THE EDITOR, Madam:
I AM writing in response to Mr. Chuck's piece 'Living in a rotten society.' I was very pleased to hear him tear into many of the forgotten miseries in Jamaica but then after a great deal of smoke and mirrors about the economy and democracy he ends up by telling us that "we need to stop thinking of government and the State can be the sugar daddy and the godfather of the people and start to shift back the burden, responsibility and power back to the people." I ask, how can the 'people' possibly do this?
On July 10, of this year The Gleaner ran a letter, the Letter of the Day, from Richard Browne, informed us that United Nations statistics showed that 83.7 per cent of the wealth in Jamaica is held in 20 per cent of the population's hands. The most unequal distribution in the world! What per cent of the wealth in Jamaica is in the top 2 per cent of the population's hands I wonder 70 per cent?
And how about the power in Jamaica? Won't the power distribution mirror the money distribution? Of course it will! Do you think those few people with money in Jamaica will be letting some of it go to the 20 per cent of the population (half a million people) who share 1.9 per cent of the nation's wealth? Of course not!
Will these fabulously wealthy and powerful people be giving away some of their power then?
I am etc.,
M.J. JACKSON
E-mail: mikenegril@hotmail.com
Negril
Via Go-Jamaica
