PNP now a broken and divided party, good sign of Jamaica

The Jamaican people made the right decision when they booted the PNP from office on Feb ! 25, 2016. Since that election  loss the PNP have plummeted from hero to zero in less than 40 days and 40 nights.

The PNP has broken into many little pieces, with each other blaming the other for its election losses. Some have blamed the party leader, the General Secretary, the Finance Minister, the MP’s the austerity which was the new PNP religion to a range of other issues.

Just last Sunday a previously little know faction met at the conference center, where the young comrades came in for a lashing, while the party headed by Portia Simpson Miller was accused of using the Jamaican people like pawns in a much larger chess game.

The Jamaican people wisely recognized that the PNP was not the party that could take us to the next level and dumped them unceremoniously .Clearly this is not the type of party that the country would have needed at this time.

While the party is breaking into little pieces and seems set to implode, their clueless leader, who spent 4 years hiding has suddenly emerged and is now fully accessible to the media.

While the parking is sinking faster than the Titanic, the clueless party leader is on the attack, accusing the JLP of doing nothing but ” continuing the policies of the PNP”, DUH, does Mrs Clueless not understand the term continuity ?

Mrs Clueless is so out of touch, that she has lost all sense of reality, having been shielded for such a long time that time has passed her by and she believes she is back in 2011 and not 2016.

When she should have been talking to the people she choose to remain silent and has now chosen to speak to the people, when no one is interested in hearing her nonsense.

Bye Bye Portia, please step aside move on with dignity, vs being chased out of power and become the Seaga of the PNP.

Portia fortunes are over and the sooner she comes to that realization or people are honest enough to tell her, the longer the PNP will remain on the outside looking in.

That is not such a bad idea , they are much better on the outside looking on because in government they have always been a disaster.

On second thought I think she should remain as party leader for another 10 years, to the the JLP  a real chance of putting Jamaica on a sustainable growth path.

 

 

 

 

 

Use of TEF to fund the tax break, is a worthwhile idea

TEF funds is currently being wasted and this waste is being sanctioned by the JHTA and others associated with this body.

They light what was called the elegant corridor and when I passed by sometime last year no less than 30% of the lamp post were broken.

In Negril the wasted millions to put up a wooden fence, which is now broken and  in a very bad state. This is how the TEF money is being wasted and this waste is being sanctioned by the very JHTA which is now saying to use to to help give workers a tax break is not a good use of the funds.

Hotel workers are paid just above minimum wage and so this tax break would be a welcomed change for them, yet the umbrella organizations says no, spend the money on more light and more wooden fences.

Anytime someone tries to do something to help poor people in this country all hell breaks lose as we have some folks who think they ought to remain in their “lane”.

 

 

Used car for cops in an absolutely brilliant idea !

It had to take the JLP to come up with such a plan, that will not only save the country millions of dollars, but will provide more tools for the cops to do their jobs.

I will posit that over 60% of all the cars on the roads are used car mainly out of Japan and truth be told, they have done a very good job thus far.  The majority of the fleet of taxis running on our roadways are used cars out of Japan.

Let’s really take away the emotions and take a good look at what entails in the used car market out of Japan.

1. These vehicles are Japanese domestic vehicles and are built to world class standards, though below that for the USA market.
2. These vehicles have very strict emission control systems, better than what exist in those vehicles sent to third world countries.
3. The vehicles are typically low mileage and and good condition and at least 40% less than new vehicles.
4. The GOJ and GOJapan could form an Alliance to ensure the the Jamaican Government get the best possible deals on these used car along with used replacement parts.

I fail to understand those who speak about penny wise and pound foolish, when that is not supported by any sort of data re the performance of used cars. There is a big  difference between used car and old cars and I think this is where many have become confused.

For years we have been buying used cars but has NEVER had the monetary means to purchase the numbers required to keep the police mobile and so thus move is a stroke on genius by the current minister.

Now instead of have one vehicle running 100 miles per day, we can have two vehicles sharing the work load, which reduces wear and tear, maintenance cost as well as fuel cost. The upside and most important is the cops have enough vehicles to fight crime, how can one ask for more.

I would love to see more initiatives like these being undertaken by this government, which seems to so far have taken their mandate seriously.

 

The idea of going used is absolutely brilliant, but in Jamaica, you will always have those who are critical on just about anything, even when they don’t understand it.

Kudos to the government, great start

Trinidad Prime Minister says no more luxury vehicle loans !

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says his Cabinet made a decision yesterday that none of its members will access any loan to buy a luxury vehicle which falls in the new increased tax bracket.

He said, “Especially because we can’t afford it (fuel), we must now be concerned about how we use fuel and become more fuel conscious. What is wrong with that?”

Rowley’s announcement came immediately following Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s 50 per cent increase in taxes on luxury vehicles with engines over 1999cc in a series of sweeping tax measures.

He said if it was the policy of the country, then it applied to all.

“So anybody who wants to buy a bigger car…to buy a high-end car, buy it with your own money. That is a decision made on this side.

It would be riot in Jamaica and social media if any Jamaican Prime Minister was to try and so something like this.

Do you realize that cabinet ministers  have to access loans to get cars and these are not provided by the state, unlike in Jamaica.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-04-08/no-more-luxury-vehicle-loans

 

 

Portia Simpson Miller plays the gender card again !

“Why am I being asked to step aside, when other  before me have not been asked to do so, is it because I am a woman.”.

1. No other PNP leader in recent memory has called two elections and lost both.
2. No other PNP was so ineffective and absent for nearly 4 years.
3. No other PNP leader, hid from the media for 4 years.
4. No other PNP leader has acted so naive as this leader.

Every time Portia fails or is called out she pulls one of these cards

1. Its because I am woman
2. Its because I am a black woman
3. Its because I am from humble beginnings

Portia Simpson Miller is 71 years old and its full time she grows UP and end the damn nonsense !

Julian Robinson for PNP President

I think Julian is the most suitable persons to lead the now crippled PNP, which has suffered under the less than desirable leadership (for want of a better word) offered by Portia Simpson Miller.

Traits I like about Julian

1. Honest
2. Credible
3. Media savvy
4. Social Media savvy
5. No hint of corruption
6. Very intelligent.
7. Down to earth
8. Leadership skills
9. Not egotistic
10. Full of awareness

 

Julian Robinson is the best person to lead the PNP at this stage and even though I am not a PNP fan, I would endorse his selection as party president.

PSM has done her time and need to exit gracefully or risk being thrown out. The party is urgent of renewal

Audley Shaw needs to talk less and work more

Audley Shaw is one man who seems to get excited every time he see a microphone and a camera and appears to feel compelled to “speak his mind”.

Audley however needs to recognize now that he is no longer the opposition spokesman on Finance and neither is he in search of the next big scandal.  The post that he carries is a big one and one that carries high visibility. The words of the Finance Minister extends beyond the shores of Jamaica and so those words must be chosen deliberately and carefully.

Audley cannot afford to speak loosely anymore and neither can he afford to speak out of turn as this to lead to credibility problem from himself and that of the government.

For Audley to be looking for money that has not yet been collected, shows either ignorance on his part or an attempt to misled the country .

Shaw must recognize that going forward he must focus on being diligent as Peter was and get the job done. What he did here has hurt him and he has come across as not being credible at best or ignorant at worst and this could be a disaster for the government if he does not change his moves going forward.

Shaw needs to recognize that the JLP cannot do what the PNP does and get away with it, because the JLP is held to a much higher standard than the PNP.

Bless

 

 

 

Portia Simpson Miller’s swansong !

Portia Simpson Miller recently gave an interview where she was reported to have the following

1. She was never asked for an interview
2. She never made the decision to not debate, that was made by the PNP.

The Prime Minister was so shielded that at no point did she know that the people where clamoring to her from her.

Was it not this former PM who said ” I will not talk my way out of office”. Well clearly she did not do any talking, but was still booted out of office.

This is the second time Portia Simpson Miller has called an election and has lost and I think its time for her to make a graceful exit vs over staying her time and being unceremoniously kicked out.

The Prime Minister statement that it was not her, but the PNP who made the call not to debate, just shows how poor a leader she really was despite analyst and media person making her out to be better than the poor leader she really was.

Madame Simpson Miller, you have contributed over 40 years to representational politics and we believe it is in your best interest to leave now before you are thrown out.

Will the PM live in Ja on her exit or will she jet away to Miami. ?

 

 

 

Why with so many “experts” we cannot get Jamaican move to prosperity

I am also amazed at the number of “experts” residing in Jamaica, whose job it seems is to tell why various proposal cannot work. For the most part these “experts” lack creativity and have never come up with any useful idea on their own, but as soon as one is presented they are always ready to give “expert” advise.

Let’s look  at the $1.5m tax proposal, I hear most of the experts say it cannot work because it creates inequity.

So let me ask this question.

If I earn $692,000 per annum today and I work over time and that takes me to $692,500, would I take home more of less than if I had not worked any overtime.

So at $692,000 I pay no tax

At $692,500, I would need to subtract the 692,500 , leaving $500 and I will now be taxed at 25% or $125, meaning I would now take home $692,375.

With the moved to exempt income below $1.5m, the feeling is that once you work extra hours and your income goes above this figure , the threshold will now be $692,000 and you now pay taxes on $808k.

The funny thing is I never heard the government say this would have been the case, all I have heard is the so called “experts” saying this would be the case and so people would not want to work overtime or go for promotion that pushes then into a new income tax bracket as they would take home less pay.

The solution in my mind is very simple.

Come April 1 if your taxable income is $1,5m or less you pay no taxes

If you work o/t the difference above that is taxed at the usual 25%, which is what exist today.

If you Salary on April 1, 2016 was the $1.5m and you get an increase which moves you above the mark your threshold hold would remain at the $1.5m and you pay taxes on the figure above that figure.

Person currently earning $1.51 – $1.8m would see no change in their current income ie they face no losses, so they cannot be said to be suffering negatively from the new policy.

Inequity will always be present and trying to get rid of that is really an effort in futility. What we really need to be focused on, is how to generate growth in the country, so the GoJ can increase the threshold every further and on day move to reduce income taxes fro 25% to say 15%.

Executive Managers who sit in offices and meet all day gets 4 x salary of regular managers plus profit sharing

Managers get 2 – 3 times salaries of Supervisors

Supervisors get 3 – 4 times salaries of line employees

Those doing the back breaking work for the company to generate profits gets the lowest salaries and the least benefits, yet they are the company;s greatest assets.

Can some expert therefore explain, why the most valuable employees of an organization gets the lowest income and benefits and if that is really not the greatest inequity that exist in the working environment and why are we comfortable with it.

We have a problem with one worker earning  a little more than another but have no issues with a Senior Executive earning 20 – 30 x that of the same worker in whose interest we are now concerned about.

 

What am I missing?