Increase taxes ill advised.

The more consumption taxes people have to pay, without a comparative increase in spending power, the less you will collect overall.
The only time we have meet earnings target from gct was when the rate was at its lowest which I believe was 12.5%.

While I believe wholeheartedly that this is the fairest form of taxation, the way the government has gone about it, will mean will always miss our revenue target.

Most people have a finite amount of income, lets say $1000 per wk.
Goods and services may be fixed at $500 per wk, i.e. the person will not spend more that than figure on average on a weekly basis.
In order for them to do that, its means from a purely mathematical standpoint that, the basket of grocery will have to be cut, for them to come in at the same figure.
How much money does the government get in terms of increased revenue, nada.
In fact the person will also move to completely stop using some other services that attract gct further reducing what goes into the government coffers.
Thirdly it will increase the value of the underground economy, which virtually seals the faith of the government, in terms of revenue losses

The only way you can expect to see an increase in collections is to go after the players who make the most in Jamaica and lower the income tax for the most burdened. If you give them the money they will spend it, you then make up that loss by collecting from the tax dodgers. Our failure has been to NOT go after these people.

Audley could close the tax loop in one swoop without taxing the rest of us.
By increasing the tax rate on government paper to 50%, the government would stand to save $24b per annum, which not only closes the gap, but also leaves a surplus.

Will they do it, the short answer, is they do NOT want to trouble Mr. Bigs, and hence the country continues to suffer at the hands of these inept people running the country.

Audley appears to be such a dunce, how does he expect to collect gct from farmers and vendors of fruits, vegetables and ground provision, you got to be kidding me !!!

Economic Recovery Plan for Jamaica – Part 3

The contract (example).

The government of Jamaica is committed to over the next 20years the development of a world class economy that can compete with any country in the world. In order for us to get to that level we will commit to the following.

1. An export driven economy with a focus on manufacturing and agricultural exports.

2. Development of renewable and sustainable energy resources within Jamaica which see us producing energy systems for export.

3. Improvement in the security of our nation through the use of improved crime fighting strategies, a better judicial system, social programs, house and job creation.

4. Improvement of the housing stock within  the country.

5. Creation of a world class education systems

6. Creation of a world class health system

7. Creation of a social program comparable to the best in the rest of the world.

Deliverables.

Each minister of government will be held accountable for the above with his deliverables as follows.

Minister of Housing, Transport and Works

 Improve the housing stock by creation of 5,000 new homes over a five-year period.  The minister must deliver on an annual basis 1000 housing solutions. If in any year the number is not met, then it becomes mandatory that the sum of solutions at the end of the next yr. be 1000 plus the carry over from the following year. Failure to deliver on these will result in a demerit of 1 point against the minister.
 Delivering a transportation system that will move no less than 50,000 within the Kingston and Metropolitan system.  Also to be included is a system of route taxi in the rural parishes which will see each taxi/bus operator licensed and easily identifiable.
 Rehabilitation and no less than 1000 miles of road throughout all parishes, of which 700 miles should be outside of the Kingston and metropolitan area.

Minister of Education.

 Development of a world class education system that will deliver the following
1. 90% Pass rate at the GSAT Level
2. Pass rate of 85% for English and 90% for mathematics.
3. Average number of passes per student at the O-Levels of not less than 6 subjects.

 Improve the number of classroom available (in terms of students) by 1000 per year at the secondary level and 800 per year at the primary level for the next ten years.
 Student to teacher ratio at primary school of 30: 1 & 35:1 at the secondary level.

Similar time specific deliverable will be delivered for each minister of government who has ministerial responsibilities.

Economic Recovery Plan for Jamaica- Part 2

What needs to be done and in a hurry.

1. We need to tackle the crime monster from all handles i.e. we need to tame this monster. I have already offered suggestion s what can be done in that regard, plus we have much report, just get the damn job done.

2. We need a paradigm shift. We cannot continue to depend on bauxite and remittance as the pillar on which our economy will stand. We have sufficient information, which suggest that a continuation of this policy will bring even more disaster in the future.

3. We need to develop our agricultural infrastructure Note in all that was going on in the country agricultural production increased and rather significantly, I may add.

4. Lean manufacturing principle must be introduced into the country; we need to trim waste.

5. National energy policy has been developed and still we seem to be confused as to which direction to proceed. For 4 to occur we need a reliable and sustainable source of cheaper power.

6. Development of sustainable and cheaper sources of power in Jamaica. Why can’t we for example collaborate with UTECH and the UWI to develop over the next couple of years a renewable energy program? These people along with the private sector with support from the government (such as tax concessions) begin the manufacturing of solar panels and windmills and its accessories utilizing those empty factor spaces held by the Factories corporation of Jamaica. The government for example could give these entrepreneur ten years “free rental” while they develop this industry which I see becoming a powerhouse in the next 15- 30 years and moving us to a green and sustainable energy source, thus reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The European Union for example is not averse to giving substantial grants in this area.

7. The education system need major overhaul, we need therefore over the next 10 years (suggesting continuity) a program which see us educating more of the nations children, allowing them independence of thought which hopefully which shape the nation positively in the future. Some say we cannot afford free education, I say we cannot afford not to educate our children.

8. Finally we need a contract between the opposition, the government and the people.
This is of particular interest to me in that the plan will be written by the people and for the people and the opposition and the government must agree and bounded by the terms of the contract.
It therefore means if we are unsatisfied by the performance of the existing government and decides to give the opposition chance, they too must be bounded by the terms of the contract.

Contract between the government of Jamaica, the opposition and the people.

I love Jamaica dearly and like many other Jamaicans in the Diaspora  it pains me to see what is happening in Jamaica today. Many countries in the world today are shunning Jamaicans and making it increasingly difficult to travel to their shores due partly to the criminal behaviour of so many Jamaicans in the host countries.

Jamaica will suffer in the coming years if we do not change this, as many who go to foreign shores will be no longer welcome, effectively shrinking a major source of foreign exchange for the country. I look for the day when the those than shun us as we come to them begging, will instead be looking to us for hope and assistance in taking them to the next level.

For long term prosperity of the country I firmly believe that we need renewable contract between the government, the opposition and the people.

This contract will set out specific deliverables over a specified period of time as well as special clauses which will allow for our political representative to be removed from power if they fail to meet the objective set for them,  as their failure could ultimately leads to the entire system failing thus not allowing the country to meet the long term goals that have been set.

When there is a change of power, the opposition will be bound by the same or slight modified contract which will have built into it  a continuity of programs that are working and moving us in the right direction.

Economic Recovery Plan for Jamaica- Part one

There has been much discussion about the US$1.2B standby agreement that is currently being hammered out between the JLP government and the IMF.
This came about as a result of the reckless fiscal and monetary policies pursued successive government over the last 20 years.

Government today is made up of a bunch of talkers, who could not run a pattyshop and make a profit, yet it’s these idiots that we elect to lead us to the “promised land”.

While the focus has been on the standby arrangement and rightly so, there needs to be attention paid to the next step i.e. what happens after we have received this liquidity support from the IMF.
If people have been watching the news, they would have recognized that the world’s larger economic are slowly recovering from the global recession.

1. The mighty USA registered a 2.8% growth rate for the last quarter indicating that the recession is all but over.
2. For the month ending November 30, 2009 the unemployment figures out of the USA largely remained unchanged i.e. the rate of job loss did not get any worse, suggesting stability in the market.
3. Australia banks raised interest rate, which suggests that the days of “free” money, was over as that country looks forward to end of the recession.

These countries have no doubt put in place a “recovery” plan, which will see them growing once their other trading partners emerge from the impact of the worst recession since the 1930’s.

The question for Jamaica is, what have we done over the last two years to prepare ourselves and the Jamaican economy so we can benefit positively from the growth that occur in the first world countries.

Again, we have been caught napping as we continue to focus on what is immediately before us, and not looking down the road and making a plan for the future.

1. Crime is on the increase and the police force have now become a haven for criminals.
2. Gang affiliation and crimes are trending upwards.
3. Murder and other serious crimes are on the rise
4. Proverty levels are increasing spawning even more crime
5. Earnings continue to trend down as a result of the bad economies in the other countries
6. Manufacturing is on the decline.
7. Interest rate is not moving down
8. The dollar continues to decline against its major trading partners
9. Inflation is on the rise.

Intellectual Dishonesty

Jamaica is today so far behind the rest of the region and the world at large that it will take an entire generation for us to secure our position as the pre-eminent country in the region.
We the populace tends to rely on those who are seen as smarter or intellectually better than us, to lead the charge as we try to move the nation forward.
We must therefore wonder, why after over 47 years of independence and with so many persons with Doctorate, masters and first degree than ever before, we rank at the bottom of all countries in the English speaking countries in the caribbean, with the exception of Guyana.

I have narrowed it down to two reasons:
1. Intellectual dishonesty
2. Corruption.

The two are so neatly interwoven that they may really be seen as one and the same. So what is intellectual dishonesty and how could this be the reason for our continued failure.
Intellectual dishonesty is described as follows: It occurs when persons who have some level of mastery in a particular field or sector, uses their knowledge in a way that seeks to mislead the people.
It typically occurs primarily as a result of one belief structure, which in most cases is either politically or religiously aligned.
So a pastor for example, would seeks to use his position which is one of influence to trick the people to believe in a position that supports his personal belief even though that belief is  not supported by the scripture. In doing so he tell the congregation, that you cannot take the word of the bible literally so his interpretation of what was meant by the passage is what he  is preaching.

We have today in Jamaica financial analyst, economist and other people whose analysis of the economy though supported by 60% of facts is sprinkled with 40% of personal bias either towards or against a political party or member of government/oppostion.
This rather dangerous and dishonest practice in many cases is done so as to lead the people down a particular path, which in most cases is not the path that one needs to the country to follow in order to grow. These intellectuals have been successful over the years to use their message and position of influence to tailor certain decisions that only enriches them, either directly or indirectly via the sector that they are involved in.

It is these folks who seek to interpret government pronouncement of certain pollicies for the general populace who is not so verse in the language used, and distorts the real message for a population who is lazy and have not spent the time to properly educated themselves or their children.

Until we become honest and begin to be able to separate our personal beliefs from our professional views, I see this country continuing on its downward spiral, enriching a few in the process and “pauperizing” the majority of the population.
Crime and violence will continue to escalate and reach areas that previously were considered crime free and safe.
We have got to change our position if we are going to save the country and ourselves.