Dear Editor,
There are two reasons why our current economic situation has been dismal and will always be dismal, whether or not we get an IMF deal or find an abundance of rare metals in our red mud.
The first one is that we do not have a culture that lends itself to prosperity because our people and leaders suffer from the malady of instant gratification. Secondly, our current Westminster model of government is an elective dictatorship where men and women of corrupt disposition can pursue their own narrow partisan and personal ends, without detection and sanction.
It is systems that keep mankind in check and demand that we moderate our behaviour or be punished. It is what determines why Jamaicans abroad submit to law and order and adjust their behaviour accordingly. They wait in line in the banks and at the bus stops, and when a bus arrives they enter it in an orderly fashion. Systems do matter.
Undoubtedly, we have had good leaders in our country, but the system does not reward honest men and women. The more corrupt you are is the more you are able to advance. All you need is the ability to play the system. Between 1962 and 2013, I am aware of only one politician who went to jail for corruption.
I only know of two who resigned and stayed resigned because they fell out of favour with the public. Between 1960 and 2012, a total of 153 elected officials in the United States had to resign from their elected position. Many of these served jail time and/or paid fines. The standard of expected behaviour in the USA is of such that elected officials have had to resign for drinking and driving.
Is it that American politicians are more corrupt than Jamaican politicians, or is it that the American system is designed to protect the people's interest, by exposing corruption? The truth is that we have a bad culture and a bad system. As a people we love corruption and abhor any semblance of law and order once they threaten to derail the gravy train. We do not realise that at some point we all have to pay for every cent that is wasted. Therefore, why are we so shocked about a $16-billion tax package?
Our future cannot depend on the discretion of a few good men and women. Systems may not be perfect, but the right system exposes and punishes corruption. Our problems are not rooted in economics, they are systemic and cultural.
Laval Wilkinson
Toronto, Canada
System does not reward honest people
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There are two reasons why our current economic situation has been dismal and will always be dismal, whether or not we get an IMF deal or find an abundance of rare metals in our red mud.
The first one is that we do not have a culture that lends itself to prosperity because our people and leaders suffer from the malady of instant gratification. Secondly, our current Westminster model of government is an elective dictatorship where men and women of corrupt disposition can pursue their own narrow partisan and personal ends, without detection and sanction.
It is systems that keep mankind in check and demand that we moderate our behaviour or be punished. It is what determines why Jamaicans abroad submit to law and order and adjust their behaviour accordingly. They wait in line in the banks and at the bus stops, and when a bus arrives they enter it in an orderly fashion. Systems do matter.
Undoubtedly, we have had good leaders in our country, but the system does not reward honest men and women. The more corrupt you are is the more you are able to advance. All you need is the ability to play the system. Between 1962 and 2013, I am aware of only one politician who went to jail for corruption.
I only know of two who resigned and stayed resigned because they fell out of favour with the public. Between 1960 and 2012, a total of 153 elected officials in the United States had to resign from their elected position. Many of these served jail time and/or paid fines. The standard of expected behaviour in the USA is of such that elected officials have had to resign for drinking and driving.
Is it that American politicians are more corrupt than Jamaican politicians, or is it that the American system is designed to protect the people's interest, by exposing corruption? The truth is that we have a bad culture and a bad system. As a people we love corruption and abhor any semblance of law and order once they threaten to derail the gravy train. We do not realise that at some point we all have to pay for every cent that is wasted. Therefore, why are we so shocked about a $16-billion tax package?
Our future cannot depend on the discretion of a few good men and women. Systems may not be perfect, but the right system exposes and punishes corruption. Our problems are not rooted in economics, they are systemic and cultural.
Laval Wilkinson
Toronto, Canada
System does not reward honest people
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