By Carey Wallace, ContributorTHERE HAS been recent debate on the imposition of higher tariffs on imported cement in order to allow the local Carib Cement company to compete effectively. There's an underlying philosophy that this debate highlights and that is the concept of economic solidarity.
Economic solidarity is the concept of being your brother's keeper by supporting his business. Purchasing the goods and services you need from businesses within your family, community, country, or region in that order. The concept basically keeps money circulating in a loop so that all within that loop have a market, an income stream, and, most importantly, a livelihood.
Economic solidarity is a sure shot solution for Jamaica's problems. After all, the time is ripe for this campaign and the recent advertisements by the JMA and Carib Cement should just be a precursor for bigger things to come.
The number one concern of every Jamaican, at home and abroad, regarding the country, is crime. No one can deny the downward spiralling effect that crime has on our society. With crime fewer tourists visit our shores, fewer investors invest in the country, thus less money enters our economy, fewer jobs become available, and fewer opportunities arise, resulting in more hunger, illiteracy, disenchantment and desperation and so crime increases, going another loop around the spiral.
It has always been a custom of most Jamaicans however, to not believe they can make a difference regarding problems of this nature. There are constant calls for 'govament' or 'the bigga heads' to make the change. But by practising economic solidarity, every single Jamaican can transform that crime concern to action to save our country. At the moment you are about to make your next purchase of goods or services, whether it is a can of vienna sausage or a vacation, you have a choice.
In the case of the can of sausage, you can either send that money into a 'Jamaican' loop where it provides an income/livelihood for the Jamaican truck driver and sidemen who brought the delivery in from, say, Grace Food Processors in Smithfield, Westmoreland, a livelihood for the Jamaican factory workers who processed the sausage, a livelihood for the Jamaican pig farmers in Darliston, Westmoreland who supplied the pigs, the Jamaican feed store that provided the feed for the pigs, the HiPro feed factory workers who processed the feed and the delivery guys again.
I am optimistic of the benefits of such a campaign, particularly since there is greater leverage on the part of middle to upper class Jamaicans, who typically have more at stake in Jamaica and so would be most concerned about the spiral and have the discretionary income to choose between products that might be at different prices. Unlike a one person one vote situation, a middle class housewife would spend a considerable amount more than her counterpart from the "masses". As such if the middle class housewife practises economic solidarity, and spends say $8,000 per week on groceries, her impact would be equivalent to 8 less fortunate housewives that spend $1000 per week on groceries. So middle to upper class Jamaicans who might be fewer in numbers relative to the rest of the population, can make the bulk of the difference.
Jamaicans living abroad too can contribute, since so many Jamaican products are available overseas as well. So instead of reading our crime-plastered headlines online, and thinking 'bway de country gone to the dawgs' they can, starting today, buy Jamaican products and make a positive difference.
Hotels, and other Tourism Industry players know all too well the loss of business whenever there is a riot or an upsurge in crime. A recent World Bank study showed that if Jamaica were to reduce crime by one per cent, tourism revenues would increase by US$2 billion. It is, therefore, crucial for these entities to be at the fore of this campaign, to purchase as much as they can locally. Even if the Jamaican product is more expensive, the long-term returns are cheaper.
Carey Wallace is a businessman operating and residing in Negril. Sent in via Go-Jamaica. E-mail comments to carey@junglenegril.com.
