Rick Lowe

Well I've finished Dr. Johnson's new book, and applaud him for making the effort. It's great that people would present their views to the public here, whether we agree or disagree.

As I noted in this post when I was about half way through I'm left wanting but agree with him in several areas:

1. The country's debt is far too high.
2. The educational system is a mess.
3. We need to resolve the many stateless children here of Haitian/Bahamian parents.
4. We do not need to join CSM & E.
5. We need local government on New Providence.
6. Maybe a third political party will eventually bring positive changes.
7. Comprehensive health care is a fiscal accident waiting to happen.
8. An Ombudsman might be an interesting enhancement to our system of governance to keep government in check.

I'm not sure I agree with his analysis on a particular failure of the government for the closure of the Pineapple industry here. I think we just could not compete with the scale and competitiveness of the Hawaiian Pineapple market that emerged. Why a local market could not remain should be of interest to us all.

In fact, far be it for me to defend government but, if as Dr. Johnson submits, the PLP was involved in a conspiracy to kill farming in this country in the 1960's and 1970's, why has farming not emerged in later years? Surely the FNM and recent PLP government did not have a policy to prevent it? Could this point a lack of initiative by us as a people?

I don't agree that the country needs a larger tax base achieved with a VAT and income tax. More revenue will equal more over spending by the government. The history of our profligacy that he records in the pages of his book should indicate this.

He suggests a conspiracy to dumb people down by destroying the educational system and get them to New Providence to work as "slaves" in the tourist market.

I'm not sure it was or is a conspiracy afoot here. Did they screw up the educational system? I think so, but the hotel industry has helped our economy and people tremendously. Besides, there is no chain forcing people to work in the hotel industry. They can start a farm or go fishing can't they?

He cites some Constitutional changes that might or might not fix the problems he describes, but the largest leap is to create a Democratic Republic. On the surface, a system more like the US is enticing, but what is it about us that we cannot make ourselves accountable within our present Constitutional framework?

Dr. Johnson spends a lot of time with his personal concern that the Court system here might have little choice than to allow same sex marriage etc and he emphasises that this would be a horrible thing.

It would be weird, but it's not like homosexuality has appeared in our community just yesterday. It's a fact of nature, that we must get used to and do these life partners deserve some formal way to create a union if you will, if they so desire? Maybe there is a legal way to provide for homosexuals? Is dismissing them out of hand any different than the problem we face with the many stateless children he refers to?

The final question that he seems to go to great lengths with is the Quieting Titles Act and how Bahamians that were on Generation property at Independence should have been granted title to their property.

While I agree that title to land helps bring prosperity, I can't see how a system designed to help sort out Generation property was a conspiracy to steal people's land?

It may have morphed into that over the years by some sneaky people, but it seems easy enough to rectify to me.

Furthermore, what prevented the people that were on the property for Generations using the Quieting Titles Act themselves?

Seems to me that instead of these vast conspiracies Dr. Johnson is pointing to some inherent weaknesses that we have grown into after relying on government to fix our problems for us.

Maybe those people that believe farming is the answer should start a few farms?

Maybe those people that are still on Generation property can get help using the Quieting Titles Act to get it done?

In closing, I'd really like to commend Dr. Johnson for his effort, but just can't grasp that so many of our problems are grand conspiracy theories, and wish his possible solutions did not rely so heavily on the political class.