Mr. Farrell Goff, former DNA candidate and entrepreneur, had an interesting letter published recently suggesting that love of country is not only about wearing a t-shirt, flag waving and celebrations once a year.

He says, perfectly logically, that we need to dig a little deeper and commit to being a part of the solution to achieve a better Bahamas. More than that, he rightfully suggests love of country is how we live our lives each day and understand our individual responsibility to the overall positive existence and progression of our country.

Mr. Goff also thinks we need a "national plan/vision that takes into account all relevant stakeholders". The Constitution is a country's guide, not a "national plan" that becomes impositions from a few.

Individuals plan their work every day. Businesses make plans and projections on a regular basis. But these change with circumstances – economic, political etc. Government agencies like education, need to plan their activities for better results for example, but what makes a government associate or politician so prescient that they can "plan" the lives of individuals?

Do they make positive changes to their grand national plan according to economic circumstances? What if someone objects to their "plan"? Too bad of course. You go along or pay the penalty as with other government dictates.

Just ask the people that benefit from government largesse (taxpayer money) if they are willing to give it up? Economic circumstances do not matter to many of them as long as they can derive some benefit at the cost of someone else.

As Peter Drucker said, "The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different,” and the past proves that governments tend to make things worse when they attempt to "plan". And when their plans fail, they tend to do more of the same, making it worse for the citizenry. Witness the recent imposition of excessive taxation. Government does not adjust their spending, they just dig into the citizens pocket until it hurts.

The role of government in a democracy is to secure individual rights as a broad principle. Another layer of planning by a select group sounds good in principle, but the many tome's of history suggest that too much government results in more bad government.

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If you are interested in this subject I recommend, The Best-Laid Plans: How Government Planning Harms Your Quality of Life, Your Pocketbook, and Your Future by Randal O'Toole. Order it here…