Jamaicans, How is the PNP Working Out For You?
When the Jamaica Labour Party took office in September 2007 the Jamaican economy was in free fall decline with ponzi schemes, like Cash Plus and Olint, running amok completely unregulated by the state and giving vulnerable citizens a false sense of financial security.
The worst global recession the world had experienced in over 80 years then snuck up on the Jamaica Labour Party in September 2008 and placed the Jamaican economy in a more perilous state. Thankfully the administration of the day weathered that horrible economic storm, despite the main stream ‘pro PNP media’ and the PNP’s main ally the Jamaica Teachers’ Association blaming the JLP on the economic hard times then prevailing. There were no riots in the streets and average real wages improved for the average civil servant particularly the teachers and police force rank and file members.
The Jamaican dollar remained stable at an average rate of USD$1.00 to JMD$86.00 for some two years, crime was cut significantly in the JLP’s last year in office and the middle class, while destroyed in the 1990s by the PNP’s abysmal high interest rate policies, had some hope of at least remaining the middle class with the lower classes having a glimmer of hope to become the middle class.
During the December 2011 campaign period the PNP, led by their populist leader Portia Simpson Miller, told the Jamaican people that times were too hard and it was all the JLP’s fault. In typical populist propaganda style she promised jobs, almost in a perpetual state of hysteria at the time, through her administration’s Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) and that the average citizen would be eating “oxtail and curry goat” if her party returned to power.
Jamaicans, how is the PNP working out for you?
On 29th December 2011 the People’s National Party romped into office in a trouncing of the Jamaica Labour Party no doubt based on their empty, populist campaign promises that the people of Jamaica couldn’t have given much thought to in how the PNP would deliver on those promises. After all the PNP had a track record of 18 and half years in office and not only did they reverse the fortunes of the Jamaican economy over that period they presided over according to the Reverend Ronald Thwaites M.P. and current Minister of Education ‘the greatest transfer of resources from the poor to the rich since slavery was abolished’
In January 2015 the Jamaican dollar is now USD$1.00 to JMD$115.00. and falling, crime is still out of control with the sixth highest murder rate in the world, and the price of food continues to move out of the reach of the average Jamaican.
Not only is the International Monetary Fund running the Jamaican economy since 2012 cutting spending on the country’s infrastructure as their loans must be paid first, nevermind the broken down elevator at the country’s largest hospital, the Kingston Public Hospital, preventing patients scheduled for surgery to be elevator lifted to the operating theatres, but gutting spending on social capital, the people, creating more hardships for them.
The middle class is doing horribly under the PNP, who had no care for that class anyway after all Minister Omar Davies had declared since 2002 the PNP had lost the middle class, but the lower class too is suffering and will remain poor and abused by the state as long as the Jamaican economy is placed in the hands of socialists who just do not understand business not to mention running an economy.
Let us look at a simple food prices chart of just 5 selected food items: bread, salt fish, corned beef, eggs and sardines in December 2011 and at December 2014.
| Food item | Dec-11 | Dec-14 | Increases in food prices |
| Bread | $160.00 | $248 | 55% |
| Salted fish | $715.00 | $1,200 | 67% |
| 1 doz eggs | $218.75 | $300.00 | 37% |
| Sardines | $64.00 | $90.00 | 40% |
| Corned beef | $201.00 | $300.00 | 49% |
For the selected items the average price of food in just 3 years has increased by 50% and the dollar has lost its value by 34% over the same period. This is a stark contrast to the ‘oxtail and curry goat economic paradise’ promised by the PNP populists in December 2011.
You can’t fool the people all the time
The Jamaica Labour Party has the better team to run the Jamaican economy and make life easier for all classes of Jamaicans.
The Jamaican people will need to understand that taxing businesses on an ever increasing scale so as to hand out free goods to some people is not an effective long term economic solution that encourages foreign investment. Nestle Jamaica that has been in Jamaica for decades has ‘pulled up stumps’ due to the hostile economic environment it has to operate in Jamaica. These are not business friendly policies engendered by this administration.
The Jamaica Labour Party promised in December 2011 to reduce corporate taxes to allow for more business expansion and to create more jobs. The PNP has increased corporate taxes since resuming office, asset taxes for instance, and the CEO of Scotiabank has publicly stated that that anti-business move has hurt her business.
The ever weakening Jamaican dollar will only make food more expensive as we import more food than we produce for ourselves and that will make life harder for the average Jamaican worker.
With a weakening economy crime will continue to increase making people more fearful in going about their normal daily business and with that more expensive for businesses to operate.
The Jamaica Labour Party had an effective energy solution to diversify the country’s energy dependence which has been botched by the PNP making it more costly to operate a business in Jamaica.
The Jamaican people want a better future and that only comes through visionary leadership and pragmatic economic policies not visionless socialists who spend other peoples’ money recklessly.
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Trickle theory as pushed by republicans does not work…jlp neither does
This a JLP propoganda article…………………..why ask a question to try to fool di people? Same ole tactics………..sigh
You are right Sir Gammon though I’m not sure we would be in better shape had it been the JLP running things all this time.
I hate it when Jamaicans don’t look beyond the orange shirts and the green shirts it seem we r colour blind in Jamaica. But fact is fact the country I was born and raised in is a scary place to continue living
This article is filled with nothing but praise for the JLP, when will we realize that in order to move forward we would need to put party behind us and country in front. Please highlight the positives too, that would have help in masking your anti PNP sentiments a little better .
Worldwide problem not just Jamaica
Pnp they dont know anything about economics through all of Jamaica history they have been in power an there record shows what have come of all the time they have been in power the terrible years of Micheal Manley an more resent 18 plus year of mis-management little to no growth in the economy
I don’t know what planet you’re from but was it not the JLP that put the country in the mess in first place
Wow! More to add, but of course Jamaica is PNP COUNTRY and whatever they do with their wrecking crew is just a nine day wonder that will soon blow over. The majority of Jamaican votrs take kindly to PNP rhetoric so they will always feel and suffer the pain meted out to them by their beloved party. You can´t blame them, blame the gutless Labourites who refuse to take a stand when it matters most.
Wow! More to add, but of course Jamaica is PNP COUNTRY and whatever they do with their wrecking crew is just a nine day wonder that will soon blow over. The majority of Jamaican votrs take kindly to PNP rhetoric so they will always feel and suffer the pain meted out to them by their beloved party. You can´t blame them, blame the gutless Labourites who refuse to take a stand when it matters most.
Wow! More to add, but of course Jamaica is PNP COUNTRY and whatever they do with their wrecking crew is just a nine day wonder that will soon blow over. The majority of Jamaican votrs take kindly to PNP rhetoric so they will always feel and suffer the pain meted out to them by their beloved party. You can´t blame them, blame the gutless Labourites who refuse to take a stand when it matters most.
the problem with a lot of Jamaican they just sit back an waiting on there party…to give them what they want …so other people shud work an they just sit for hand out …an to top it off they want the leaders of both party to work miracle ….to those who love hand out stay there with ur hands out …dont go an find a work an try an work hard for what u want….im sure a few more years u will be still blaming the government ..an still siting on the roadside begging ….i have news for u pnp an jlp there is no different between them they both full of promises thats it …put them both togather an they all full a shit
The true question we should be asking is, whether what the article stated was true or not rather than deeming it to be a Pro-JLP biased article.
Did JLP reduce corporate taxes to promote business growth leading to more jobs being available?
Did JLP keep the dollar more steady compared to PNP in the term of their office?
How was the crime rate back in JLP’s term of office compared to PNP now?
I am neither JLP nor PNP but in relating to the theme of the article, these should be the questions we should be asking.
To be honest, PNP should be reducing tax to promote business growth to create more jobs available to citizens. This would improve the economy because people would have more money to spend on goods and services and generate tax revenue from more people spending in smaller amounts rather than gut people and business with higher taxes. Quantity over quality.
JLP may have done a crappy job back then….. but it wasnt as bad as this…. my friends and I used to joke around that Jamaica would one day be like Zimbabwe….. and look at it now….. triple digits exchange rate to 1 USD…….. this joke is becoming a reality.
While I can agree it’s a world wide problem. When the world was booming jamaica under poor management was sinking so while the rest of the world sink you honestly think that jamaica would be booming. Until we can have some credible people running and representing our people defending our true values then things will always remain the same n will get even worst. 1 party will always point fingers on the other party. You have representative of a particular constituency who leading the blind for relatively 30 yrs and that constituency is one of the poorest and duttiest place u can find in the country n people really comparing track record. Clearly we don’t adopt the goodness of the western world only the bad. No 1 man in the western world can rule a country for 18 yrs straight that is worst than a monopoly. It’s time we stop reflect on the 80s n progress to a brighter future. Jamaica was written off in the 90s if we are going to blame the 80s for that then what happen in the 80s we can blame the 70s for that. What party was in power in the 70s again. Oh the mighty mismanagement 1 I guess. New ideas new changes time for a new color. Let’s start a black party.
Labourite propaganda.
Jamaica has always being in a recession! The country lacs the leadership to pull this counrtry forward. The two gangs that the people kill each other for cannot help Jamaica! They lack any fibre of morality hence they are u fit to govern. Life is not a painting job where we can paint out our shame, Jamaica is a very corrupt place and is now culturally accepted it seems, therefore, measures to bring about any positive changes shallnot be seen anytime soon. I was told by a Asian business colleague recently that my people are anti productive and only love to party hence the one of the many reasons why they are interested in the land as we dont know the vslue of it. Check it out, its a fact. Most Jamaicans presently will chose bad over good and this probably can explain why evil deeds are common in Jamaica…
Be careful of these articles, although it contains some facts;however; the opening is misleading as it stated that under the JLP sponzi schemes where enjoying their existence but this is false. Those sponzi schemes were in existence a decade before thr JLP took office, they crashed out during the JLP accupation of the office of governance. The fact as it stands, Jamaica lacks unerstanding as to what is needed to grow the country… production of goods and services for local and export are lacking and people are mentally enslave into thinking that they should only consume rather than being creative and productive. The “bling bling” economic illusion is a dead end approach that have been in practice for well over 30 years with same results. We cannot borrow success you have to work to creat it and that is what has been happening, it is like a man get a loan from the bank to buy a car which he drives for a week and he totals the car which had no comprehensive insurance. What happen next? He still has to pay back the bank the loan for something that he cannot get any benefits this is pretty much how Jamaica has been running after dependence in 1962…
we need to unite as one