalise our domestic economy and long-term self-reliance will be the result. We cannot base the solutions to the harsh reality of our current situation on assumptions; we should do so based on factual data and workable policies that will see fruition in the short and long-term future of this country. We cannot base solutions off an idealistic model of the great world powers that underwent centuries of personal sacrifice to develop to the stage they currently enjoy.
Let's learn from our own past to make the necessary sacrifices for a better future. It will require, however, an inherently charismatic and visionary leader with a backbone of steel to successfully get people to believe in the necessary policies for change. The clear-cut reality is that I am yet to see that leader.
Shane McFarlane
shane_jas1@hotmail.com
Self-reliance -- the solution to Jamaica's looming doom
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