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It is THE central issue.... so of course it is ignored and unrecognized by most. Most concentrate on superficial symptoms of this core problem and the political charlatans/big business people who manipulate the country.
Then they wonder why their backward prescriptions for progress fall flat. When will they get it?
Social Contract Now!! Memba mi tole unnu fram lang time
No growth without social cohesion
David Mullings
Sunday, May 20, 2012
NO reasonable Jamaican believes that the country is currently on track to deliver the growth that is needed in order to reduce the fiscal deficit. Unfortunately, we have grown too accustomed to growth rates in the one per cent region while seeing a massive portion of Government revenue going towards paying down debt.
The simplest way to reduce the debt burden is to grow the economy, but growing an economy is not so simple. Tax reform is one approach that has been consistently promoted, with various proposals and committees providing ideas and the evidence to support them. However, some proposals fail to account for the potential social repercussions of proposed policies.
It is hard to forget the 1999 gas tax riots which erupted out of the then Patterson-led PNP Administration planning to raise the special fuel tax from $1.5 per gallon to $2 per gallon and impose a 30 per cent hike on the cost of licensing motor vehicles.
The riots were disastrous for the economy. We had cruise ship passengers being warned not to come to Ocho Rios, flights were cancelled and the international news ran with the headlines and photos that painted the picture of a very dangerous place.
Everyone by now has seen similar stories and footage from countries like Greece which also face serious economic issues with overbearing debt, low growth, poor competitiveness and poor tax collection.
Social cohesion is the single most important ingredient for economic growth and all proposals must take that into consideration, no matter how positive they may look on paper.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1vyQlbXUK
Then they wonder why their backward prescriptions for progress fall flat. When will they get it?
Social Contract Now!! Memba mi tole unnu fram lang time
No growth without social cohesion
David Mullings
Sunday, May 20, 2012
NO reasonable Jamaican believes that the country is currently on track to deliver the growth that is needed in order to reduce the fiscal deficit. Unfortunately, we have grown too accustomed to growth rates in the one per cent region while seeing a massive portion of Government revenue going towards paying down debt.
The simplest way to reduce the debt burden is to grow the economy, but growing an economy is not so simple. Tax reform is one approach that has been consistently promoted, with various proposals and committees providing ideas and the evidence to support them. However, some proposals fail to account for the potential social repercussions of proposed policies.
It is hard to forget the 1999 gas tax riots which erupted out of the then Patterson-led PNP Administration planning to raise the special fuel tax from $1.5 per gallon to $2 per gallon and impose a 30 per cent hike on the cost of licensing motor vehicles.
The riots were disastrous for the economy. We had cruise ship passengers being warned not to come to Ocho Rios, flights were cancelled and the international news ran with the headlines and photos that painted the picture of a very dangerous place.
Everyone by now has seen similar stories and footage from countries like Greece which also face serious economic issues with overbearing debt, low growth, poor competitiveness and poor tax collection.
Social cohesion is the single most important ingredient for economic growth and all proposals must take that into consideration, no matter how positive they may look on paper.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1vyQlbXUK
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