Rasta Government

In the first three months of college in the US, roughly 1 in every 600 women are reporting being raped each week. That number drops below 1 in 100 when large studies are done in specific large universities. In Jamaican hotels, roughly 1 in every 50,000 US women are reporting rape during the equivalent 1 week stay. US women are over 80 times more likely to be raped during the first 3 months of college in the US than in a Jamaican hotel. The report is fake news based on trumped up statistics by the state dept. and their media friends, and pushed out of Foggy Bottom for some unknown reason. Any rape is a problem, but why the focus on Jamaican hotels? Similar situations where young americans are having fun are much much worse. -RG In response to: Jamaica under international fire for reports of multiple sexual assault on US tourists

Very true on no. 3. Especially the global companies operating here. Some senior locals think they are earning big money, but they don't know that the foreigners in the meetings with them are making five and 6 times as much money for the same work. I'm talking salary only, it's more if you include perquisites and bonus. -RG In response to: Tuesday Talk

There are racial factors as well. Black people (90% of Jamaicans) evolved in a 'food scarce' environment, whereas food was more abundant in areas where caucasians migrated to. So certain foods will cause black people to store fat 'for a rainy day' (gain weight) more readily than whites. We eat a lot of chicken in Jamaica, fast food or not. Commercial chicken feed is designed to multiply chick weight several times in a few weeks ,especially yields of the more valuable breast meat. Only forty years ago the feed took more than double the time. I'm not sure how much research was done on the effects on black people of eating so much chicken grown on modern commercial feed. -RG In response to: 'Man boobs' causing concern

Why do they need a multi-page business plan for these tiny businesses? Some very large investors don't require all this, and they're not reading it in many cases. They want to talk to you to find out if you know what you're doing. We just need a few rules of thumb for each type of business that they can understand. Whats your monthly/weekly sales, expenses, profit? Days of sales in inventory, working capital (or 'float' to them). What's the Initial investment and break-even (how long to make your money back) etc. Put together a form and let them fill in these things, along with a monthly reporting form once the loan is disbursed. That's it. Loan or investment approved or denied. Work with them until it's approved. You're not lending them any big money at first anyway right? -RG In response to: On the Corner with EPOC | Own businesses the aim but not sure how to get there

Increasing 'productivity' means getting more value for every hour that you work. This requires, education, training, technology, equipment, capital, infrastructure, etc Innovation means finding 'easier' ways of doing all the above, with technology and new work methods playing a large role. We can't just focus on increasing the amount of work we do. How hard are we working to increase the value of our time? -RG In response to: Private sector encouraged to assist Gov't improve worker productivity

It seems some of our leaders think we can grow our way out of the corruption problem. But corruption grows with economic activity, so you end up worse than where you started. Corruption also aids crime, and resists crime fighting efforts. If you scratch any major problem Jamaica faces, you will find major corruption underneath. -RG In response to: No shield for cops...Mark goes hard on ‘corrupt, criminal, beyond help’ JCF 

Increasing labor 'productivity' means increasing the value of the goods and services we provide. Two of the best ways to do this in a small economy involves innovation and export. But innovation means disruption of the status quo. It requires experimentation, and removing the stigma of failure. Creating an environment where people who think differently are not punished for doing so. These successful economies that we are trying to emulate have already figured out that disruptors are to be valued, and they might not be the best 'team players'. How much does this sound like Jamaica? -RG In response to: Increased productivity helps keep inflation low — Williams

I dont know who told MBS to kill this guy. He thought that because Trump has been cawing about the media as the enemy of the people, that gives him the right to kill a guy that the D.C. power crowd sees as a friend? Now Trump can't protect him and is backing away from him slowly. I saw that weak little talk he (MBS) gave. He looked scared. As he should be. He's in trouble. -RG In response to: Pakistan gets US$6 billion in Saudi aid after PM attends forum

Jamaica is a small mountainous island, Flat urban areas need to change hands for development and growth. Why not enforce (like other countries) and/or increase the land tax and reduce the stamp duty and transfer tax? It's a great way to encourage developers and keep land changing over instead of left abandoned for squatters, or idle for decades. -RG In r esponse to: Skyline shift: PM says Gov'T getting requests for 20-storey buildings in the city

Girls are forced to do this to get to school? I thought it was a few lawbreakers in Kingston with loud music and dark tints. What about the girl with some self respect that feels ashamed to be bouncing in a rocking bus on a strange mans privates? I wonder if we realize that this is sexual abuse of our girls. Are boys asked to "lap-up"? Which of the privileged few would allow their daughter to even ride the bus, much less be forced to bounce on a strange man's body? -RG In response to: OUTRAGE! Angry reaction after Portland mother forced to transfer her child to avoid lap-up busses

If admissions was based on grades alone Asians would be most of the incoming year at any top school. They are 5% of the population, and still 23% of the class. Every other race has had to sacrifice better grades for extra-curricular activity (that gives the impression of character building and "personality") in order to "balance out" their application profile. Why should the Asians get a free pass? Anyway, this is a case led by a white guy who want's to use this to stop affirmative action for blacks. But Harvard can't afford to erase decades they spent promoting the image of having a diverse, well-rounded class. -RG In response to: Harvard on trial over alleged discrimination against Asians

The young need examples. When their friends start making money they will be interested. Select a few promising young applicants and put the whole program together for them. Female farmers too. Guide them from start to finish. The govt land is there. The tech is there, the SRC has food processing products that they will help them produce, market and export. Use the success stories as examples. -RG In response to: Shaw urges farmers to utilise new irrigation technology

There were times in Jamaica when the local "natives" were only allowed to participate in a hunt as "bird boys" etc. A large part of the surge in licensed firearm holders is because for so long only people of a certain skin color could participate. Most Jamaicans simply weren't allowed. If they are talking about bird bush that is "crown lands" or government land, I think that arrangements should be made and regularized for these guys to hunt there unmolested. It's not my thing, but it's a big deal for these guys and their entire family. The season is just a few days a year. To now exclude people that have been hunting there for generations because you claim you paid a few dollars to "rent it", that doesn't seem fair. If it's private property that's something else. -RG In response to: Clarendon hunters fuming of land rights

The West has tolerated the Saudis for many reasons, acting like they are a modern civilized country. Like they weren't chopping peoples heads off in public every Wednesday and calling it justice. Lord knows what they are doing to their women under the quiet. Now when they have to watch it in the suburbs on the news over dinner they are pretending like this is such big shocking behavior. -RG In response to: Saudi rejects 'baseless' murder claims over missing journalist

So after making record profits here, they are now moving our jobs overseas? Why not establish the shared center here? We speak English and have a convenient time zone for markets in this hemisphere. We can easily learn spanish to service the smaller markets too. It's taught in school. -RG In response to: BITU delegates meet today to discuss BNS transfer plan

Affordable housing needs to be built using the "cost plus" method, with more transparency in the cost. Prices should be listed in detail for materials, labor and equipment, so that the price for each length of steel and each piece of lumber can be verified. Then a standard international profit like 15% added to the total cost for the contractor. Instead we use an opaque document called a BQ, where nobody knows how the rates are calculated, and the total price ends up double and triple what it should be, and a few contractors (developers) become extremely wealthy off the backs of contributors. Most contributors can't afford it, and a few end up "begging their cousin" to build their house for them over 10 years, just to get something reasonable. Is this a national path to home ownership and development? -RG In response to: Future of NHT to be debated in Parliament — Holness

Nigeria is taking an innovative approach to encourage their banks to widen their low interest lending to the real economy (producers of goods and services). They are refunding money to the commercial banks from the cash reserve ratio held at the central bank in the equivalent amount of credit they (the comm banks) provide to companies. This would prevent the problems of over-regulation of private enterprise or government picking "winners and losers" by lending directly, as well as the fiscal issue and fear of political interference in the private sector. Why can't we do something like this? Why can't we raise their reserve ratio and refund what they lend to small producers at low rates? They are making record profits off Jamaicans! -RG In response to: Nigeria affirms bilaterial cooperation with Jamaica