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Thought To Ponder To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief from the burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility. |
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Government has promised a "White Paper" for discussion on the Bahamas becoming a part of the Caribbean Single Market Economy. Twenty-nine questions to help you decide which side you are on. 1. The free movement of people is a compelling idea, but are we ready for this? 2. What guarantee do we have that there won't be a United States of the Caribbean and end of The Bahamas as an independent country? 3. How can we be sure that sometime in the future we will not be 'forced' to adopt a common Caribbean currency? 4. If a common currency is adopted will it be a floating currency, or pegged to the U.S. dollar like the Bahamian dollar is now? 5. Will a Central Bank of the Caribbean make economic decisions and monetary policy for the Bahamas? 6. How happy are you that the Central Bank of Bahamas would be nothing more than a branch satellite of the Caribbean Central Bank based in Jamaica - or Trinidad - or wherever they set it up? 7. Can you give me an example of a single currency anywhere in the world without a single taxation rate behind it? 8. How much, exactly, will it cost us to convert all our systems and so on? If you don't know, why not? 9. How will the United States view us? If the CSME countries become even more anti-American - how does that affect our number one product - American tourists? 10. How many of our laws will be subordinated to their laws in the future that we have not been told about yet? 11. Is this really not all about personal or professional advantage to some individuals who may not even support the CSME? 12. Is it worth risking a compromise of our democratic system for one that is untried and unproven? 13. What are the advantages in being part of a "supranational" state that we do not already enjoy as a separate country? 14. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Where can we read in black and white what we will be giving up if we join? 15. Putting all political correctness aside, do you honestly trust the Jamaicans, the Haitians, the Trinidadians, etc. to run our economy on our behalf? 16. If they decide to "harmonize" taxes for the region, what guarantees are there that we will forever control Bahamian Tax Policy? 17. People need to feel a part of the institutions to which they elect representatives. How do we know we will ever feel part of the Caribbean institutions? If yes, why? 18. Will we get more or less bureaucracy from CSME should we join? 19. Who will control future budgets, that is our ability to tax and spend - them or us? What guarantees do we have in writing that it will always be us who decide our budgets? 20. You say that the "days of the independent nation-state are gone". Can you therefore explain why the following countries, over the last 100 years or so have broken away from larger units to get their independence: - Ireland, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia, Cyprus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malta, Panama, virtually the whole of Africa, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, and others too numerous too mention? 21. Do you agree that any powerful body not elected by us will always put Bahamian interests above their own? 22. How would you feel if our laws were to originate in Jamaica, or Trinidad, or Haiti - or wherever they decide to make the Capital of the Caribbean? 23. Why should we join when we are not exporters? 24. Do you believe that only the Bahamian people should be allowed to elect those who make the laws under which they are governed? This is called democracy. Can you explain how we get rid of the Central Caribbean Government if they start doing things we don't like? 25. How would we deal with fraud and corruption - typical of large bureaucracies? 26. How would you feel if your local MP writes to tell you after we join the CSME that in future people who you do not elect and cannot remove will govern you? 27. What will happen if we do not join? Will CSME put trade sanctions on us? 28. Can the CSME guarantee economic freedoms for all Bahamians? 29. Which flag will be on top - the CSME Flag or the Bahamian?
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Comments
Ray Tapajna - 15 October 2010 20:19- Free trade now has a long history of failures
- The first economic stimulus package in the USA was to a foreign nation -Mexico. NAFTA trade agreement followed the maquiladora program. Soon after getting NAFTA , passed. President Clinton had to rush billions of dollars to Mexico to save the peso and subsequently the Mexican economy and the values of other money in Europe.
NAFTA did not stop the tide of Mexican workers flooding across the border into the United States even though more than 4,000 U.S. factories had been moved to Mexico.
This is the real world and what actually happened.
Now our economies based on making money on money instead of making things are burning out, but it did not stop President Obama to bail out the financial community and then put them back in charge of the free trade process.
Search under tapsearch.com, tapsearcher, tapsearch free trade, tapsearch globalization, tapsearch clinton for thousands of references and resources.
Free trade and Globalization was driven by governments acting brokers and dealers merging with big money interests. Nothing has changed in 2010
Coops - 29 January 2008 20:33- who wrote these questions
- I really don't care that much about who wrote these valid questions, what i want to know is the answers. If you do not have them can you please tell me where i can locate them.
These are very important facts/suggestions and must/should be addressed because i am sure just about every Bahamian is asking at least one of these questions and not finding the answers.
Tapart News Editor - 14 August 2005 08:01- The Main Question
- Free Trade is not trade as historically and traditionally understood. Free Trade is about making production portable moving factories from place to place based the lowest labor costs and the least line of resistance for workers rights.
The first question that should be asked before all others is this,
Did the U.S. Government fund the moving of factories outside the U.S. starting in 1956 and how long did they keep this process going? Later did they support and fund the Maquiladora factories in Mexico. Also did the U.S. government push zero defects manufacturing which has to be labor intensified in its own country while promoting in process manufacturing abroad. In process manufacturing streamlines the manufacturing process which allows a certain amount of rejects. 100% zero defects manufacturing was very costly.
For more information see Tapart News and Art that Talks by Ray Tapajna at http://tapsearch.com/tapartnews or special pages at http://tapsearch.com/globalization http://tapsearch.com/unions
http://tapsnewstory.filetap.com
* Who has the Key? The American Worker is Handcuffed editorial art.
Rick Lowe - 14 July 2005 13:18- Who wrote these questions?
- Maybe you can e-mail us in from the "contact us" box so we can have an exchange about the questions that concern you.
The questions deal with some very important considerations that the Minister is yet to answer.
C. Russell - 14 July 2005 10:27- Re: Who wrote these questions?
- NOTE: I am not saying I support the Bahamas joining the CSME.
COMMENT: These questions seem to be much too opinionated to be considered objective. Rather than causing the reader to "think of various things that s/he might not have considered", they seem to be designed to make a reader think that CSME is bad. These questions are not so much educational or thought provoking as they are biased and opinionated.
In my opinion, readers depend on institutions such as this one to provide information, not opinions. These questions are misleading, unfair and sometimes irrelevant.
Just my 5 cents.
Rick Lowe - 24 June 2005 18:30- Who wrote these questions?
- It does not matter who wrote the questions.
Questions can tend to appear pro or con an issue. The questions are not an analysis of the pros and cons of the CSME. The objective was to cause the reader to think of various things that s/he might have not considered.
C. Russell - 24 June 2005 05:57- Who wrote these questions?
- It would be interesting to know, because they seem to be written from an anti-CSME angle. How about reprinting the questions in a manner that does not "lead the witness"?
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