Sass, Willi, Ben, Lazie

[Don1]

lol

[Karl]

What you know about the industrial history of Spanish Town.

Before yuh chat, do some research! LoL

Battery, polish, brassieres, buttons, cigarettes, pasta, electronics, textiles, the factory that used to release the noxious vapours (We used to call it acid factory...), Steel tubes, concrete blocks, many food processing facilities, etc etc. All this just from the top of my head.

Yuh think seh is minor damage Omar cause?

Most went under because of importations or removal of subsidies that propped up inefficient entities. Removal of import restrictions...rermoval of some taxes...put many entities, not just factories - e.g agricultural products - out to compete with larger and more efficient external producers.

Yuh tink a jus tideh persons in various manufacturing enterprises go under because they had become unable to compete with imports?

Boss out dot of a market just about cannot support any type of service or manufactured product. Yuh tink dat phrase "Export or Die" is joke ting?

[Karl]

I don't hold Omar in high regard and think he should be retired in the public interest as his credibility is shot... however..

It is too simplistic to say that Omar "caused" the disappearance of industry..

The root cause of the demise of those operations is globalization and the so-called Washington Consensus policies which mandated open markets.

Those industries are not economical fo Jamaica to operate...we have no competitive advantage to produce those items as they cannot compete successfully with imports...whoever is in charge those industries will fail

Where I fault Omar for his gross mismangement of liberalization ...and even the current set in power.... is a failure to totally reorient Jamaica's economy to where we have competitive advantages and can move to higher valued added production..

The underpinning of that necessary reorientation is a massive emphasis on education and training...especially in technical areas... not borrowing massive sums like US$400m to fix roads (not even BUILD-- but repair) in order to win lickylicky votes

None of the tribes have a clue...or care a damn... except retaining power

Never got down to your post, boss. If I had I would not have made mine below.

Are you now ready to rethink that brain-drain mantra? ...and link our export of 'brain power' to "Export or Die"? Hey...even the math tells us that eventually there would be too many of us per square mile....forget about having enough jobs for the ever increasing numbers pooring out of our institutions annually!

[Don1]

no re-thinking of the brain drain here.

countries don't develop by basing their economies on the export of skilled labour.

it's never happened in the history of the world....

[Jawge]

Willi why is it that you can't answer my question? Should coporations or startups pass over their profits (or let's say a large percentage)to the govt. of Ja? Thanks.

[Willi]

When yuh anwer mine first...

[Jawge]

Willi if I'm not mistaken; I thought I was the one that started the thread asking you guys a question. No?

[Willi]

My question was in answer to yours...

[Gamma]