Government – Page 10 – Go Lean…Caribbean

Category: Government

Regulating Plastics in the Bahamas – So Little; So Late – Encore

Posted on August 12, 2019 in Economics, Government, Strategy

Plastics have been identified as “unbecoming” for the Caribbean environment. One country after another is now starting to regulate them and maybe even ban them.

Considering the 500 year history of Caribbean society, plastics are new …

… the proliferation emerged in the last 100 years. But the acknowledgement is now universal that they are destructive for the planet’s landscape and seascape.

While plastics are dutiful, plentiful and cheap, they are strictly optional; there are many viable alternatives; think glass, paper, wood and ceramics.

Here again:

plastic bags ==> paper bags
plastic bottles ==> glass bottles
plastic straws ==> paper straws
plastic cups ==> ceramic cups
plastic stirrers ==> wood stirrers

Plastics may be cheaper than all of these alternatives! But economically, plastics costs more … in the end! This is due to the disposal costs; or worse still: the destruction to the environment.

Caribbean communities that depend on the trade of touristic services must not jeopardize the sand and sea of the region. Tropical beauty is a strong selling point. Same too for the Fisheries.

One country after another is starting to implement regulations to eliminate plastic shopping bags, food utensils, straws and Styrofoam. Last year, August 21, 2018, the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean related the efforts of the Caribbean country of Saint Lucia for their mitigation of plastics and Styrofoam. Now, we see that an additional country, the Bahamas, is also deploying their ban on plastics, starting in January 2020.

In fact, 40 other countries have already implemented such bans.

This is late for the Bahamas to only now be implementing this ban – they have always been vulnerable. In addition to their near-400,000 residents, they also hosts more than 3 million tourists annually (stay-overs and cruise passengers). But the location of the archipelago chain exposes it to unwanted marine debris (plastics) as a result of ocean currents and wave patterns – see the Gulfstream photo above.

The Bahamas is late! They should have been front-and-center with any mitigation efforts.

See this article here that describes the Bahamas plan for January 2020. Notice the emphasis on “plastic bags” and the little focus on other examples of single-use plastics. See the article here:

Title: Ferreira: Bahamas to join more than 40 countries that has banned plastic bags
By: Ginelle Longley

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Minister of Environment and Housing, Romauld Ferreira, during his contribution to the 2019/2020 Budget debate on Tuesday night, said the Bahamas is expected to join more than 40 countries that have introduced a ban on plastic bags.

The government’s proposed ban on plastic bags is set to take effect in January 2020.

Ferreira said the Government will ensure that the move offers minimal disruption to businesses and their operation. He said his ministry will also inform and educate the public through a number of town hall meetings heading into 2020.

“The ministry’s education is also advancing the message of a healthier Bahamas through this initiative as the improper use of plastics is associated with various forms of environmental pollution and environmental degradation, which ultimately affects an individual’s health and well-being,” Ferreira said.

The proposed ban comes on the heels of several warnings issued by local environmental and climate experts who have stressed that non-biodegradable products such as plastic bags and Styrofoam have contributed to environmental issues.

Director of Energy and Environment with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, Debbie Deal, told Eyewitness News Online Wednesday that back in April 2018, the Ministry of Environment signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, to ensure that businesses would be prepared for enforcement of the 2020 ban.

Deal said the implementation of the ban should not be an issue.

“VAT was [pushed] from 7.5 to 12 per cent and on July 1, 2019 it came into effect. We as a people were able to make that transition in a month’s time, so I personally think that a year and 9 months is sufficient to make that transition,” Deal said.

Meanwhile, Trevor Davis, the co-owner of Quality Home Center on Blue Hill Road said as his business prepares to replace plastic bags with reusable shopping bags, the move, while costly, will bring down the cost of bags for business owners as the new bags are reusable.

Source: Posted June 12, 2019; retrieved from: https://ewnews.com/ferreira-bahamas-to-join-more-than-40-countries-that-has-banned-plastic-bags

While we applaud the Bahamas for this tardy effort; it must be acknowledged that it is: so little; so late!

It is very apropos to Encore that previous blog-commentary from August 21, 2018. See that blog-commentary here-now:

——————–

Go Lean Commentary – Plastics and Styrofoam – A Mitigation Plan

So where do all the used plastics – and Styrofoam – go?

In a landfill …

… and may not degrade for a thousand years!

But for the ones that end up in the water (oceans and seas), they too do not degrade. They linger, pollute and disrupt eco-systems.

No one can just “stick their head in the sand”; this issue must be addressed, the crisis must be assuaged, the threat must be mitigated. See this crisis as depicted in this VIDEO here:

VIDEO – How Much Plastic is in the Ocean? – https://youtu.be/YFZS3Vh4lfI

It’s Okay To Be Smart

Published on Mar 28, 2017 – What can you do to make the oceans plastic-free?

Ocean plastic pollution is a massive environmental problem. Millions of tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year, even plastic that goes in the trash can often ends up in the sea! This week we learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and look at the dangers ocean plastic poses to ocean animals. Plus, a few tips for you to reduce your own plastic use!

Sample Resources

Plastic Oceans Foundation: http://www.plasticoceans.org/

United Nations “Clean Seas” program: http://www.cleanseas.org/

Ocean plastic pollution resources from Monterey Bay Aquarium: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/c…

Category: Education

Welcome to the Caribbean! We are 30 member-states in an all-coastal region – with many archipelagos (i.e. the Bahamas alone features over 700 islands). We have a lot of waterways and seascapes to contend with … and manage! So this global problem of plastics and Styrofoam is a local problem too.

Think global; act local!

What are we doing in our Caribbean region to mitigate the problem of plastics and Styrofoam? One member-state, St. Lucia, has proposed something; see the full news story here:

Title: Saint Lucia to ban Styrofoam and plastics

August 13th, 2018 – Saint Lucia plans to phase-out Styrofoam food service containers and plastics, both plates and cups, beginning December 1, 2018, with a total ban on their importation before the end of next year.

The announcement came in a statement from Minister of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Doctor Gale Rigobert.

Rigobert said the Government of Saint Lucia is cognizant of the negative impact on the environment and human health from food service containers made from Polystyrene and Expanded Polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam, along with Plastics.

However, she observed that the administration recognises that the healthier alternative to these products, such as biodegradable and compostable food service containers, are more costly.

” We are doing our very best to alleviate this issue,” the minister explained.

She disclosed that over the last few months, the Department of Sustainable Development, in partnership with other key agencies such as the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority, the Department of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and the Customs and Excise Department, has been working towards the development of a strategy to eliminate single use plastics, polystyrene and expanded polystyrene from the Saint Lucia market.

“To date, we have completed fiscal analyses, conducted a survey of the key suppliers of these products and we have also identified suppliers of the biodegradable and compostable food service containers, all this to ensure that Saint Lucia creates the enabling environment to facilitate this process,” Rigobert stated.

She explained that in light of this, the Department of Sustainable Development will be taking a phased approach to facilitate a smooth transition for all stakeholders.

“The phase-out, along with a ban on the importation of Styrofoam food service containers, and plastics, both plates and cups, will commence December 1, 2018 with a total ban culminating by November 30, 2019:”

Rigovert revealed that in order to ensure adequate sensitisation, the Department of Sustainable Development will continue its campaign to educate the general public on the options they have available to them during this phase.

“With respect to plastic bottles, discussions are ongoing with major stakeholders to finalize legislation that would curb and control their use,” the minister noted.

“I encourage you to join the fight to reduce your dependency on single use plastics and Styrofoam by utilizing re-useable bottles, food containers, cutlery and shopping bags. Let us act responsibly in our everyday consumption and production,”Rigobert stated.
Source: St. Lucia Times – Daily Newspaper – Posted 08-13-2018; retrieved 08-21-2018: https://stluciatimes.com/2018/08/13/saint-lucia-to-ban-styrofoam-and-plastics/

This problem is bigger than just the Caribbean member-state of St Lucia. They did not start this fight; nor can they finish it. This is BIG Deal that is too big for any one member-state or the full Caribbean region alone. This will require a global effort, including some Caribbean mitigation!

But here in the Caribbean, we cannot expect others to do all the heavy-lifting and clean-up; we must do our share; clean-up our own environment. This has been a frequent theme by the movement behind the book Go Lean … Commentary – available for download now. In the book, and in previous Go Lean blog-commentaries, it was asserted that we – the Caribbean region – must do our share to “Go Green” so as to assuage our own contributions to global pollution and greenhouse gases; yes, we must keep our own neighborhoods clean and optimize our own industrial footprint, so that we may be less hypocritical – have moral authority – in calling for reform from the big polluting nations. This sample – as follows – depicts some previous blog-commentaries that relates this theme:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14832	Counter-culture: Manifesting Change – Environmentalism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14174	Canada: “Follow Me” for Model on Environmental Action
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12724	Lessons from Colorado: Water Management Arts & Sciences
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12144	Book Review: ‘Sea Power’ – The Need for Good Oversight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9455	Fix ‘Climate Change’ and other Environmental Issues? Yes, We Can
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465	Book Review: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2276	Climate Change May Affect Food Supply Within a Decade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1656	Blue is the New Green
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=915	Go ‘Green’ … Caribbean

From the foregoing news articles and these previous blog-commentaries, we see the compelling need for a concerted anti-pollution-Go Green effort in our region. We must “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle”. Who will stand-up and lead this charge?

“Here I am, send me” – The Bible; Isaiah 6:8

This is the charter of the Go Lean book. It serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The roadmap depicts how this federal government is designed to stand-up and lead the charge to assuage and mitigate the threats on Caribbean life. The book identifies a list of crises as Agents of Change that are crippling our way of life. We can add pollution to that list. As a Single Market, we need a regional sentinel to be on guard and to tackle these “plastics pollution” problems.

Why regional?

Because the national effort has been unsuccessful; in many cases, even unknown, unavailable and unfunded.

No, individual member-states will not be able to succeed in this effort; we need a regional effort; it is too big to tackle alone; so we must acknowledge our regional dependency or interdependence to have any chance of success. This vision is embedded in the opening Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing as follows, (Pages 11, 12):

vi. Whereas the finite nature of the landmass of our lands limits the populations and markets of commerce, by extending the bonds of brotherhood to our geographic neighbors allows for extended opportunities and better execution of the kinetics of our economies through trade. This regional focus must foster and promote diverse economic stimuli.

viii. Whereas the population size is too small to foster good negotiations for products and commodities from international vendors, the Federation must allow the unification of the region as one purchasing agent, thereby garnering better terms and discounts.

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. …

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

The Go Lean book and previous blog-commentaries posit that the “whole is worth more than the sum of its parts”, that from this roadmap disparate Caribbean nations can speak with “one voice” … collectively as a Single Market and be heard. The international community – the big polluters – would therefore have more respect and accountability to our regional Caribbean entity, rather than the many (30) Small Island Development States. But while contributing to the problem ourselves, though on a smaller scale, we cannot just say to these big polluters:

“You break it, you fix it”.

No, we must unite and take our stand in this fight … to mitigate plastics and Styrofoam … and advocate for change!

As related in the Go Lean roadmap, the CU Trade Federation is designed to elevate Caribbean society, but not just against pollution, rather these other engines in the regional construct as well. The roadmap therefore has these 3 prime directives:

Optimize the economic engines of the Caribbean to elevate the regional economy to grow to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establish a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines over the seas & land.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

So the CU will serve as the regional administrator to optimize the economy, homeland security and governing engines for the Caribbean. These efforts are already important in the fight for Climate Change abatement; so the same can apply for the mitigation of polluting plastics and Styrofoam.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. This is the heavy-lifting that we must do to sustain our planet, region, island and communities.

We can all do more!

Some hotel resorts in the Caribbean have already embraced the strategy of being early-adopters of plastics-Styrofoam bans. See a related article here from St Lucia:

Bay Gardens Resorts discontinues use of Expanded Polystyrene EPS (Styrofoam) products https://stluciatimes.com/2017/02/17/bay-gardens-resorts-discontinues-use-expanded-polystyrene-eps-styrofoam-products/

Change has come to the Caribbean region. This heavy-lifting is the quest of the CU/Go Lean roadmap; to make the Caribbean region more self-reliant collectively; to act more proactively and reactively for our own emergencies and natural disaster events; and to be more efficient in our governance.

If “plastics pollution” is not arrested, then even more devastating changes will come. So there is the need for our region to establish a regional Sentinel, a permanent union to provide efficient stewardship for our economic, security and governing engines.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in to the efforts and empowerments to mitigate and abate “plastics pollution”. It is also time to lean-in to this roadmap described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. Plastic pollution is a Big Deal. We have other Big Deals too, so as to reform and transform our society. We must make our waterways and homelands better places to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Bahamas, Disaster, Green Energy, Security, St Lucia, Transform

What Went Wrong? Failing the Lessons from ‘Infrastructure 101’ – Encore

Posted on July 26, 2019 in Government, Implementation, Industries

“You must have been absent that day when they gave out brains” – Stinging criticism from a High School Bully.

We have all had to contend with bullies during the days of our upbringing. What insult did they toss at you?

Put downs
Name calling
“Mama” jokes

“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. We all survived the bullying experiences, but did we learn? From a Caribbean perspective, we must be cognizant that our development has been arrested; we have defects and dysfunctions in every aspect of Caribbean life. What Went Wrong?

Were we truly absent that day that brains were given out? Answer that question as the personification of the Caribbean region. Because it truly seems as though our personified Caribbean was absent on the days that “Economic Principles” were taught. These principles have been ratified again and again. There are lessons that we must learn .. and apply in our Caribbean society. We cannot make progress without them; here they are – high level – from the book Go Lean…Caribbean (Page 21):

People Choose
All Choices Involve Costs
People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways:
Incentives are actions, awards, or rewards that determine the choices people make. Incentives can be positive or negative. When incentives change, people change their behaviors in predictable ways.
Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices and Incentives:
People cooperate and govern their actions through both written and unwritten rules that determine methods of allocating scarce resources. These rules determine what is produced, how it is produced, and for whom it is produced. As the rules change, so do individual choices, incentives, and behavior.
Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth
The Consequences of Choice Lie in the Future

Once we learn the “Economic Principles” then we learn the lessons from Infrastructure 101; we learn how important it is for governments to always prioritize Big Capital investments – think bridges, tunnels, highways, ports, etc.

The focus must always be on the future.

This is What Went Wrong in the Caribbean’s development; we have not always been future-focused. We may have only ever “put out fires”, rather than investing for the long term benefit of future citizens. Think about it:

How many tunnels, highways, nuclear power plants, solar farm and wind turbine arrays do we truly have in the Caribbean member-sates?
Answer: Minimal.

This commentary continues the July series from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. This submission, 5-of-6 on the theme “What Went Wrong?“, focuses on Caribbean history and why we still have many of the same defects that other societies – think North America and Europe yes, but even India and China – have already remediated. The full catalog:

What Went Wrong? Asking ‘Why’ is Important
What Went Wrong? ‘We’ never had our war!
What Went Wrong? ‘7 to 1’ – Caribbean ‘Less Than’
What Went Wrong? ‘Be our Guest’ – The Rules of Hospitality
What Went Wrong? Failing the Lessons from Infrastructure 101
What Went Wrong? Losing the Best; Nation-building with the Rest

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for investing in Big Infrastructure projects; one that would elevate the economic engines of Caribbean society, for the full 30 member-states. We are making reference to projects that are too big for any one member-state alone, we would need the whole Caribbean neighborhood, despite the language, race, colonial heritage or political structure. The movement behind the Go Lean book posits that we can confederate and deputize the Infrastructure 101 eco-system for the whole region.

We can correct … What Went Wrong in our Caribbean development.

It is very apropos to Encore a previous blog-commentary from August 10, 2016 on the excellent role model the country of India is providing for investing in Big Infrastructure projects to transform its country. See that blog-commentary here-now:

——————–

Go Lean Commentary – Build It and They Will Come – India’s $90 Billion Investment

Here are some interesting rankings about India:

World largest population: # 2 – 1.2 Billion people (Only behind China)

Ease of doing business? # 132 (2015; 130 for 2016; see Appendix B)

That gap, between 2 and 132, is a wide chasm for India to bridge.

What is this country to do? And what lessons can we learn from them, here in the Caribbean?

(Though our population is so small, our Ease of Doing Business rating is equally depressing; the best Caribbean option is Jamaica at 64).

The answer is investment!

Working for a Return on Investments is one of the driving forces of the book (and movement) Go Lean … Caribbean. The book asserts that in order to get the optimal return on any investment a community must adopt the appropriate “community ethos”, the fundamental spirit of a culture that drives the beliefs, customs and practices of its society. In this case, the identifying ethos is: Deferred Gratification.

India is embarking on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. This is a ribbon of development along a route from Delhi to Mumbai, that traverses 6 (internal) states in India; see Appendix A. (India is a Federal Republic, with a President over the federal government, while states are led by governors). This plan so resembles the roadmap for the for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the CU.

This commentary is the 3 of 3 from the Go Lean movement on the subject of Infrastructure Policy. As related in previous submissions in this series, the assertion is that “if we build it, they will come”. This is a movie metaphor, yes, but it accurately depicts the surety of investing in capital infrastructure projects; or perhaps even more poignant, it conveys the surety of failure of not investing. The other commentaries detailed in this series are as follows:

Before & After – Washington DC’s Streetcars Model
Clinton vs Trump Campaigns – Politics of Infrastructure
India’s Model – $90 billion infrastructure projects.

All of these commentaries are economic in nature, stressing the community investments required for nation-building. As depicted in this VIDEO here, India is playing catch-up in this regards with an aggressive plan – a “quantum leap”:

VIDEO – Amitabh Kant at TEDxDelhi on India’s Infrastructure Development – https://youtu.be/8BvMybtJ1-E

TEDx Talks
Published on Dec 17, 2012 – Presently posted as CEO & MD of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation.Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is a mega infra-structure project of $90 billion covering an overall length of 1483 KMs between the political capital and the business capital of India.

A dynamic personality, Amitabh Kant has conceptualized and executed the positioning and branding of Kerala as “God’s Own Country” and later the “Incredible !ndia” campaign. Both these campaigns have won several International awards and embraced a host of activities — Infrastructure development, product enhancement, changes in organizational culture and promotional partnerships based on intensive market research. He has structured large infrastructure projects for diversification of India’s tourism product and sourced international funding through the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and UNDP.

During his tenure as Chairman and Managing Director, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) he radically restructured the organization and turned it around into a highly profitable commercial enterprise. He also has wide ranging experience in innovative technical and financial structuring of Private — Public — Partnership in infrastructure projects and implemented the Calicut Airport project based on User’s fee, the BSES Kerala Power project and the Mattanchary Bridge project.

Category: Science & Technology

As demonstrated here in India, big infrastructure projects are necessary community investments – a “quantum leap” with a $90 Billion industrial corridor along 1500 kilometers. Is it possible for the Caribbean to consider such deployments?

Yes! The book Go Lean … Caribbean details exactly how the Big Infrastructure Projects for our region are to be conceived and achieved, (Page 127), with Self-Governing Entities and Exclusive Economic Zones. Most importantly, the roadmap details a plan to fund the projects.

The Go Lean/CU movement champions the cause of building and optimizing the overall Caribbean infrastructure. According to the foregoing VIDEO, it is important to identify and qualify funding sources for such ventures. There is the need for “new guards” for the Caribbean in this perspective. So there is the expectation that integrating and consolidating to a Single Market will contribute to the fulfillment of the Go Lean prime directives, defined here as follows:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance – including the funding of capital projects – to support these engines.

The Go Lean roadmap anticipates the opportunities of major infrastructure investments. However, the roadmap recognizes that many of the projects envisioned for the region may be too big for just one member-state alone; that it will take regional – super-national coordination. This point is highlighted in the opening Declaration of Interdependence, (Pages 12 & 14):

xiv. Whereas government services cannot be delivered without the appropriate funding mechanisms, “new guards” must be incorporated to assess, accrue, calculate and collect revenues, fees and other income sources for the Federation and member-states. The Federation can spur government revenues directly through cross-border services and indirectly by fostering industries and economic activities not possible without this Union.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries … impacting the region with more jobs.

xxix. Whereas all Caribbean democracies depend of the free flow of capital for municipal, public and private financing, the institutions of capital markets can be better organized around a regional monetary union. The Federation must institute the controls to insure transparency, accounting integrity and analysis independence of the securities markets, thereby shifting the primary source of capital away from foreign lenders to domestic investors, comprising institutions and individuals.

The CU mission is to plan, fund, deploy and maintain infrastructure projects that are too big for any one member-state alone. Crossing borders will mean including member-states of various legalities: some independent member-states and some dependent overseas territories. This brings to the fore an array of issues, like legislative authority and currency. The Go Lean/CU regional roadmap undoubtedly calls for a common currency strategy; thusly, it calls for the establishment of the allied Caribbean Central Bank (CCB) to manage the monetary and currency affairs of each member-state in the region, independent or dependent territory. The Go Lean book describes the breath-and-width of the CCB as a technocratic institution with better stewardship, than in the recent past. From the outset, this stewardship was envisioned and pronounced in the same Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13):

xxiii. Whereas many countries in our region are dependent OverseasTerritory of imperial powers, the systems of governance can be instituted on a regional and local basis, rather than requiring oversight or accountability from distant masters far removed from their subjects of administration. The Federation must facilitate success in autonomous rule by sharing tools, systems and teamwork within the geographical region.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

xxv. Whereas the legacy of international democracies had been imperiled due to a global financial crisis, the structure of the Federation must allow for financial stability and assurance of the Federation’s institutions. To mandate the economic vibrancy of the region, monetary and fiscal controls and policies must be incorporated as proactive and reactive measures. These measures must address threats against the financial integrity of the Federation and of the member-states.

The CU roadmap drives change among the economic, security and governing engines. These solutions are as new community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocates; sampled as follows:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles: People Choose because Resources are Limited	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles: All Choices Involve Costs	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles: Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles: Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Money Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Integrate and Consolidate into a Single Market	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Facilitating Currency Union, Caribbean Dollar	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Collaborate for the Caribbean Central Bank	Page 45
Anecdote – Caribbean Currencies	Page 64
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – $800 Billion Economy – How and When – Trade	Page 67
Tactical – Recovering from Economic Bubbles	Page 69
Tactical – Separation-of-Powers – Caribbean Central Bank	Page 73
Implementation – Assemble Caribbean Central Bank	Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Benefits from the EEZ	Page 104
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities	Page 105
Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives	Page 117
Implementation – Ways to Benefit Globalization	Page 119
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade	Page 128
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives	Page 176
Advocacy – Reforms for Banking Regulations	Page 199
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Wall Street – Better Liquidity from Regional Capital Markets	Page 200
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Transportation	Page 205
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Optimize Transportation Options	Page 234
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Rural Living – Optimize Transportation Options	Page 235

The Caribbean region must learn this important lesson from the country of India: infrastructure is not optional. Put in the infrastructure in advance and it brings growth; it becomes an investment. But play catch-up afterwards and it bears a heavy cost burden.

Previous Go Lean commentaries highlighted other countries and communities that did the hard-work, the heavy-lifting, to facilitate their infrastructural needs so as to better compete in the world’s markets. This is the world that we in the Caribbean competes in – with trade and culture – so it is important to consider all lessons learned. Here is a sample of issues addressed and elaborated upon in previous blog/commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8549	Enhancing Sports Infrastructure for an Olympic dream – Some Day Maybe
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7989	Transforming Infrastructure with ‘Free Money’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7384	Infrastructure for Oil Refineries – Strategy for Advanced Economics
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6231	China’s Caribbean Playbook: Helping Transform the region
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6016	The Need for Infrastructure to abate Climate Change’s excessive heat
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5921	The Art & Science of Impact Analyses for Big infrastructure projects
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3028	India is doing better than many Emerging Market countries. Why?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2953	Funding Caribbean Entrepreneurs – The ‘Crowdfunding’ Way
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750	Good Model: Disney World as a Self-Governing Entity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2670	A Lesson in History of Infrastructure Projects: Rockefeller’s Pipeline
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2435	Latin America’s Dream and Trade Role-model: Korea
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2090	Elaborating on the CU and CCB as Hallmarks of a Technocracy

The Caribbean is arguably the best address on the planet, but for modern life and conveniences, and to better compete with the rest of the world regarding trade and culture, we need to upgrade our infrastructure, and then keep pace with industrial best-practices. We need to make these investments. The returns on these investments are jobs and economic empowerments; (think entrepreneurship).

There is no choice to “opt-out”. If we do not invest, our people will “opt-out” instead, as has been the past experience, especially evident with our societal abandonment rate (brain drain) of 70%.

This past – our status quo – cannot continue as our future.

We must do better!

India did … so can we.

Ease of doing business is a real metric. We can “inch up” the chart and elevate our business eco-system accordingly; India increased from 132 to 130 in 2016.

The governments, institutions and businesses are hereby urged to “lean-in” for the deployments/empowerments as described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This is our “quantum leap”; the solutions herein are conceivable, believable & achievable. Yes, we can, “build it and they – progress – will come” to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———–

Appendix A – Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project is a planned State-Sponsored Industrial Development Project of the Government of India. It is one of the world’s biggest infrastructure projects with an estimated investment of US$90 billion and is planned as a hi-tech industrial zone spread across seven states along the 1,500 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor which serves as its backbone.^[1]

It includes 24 industrial regions, eight smart cities, two airports, five power projects, two mass rapid transit systems and two logistical hubs.^[1] The eight investment regions proposed to be developed in Phase I of DMIC are Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad (in UP); Manesar- Bawal (in Haryana); Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana and Jodhpur- Pali-Marwar (in Rajasthan); Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow (in MP); Ahmedabad-Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) in Gujarat; the Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park and Dighi Port Industrial Area in Maharashtra.^[1]

India needs to employ over 100 million people within the next decade and so this project assumes vital importance to develop manufacturing centres that could employ millions.

The ambitious Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) has received major boost with India and Japan inking an agreement to set up a project development fund. The initial size of the Fund will be ₹10 billion (US$148.6 million). Both the Japanese and Indian governments are likely to contribute equally. The work is already underway and progressing at a rapid pace, with the Dedicated Freight Corridor expected to be completed by 2017.^[2]

Source: Retrieved August 10, 2016 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Mumbai_Industrial_Corridor_Project

———–

Appendix B – World Bank 2016 Ease of Doing Business Ranking

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What Went Wrong? Asking ‘Why’ is Important – Encore

Posted on July 18, 2019 in Ethos, Government, Implementation, Social, Strategy

“There is something wrong in the Caribbean.”

These are the opening words of the 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean. So what is wrong? What went wrong? When did it go wrong? And just for “kibbles-and-bits”: What can we do about it?

These are very important questions that the stewards of the Caribbean must consider and be honest with the answers. The truth as to “what went wrong” is as important as a Physician’s (Doctor’s) diagnosis and treatment plan. If its the right assessment then the right therapy can be put in place.

This is the purpose of this July series from the movement behind the Go Lean book. (Every month – continuous since June 2015 – there is a comprehensive series on the width-and-breath of Caribbean life: past, present and future). This month, the focus is on the “History of the Caribbean Societal Dysfunctions – What Went Wrong”. Other societies – think Japanese aggression or Nazi Supremacy dreams – have had defects and have addressed their shortcomings and have resulted in turn-around. This has not been true of most of the Caribbean; we have not remediated many of the problems that dated back to the origins of our society. Thus this series requires our consideration; notice the full catalog here:

What Went Wrong? Asking ‘Why’ is Important
What Went Wrong? ‘We’ never had our war!
What Went Wrong? ‘7 to 1’ – Caribbean ‘Less Than’
What Went Wrong? ‘Be our Guest’ – The Rules of Hospitality
What Went Wrong? Failing the Lessons from Infrastructure 101
What Went Wrong? Losing the Best; Nation-building with the Rest

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. We must get past the societal defects if we want to have a future. In fact, there is no guarantee that there will be a future, unless we do the heavy-lifting to reform and transform our society. The book Go Lean…Caribbean provides a roadmap for the implementation for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to finally address the societal defects.

What went wrong? We need to know. The opening sentence in the book made the declarative statement that “something is wrong” and then goes on to explain that the problem is societal abandonment:

… instead of the world “beating a path” to these doors, the people of the Caribbean have “beat down their doors” to get out.

Why do Caribbean citizens abandon their homelands?

This question was asked before …

… in a previous Go Lean blog-commentary; it found that the answer to the question raises another question; then answering that new question raised another one. This process repeated … in 7 iterations. These iterations are documented in that previous blog-commentary from April 7, 2016 entitled “Being Lean: Asking the Question ‘Why’ x Times“. It is only apropos to Encore that blog-commentary here-now:

—————

Go Lean Commentary – Being Lean: Asking the Question ‘Why’ 5 Times

“The Caribbean is arguably the greatest address on the planet”, as declared in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. (This “greatest” attribute is defined for terrain, culture and hospitality). Yet the region has an unconscious-able brain drain rate, where 70 percent of the tertiary-educated population has fled.

Why!?

This question has been asked repeatedly! Many times the published answers are really describing the symptoms and not the root-causes. In the end, the answer is not so easy! The Go Lean book defines it as heavy-lifting. The Go Lean approach is an examination of the word “Lean”. In the book the word is presented as a noun, a verb and an adjective; all inclusive of the agile concept. The lean/agile concept is an understanding that value is a derived-result from a continuously optimizing key process, that repeats as a cycle .. again and again.

The Go Lean book (Page 4) relates that …

… lean thinking changes the focus of management from optimizing separate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of products and services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets, and departments to customers.

One expression of the lean methodology that can be used to dissect/”add value” to the key question (” Why such a high brain drain rate”) in this commentary is the iterative interrogative technique: 5 Why’s. See details of this agile-lean technique below. Using this technique, the 5 Why’s needs to be extended to 7 actual Why questions, as follows:

Problem: Why do Caribbean citizens abandon their homelands?

“Push and Pull” reasons. “Push”, as in people fleeing to find refuge and “pull” in the perception (though false) that life is better on foreign shores. Why?
Societal defects – in the region – are so acute. Why?
Societal engines (responsible for economics, security & governance) not optimized. Why?
Colonial Masters did not engage best-practices. Why?
Foreign Policy in the colonies was to just keep them dependent. Why?
Colonizers promoted home country commerce – Mercantilism; slavery in the colonies, but not at home (i.e. Serfism, French Revolution). Why?
European Community Ethos: OK to exploit African Race as declared by Pope Innocent VIII.

See the encyclopedic details and a related VIDEO here:

Reference Title: 5 Whys
Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia – Retrieved 04/07/2016 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys

5 Whys is an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem.^[1] The primary goal of the technique is to determine the root cause of a defect or problem by repeating the question “Why?” Each question forms the basis of the next question. The “5” in the name derives from an empirical observation on the number of iterations typically required to resolve the problem.

The technique was formally developed by Sakichi Toyoda and was used within the Toyota Motor Corporation during the evolution of its manufacturing methodologies. In other companies, it appears in other forms. Under Ricardo Semler, Semco practices “three whys” and broadens the practice to cover goal setting and decision making.^[2]

Not all problems have a single root cause. If one wishes to uncover multiple root causes, the method must be repeated asking a different sequence of questions each time.

The method provides no hard and fast rules about what lines of questions to explore, or how long to continue the search for additional root causes. Thus, even when the method is closely followed, the outcome still depends upon the knowledge and persistence of the people involved.

—–

The questioning for this example could be taken further to a sixth, seventh, or higher level, but five iterations of asking why is generally sufficient to get to a root cause. The key is to encourage the trouble-shooter to avoid assumptions and logic traps and instead trace the chain of causality in direct increments from the effect through any layers of abstraction to a root cause that still has some connection to the original problem. Note that, in this example, the fifth why suggests a broken process or an alterable behaviour, which is indicative of reaching the root-cause level.

It is interesting to note that the last answer points to a process. This is one of the most important aspects in the 5 Why approach – the real root cause should point toward a process that is not working well or does not exist.^[3] Untrained facilitators will often observe that answers seem to point towards classical answers such as not enough time, not enough investments, or not enough manpower. These answers may be true, but they are out of our control. Therefore, instead of asking the question why?, ask why did the process fail?

A key phrase to keep in mind in any 5 Why exercise is “people do not fail, processes do”.

Rules of performing “5 Whys”

In order to carry out the 5-Why analysis properly, following advices should be kept:

It is necessary to engage the management in 5 Whys standard in the company. For the analysis itself, remember about right working group. Also consider facilitator presence for more difficult topics.

Use paper or whiteboard instead of computers.

Write down the problem and make sure that all people understand it.

Distinguish causes from symptoms.

Take care of the logic of cause-and-effect relationship.

Make sure that root causes certainly lead to the mistake by reversing the sentences created as a result of the analysis with the use of expression “and therefore”.

Try to make our answers more precise.

Look for the cause step by step. Don’t jump to conclusions.

Base on facts and knowledge.

Assess the process, not people.

Never leave “human error”, “worker’s inattention”, etc. as the root cause.

Take care of the atmosphere of trust and sincerity.

Ask the question “why” until the root cause is determined, i.e. such cause the elimination of which will cause that the error will not occur again.^[7]

Criticism

While the 5 Whys is a powerful tool for engineers or technically savvy individuals to help get to the true causes of problems, it has been criticized … as being too basic a tool to analyze root causes to the depth that is needed to ensure that they are fixed.^[8] Reasons for this criticism include:

Tendency for investigators to stop at symptoms rather than going on to lower-level root causes.

Inability to go beyond the investigator’s current knowledge – cannot find causes that they do not already know.

Lack of support to help the investigator ask the right “why” questions.

Results are not repeatable – different people using 5 Whys come up with different causes for the same problem.

Tendency to isolate a single root cause, whereas each question could elicit many different root causes.

These can be significant problems when the method is applied through deduction only. On-the-spot verification of the answer to the current “why” question before proceeding to the next is recommended to avoid these issues. In addition, performing logical tests for necessity and sufficiency at each level can help avoid the selection of spurious causes and promote the consideration of multiple root causes.^[9]

————————

VIDEO – 5 Whys Root Cause Analysis Problem Solving Tool–Video Training – https://youtu.be/zvkYFZUsBnw

Uploaded on Jul 23, 2009 – The 5 Whys (Free 6-Page PDF at http://www.velaction.com/5-whys/ ) is one of the simplest problem solving tools used in Lean manufacturing and Lean offices. This presentation shows how to use the 5 Whys, and what to watch out for. Created and presented by Jeff Hajek of Velaction Continuous Improvement.
Category: How to & Style
License: Standard YouTube License

Wow, the root cause “Why Caribbean citizens abandon their homelands” is tied to the community ethos and embedded racial inequalities in the ancient European world. Now that we know – thanks to the iterative interrogative technique – we can deploy new community ethos plus new strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to turn-around Caribbean failings into opportunities for success.

The Go Lean book identifies Toyota Motor Company as a role model for deploying agile/lean methodologies in delivering quality. Quality delivery is a mission of the Go Lean movement. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation for the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). As a federal government, there will be the need to employ agile/lean methodologies to ensure that a small organizational footprint can provide the facilitations to enhance the region’s economic, security and governing engines. For a regional population of 42 million, the plan is to only engage 30,000 federal civil servants, but with a lot of systems and agile methodologies. That is lean!

By being lean, the stewards of this new Caribbean can fulfill the Go Lean vision: a better region to live, work and play. In the end, we would dissuade the brain drain, and then eventually invite the Diaspora to return, to repatriate to their ancestral homelands.

The Go Lean book was constructed with community ethos – national spirit that drives the character and identity of its people – in mind, plus the execution of strategies, tactics, implementation and advocacies to keep the regional government lean. The following is a sample of these specific details from the book:

Preface – Use of “Lean” in the Public Sphere	Page 4
Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship – Incubators	Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development	Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Mission – Build and foster local economic engines	Page 45
Tactical – Separation of Powers: Federal Administration versus Member-States Governance	Page 71
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate to the Caribbean	Page 118
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance in the Caribbean Region	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Leadership	Page 171
Advocacy – Ways to Manage Federal Civil Service	Page 173
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage	Page 218

The Go Lean roadmap presents the CU as a real organizational structure. So all the references in the foregoing encyclopedic reference regarding agile-lean organizations, enterprises, companies and/or firms could apply directly and indirectly to the CU Trade Federation. Yet, the federal agencies and civil servants are not the only focus of the Go Lean/CU roadmap. The prime directives of this roadmap is to reach out into the community and impact the societal engines in these ways:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Previously, Go Lean blogs detailed other opportunities to deploy agile methodologies. Consider this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7646	Methodology for going from ‘Good to Great’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6921	“Live. Work. Play. Repeat” – Need for Agile Rewards program
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6016	Case Study of a Lean Utility to Assuage Excessively Hot Weather
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3956	Art and Science of Collaboration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3152	The formal process of Making a Great Place to Work®
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=915	Go Green Caribbean – Pursuits for Lean energy in the region

The message to the people of the Caribbean region is that the Caribbean’s past is not to be the Caribbean’s future. The catalyst for change in the Caribbean is the CU. This “heavy-lifting” task to implement agile/lean methodologies in the Caribbean is the charter of the CU technocracy.

Now is the time for all Caribbean stakeholders – residents, Diaspora, businesses and institutions – to lean-in for the optimizations and empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. Yes, we can make the region a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Profiting from the Migration Crisis – Encore

Posted on July 16, 2019 in Ethos, Government, Strategy

The Migrant Crisis in the US is very acute right now … and very sad. Underlying to this drama, is the concern over Homeland Security and decency while ensuring Human Rights.

In the Caribbean, many of our member-states are affected by this crisis, either on the supply-side or the demand-side.

On the supply-side, we have countries that border the US territories – think: Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands – so people flee to these member-states – as an intermediary step – in an attempt to “pursue refuge or asylum” in the US. (The US now wants asylum-seekers to apply only in these 3rd-Party countries).
On the other hand, on the demand-side, we are also involved in this drama. Many of those who seek refuge in the US are from Caribbean states – think: Cuba, Haiti, etc.. In fact, in some member-states our societal emigration-abandonment rates are so high that we have lost 70 percent, on the average, of our professional citizens to foreign shores – many have emigrated to the US.

Is the grass greener on the American-side, so as to impact the demand in our region for our citizens to want to migrate there?

Our Caribbean people do leave … due to “Push and Pull” reasons. “Push” refers to the societal defects in the Caribbean that moves people to want to get way, while “pull” refers to the impressions and perceptions (true or false) that America is better.

The purpose of this commentary is two-fold:

to dissuade the high emigration rates of Caribbean citizens to the American homeland.
to structure our societal engines – economics, security & governance – to better avail the economic opportunities related to America’s homeland security.

Migrants have been told that they are not invited and not welcomed in the US; yet they still come anyway; the audacity of Human Rights!

What’s a country, in this case the United States, to do?

Answer: Throw money at it!

We can benefit our regional economy more by facilitating the engines to deliver on the Homeland Security needs of the US; while optimizing concern for Human Rights.

Can we do more on the supply-side to avail the opportunities associated with this immigration crisis? Yes; yes indeed – remember, our previous proposition on Prisons 101.

This rich country – USA – needs lots of help. So far their delivery has been so poor – think: separating small children from mothers and “kids in cages” – that there have been comparisons to the “Concentration Camps” by Nazi Germany during World War II.

“Concentration Camps”?!?!

This is not our words alone; rather this is the assessment by “Concentration Camp” survivors. See the news story here:

For the past two weeks, Americans have debated whether the notoriously cramped and dirty detention centers on the southern border can be called “concentration camps.” For at least one Holocaust survivor, the answer is a resounding yes.

Ruth Bloch was 17 years old when she was separated from her family. While living in Holland in 1942, her father, mother, and brother were arrested and sent to concentration camps, where they were eventually killed. Bloch remained in Holland working as a seamstress at a fur factory, sewing fur-lined coats for German troops. She was eventually sent to Vught concentration camp in Holland in 1943, before being eventually transported to Auschwitz.

Now, at 93, she told The Daily Beast that she looks back at that time and can relate to the thousands of migrants, including small children, being held at camps after crossing the border into the U.S. to seek refuge.

See the full story here; posted by The Daily Beast on July 8, 2019 : https://www.yahoo.com/news/holocaust-survivor-yes-border-detention-084846706.html

Accompanying VIDEO:

We can do better than “Concentration Camps”!

The movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts that we should look, listen and learn from this full drama; then we should lend-a-hand. In this case our lending-a hand can be building “optimized” Detention Centers in our Caribbean communities and servicing these “patrons” for the US … for a profit.

(The 5 L’s of leadership progression is defined as 1. Look, 2. Listen, 3. Learn, 4. Lend-a-hand and 5. Lead).

Homeland Security is traditionally a big area for spending. So “Yes we can” profit from this crisis; other countries have done so – ‘catered’ a foreign Detention Center and made money – think: Nauru on behalf of Australia. This is the model we want to emulate here in the Caribbean, outside the US borders.

We have discussed Nauru before; it is only apropos to re-consider or Encore that discussion now. See how the prospect of this business model was presented in this Encore of the previous blog-commentary from July 9, 2014 – 5 years ago:

—————–

Go Lean Commentary – Obama’s Plans for $3.7 Billion Immigration Crisis Funds

If only we were ready now!

$3.7 Billion in new spending in communities that really do not want the activity.

This, according to the below article, is the ground situation regarding the current immigration crisis on the US-Mexico border with children from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The US government, Obama Administration, is requesting additional funding from Congress of $3.7 Billion to better interdict and respond during this crisis. The biggest part of the expense will be the detention functionality for the apprehended trustees.

This is a crisis … and this crisis is a terrible thing to waste!

By: Mary Bruce

Detainees sleep and watch television in a holding cell where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center on June 18, 2014, in Nogales, Arizona. Ross D. Franklin-Pool/Getty Images

President Obama today is requesting $3.7 billion to cope with the humanitarian crisis on the border and the spike in illegal crossings by unaccompanied minors from Central America.

Roughly half of the funding would go to the Department of Health and Human Services to provide care for the surge of children crossing the border, including additional beds.

The rest would be split between several departments to tackle the issue on both sides of the border, including $1.6 billion to the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to boost law enforcement at the Southwest border and pay for additional immigration judge teams, among other things, and $300 million to the State Department to tackle the root causes of this crisis and to send a clear message to these countries not to send children illegally to the U.S.

Today’s funding request is separate from policy changes that the administration is also seeking to speed up the deportation of the children, most of whom are from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The White House sent a letter to Congressional leadership last week requesting the legal changes to make it easier to send them home.

According to a White House official, greater administrative authority as well as the additional resources will help make it more efficient and expeditious to process and return the children.

What remains unclear is how much faster this additional funding would make the process to send children back to their home countries. White House officials today declined to speculate on such timing, but the administration has said that most of the unaccompanied minors will likely be “sent home.”

“Based on what we know about these cases, it is unlikely that most of these kids will qualify for humanitarian relief. And what that means is it means that they will not have a legal basis for remaining in this country and will be returned,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.

The White House has yet to say how many of the roughly 52,000 children that have been apprehended this year have been sent back to Central America. Today, officials offered only the total figure, including adults. So far this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has removed almost 233,000, that includes over 87,000 to Central American countries.

Here’s a detailed look at some of the ways the president wants to spend $3.7 billion to deal with the influx of unaccompanied minors, according to the White House.

$364 MILLION:

To pay for operational costs of responding to the significant rise in apprehensions of unaccompanied children and families, including overtime and temporary duty costs for Border Patrol agents, contract services and facility costs to care for children while in CBP custody, and medical and transportation service arrangement.

$39.4 MILLION:

To increase air surveillance capabilities that would support 16,526 additional flight hours for border surveillance and 16 additional crews for unmanned aerial systems to improve detection and interdiction of illegal activity.

$109 MILLION:

To provide for immigration and customs enforcement efforts, including expanding the Border Enforcement Security Task Force program, doubling the size of vetted units in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and expanding investigatory activities by ICE Homeland Security Investigations.

$879 MILLION:

To pay for detention and removal of apprehended undocumented adults traveling with children, expansion of alternatives to detention programs for these individuals, and additional prosecution capacity for adults with children who cross the border unlawfully.

$45.4 MILLION:

To hire approximately 40 additional immigration judge teams, including those anticipated to be hired on a temporary basis. This funding would also expand courtroom capacity including additional video conferencing and other equipment in support of the additional immigration judge teams. These additional resources, when combined with the FY 2015 Budget request for 35 additional teams, would provide sufficient capacity to process an additional 55,000 to 75,000 cases annually.
ABC News Online News Video Source (Retrieved 07/08/2014) – http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/07/obamas-plans-for-3-7-billion-immigration-crisis-funds/

ABC News | ABC Sports News

The overriding theme of the foregoing news article is the need for professional detention capabilities. Within this crisis, the publishers of the book Go Lean…Caribbean see opportunities for commerce.

The book posits that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs. But while we are building facilities (prisons, jails, detention centers, etc) for our own needs, we can employ the strategy of over-building and insourcing for other jurisdictions. Had we been ready now, with this Go Lean plan, we would have been able to embrace the opportunities presented by this Central American Children Crisis. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices of criminology and penology to assuage continuous threats against public safety. The Federation must allow for facilitations of detention for convicted felons of federal crimes, and should over-build prisons to house trustees from other jurisdictions.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The Go Lean roadmap facilitates the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). With 2 American territories in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico & the US Virgin Islands), it would be a simple proposal to Washington to offer to house these Central American Children in a Caribbean detention center, until some disposition is finalized regarding their individual cases. Then portions of that $3.7 Billion could be earned here, in the Caribbean.

The book asserts that the CU can copy the model of the small Pacific island country of Nauru (Page 290). As of July 2013 the detention center there was holding 545 asylum seekers on behalf of Australia … for a fee, assuaging an immigration crisis for Australia.

In addition to government spending, there will be the bonus of private spending from the visitors and family members of the detainees.

Just like that: Commerce!

This is the goal of Go Lean…Caribbean, to confederate under a unified entity made up of all 30 Caribbean member-states. Then provide homeland security for “our neighborhood”, contending with man-made and natural threats. The CU security goal is for public safety! The CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through a number of missions. The Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

In recent blog submissions, this commentary highlighted the security provisions that must be enacted to improve homeland security, as soon as possible:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement = Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	References to the Caribbean Regional Security System

If only those provisions were in place already!

We console with the communities dealing with this crisis; already there have been protests from townspeople where the existing American detention facilities are located. We also console with the refugees fleeing the crime, violence and despair in their homeland; this Go Lean roadmap is the Caribbean’s aspiration to mitigate against a similar Failed-State status (Page 134).

Underlying to the prime directive of elevating the economics, security and governing engines of the Caribbean is the desire to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play (Page 131) and to impact the Greater Good (Page 37) because “the needs of the many should outweigh the needs of the few”.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Caribbean ‘Pride’ – “Can we all just get along” – Encore

Posted on June 28, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Industries, Locations, Social

Here is a hardball question for the Caribbean:

Can we all just get along? – Rodney King 1993; on the occasion of L.A. Riots after the acquittal of police officers who beat him.

Here’s a softball question:

Can we welcome 3 million tourists for just this one weekend?

This is the cultural and economic reality taking place this weekend. New York City (NYC) is commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots – today is the exact date. Yes, NYC went from oppression and intolerance to acceptance and celebration; even now enjoying 3 million additional visitors for this commemoration.

Title: Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall riots (also referred to as the Stonewall uprising or the Stonewall rebellion) were a series of demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community against an excessive and violent police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement^[1][2][3][4] and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.^[5][6]

Gay Americans in the 1950s and 1960s faced an anti-gay legal system. Early homophile groups in the U.S. sought to prove that gay people could be assimilated into society, and they favored non-confrontational education for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. The last years of the 1960s, however, were very contentious, as many social/political movements were active, including the civil rights movement, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the anti-Vietnam War movement. These influences, along with the liberal environment of Greenwich Village, served as catalysts for the Stonewall riots.

Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. At the time, the Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia.^[8][9][10] It catered to an assortment of patrons and was known to be popular among the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens, transgender people, effeminate young men, butch lesbians, male prostitutes, and homeless youth. Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn. Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested.

After the Stonewall riots, gays and lesbians in New York City faced gender, race, class, and generational obstacles to becoming a cohesive community. Within six months, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gays and lesbians. Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded across the U.S. and the world. On June 28, 1970, the first gay pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco,^[11] and Chicago commemorating the anniversary of the riots. Similar marches were organized in other cities. Today, LGBT Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.^[12] The Stonewall National Monument was established at the site in 2016.^[13]

Source: Retrieved June 28, 2019; see the full encyclopedic reference at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

So, they learned “to get along”.

And now they are laughing “all the way to the bank” …

VIDEO – Pride, passion, progress: Inside Stonewall’s impact 50 years later – https://www.today.com/video/pride-passion-progress-inside-stonewall-s-impact-50-years-later-62866501801

Posted June 28, 2019 – As New York City preps to celebrate World Pride this weekend, NBC’s Joe Fryer goes inside The Stonewall Inn, the historic landmark that sparked the modern movement for LGBTQ rights. He hears from those who took part in the uprising 50 years ago.

There is a lesson here for us in the Caribbean.

We have a long way to go for some of our communities in the Caribbean to be a more tolerant society. But we must walk-trot-run this journey; we must reflect a more pluralistic democracy; we must learn to “live and let live”.

And if we want to double-down on tourism – we do – then we cannot invite people to enjoy our hospitality but then condemn them – in words and actions – for their lifestyle choices.

This – 50th Anniversary of Stonewall – is not our first close-examination of the toleration of the Caribbean or visiting LGBT community. In fact, now is a good time to Encore the blog-commentary from July 2, 2015 lamenting the harsh treatment in Jamaica for their LGBT citizens.

See a related news-commentary here:

Title: Stonewall 50: Don’t Forget the Black & Brown LGBTQ Struggle
Sub-title: Black queer and transgender people have always had to remind the rest of the community of [their] prominence —despite the fact that the movement was co-led by [them] since the beginning.
Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/stonewall-50-dont-forget-the-black-and-brown-lgbtq-struggle

The world have adopted a more tolerant stance – so must we in the Caribbean. See that Encore here as follows:

————-

Go Lean Commentary – Buggery in Jamaica – ‘Say It Ain’t So’!

This commentary has asserted that the Caribbean region can be a better society than the United States of America. Yes, we can!

But to even start the discussion, we must first:

Live and let live!

The topic of intolerance has been acute in the news as of late. We have the extreme example of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) beheading non-Muslims because… well, just because. And the example of the US legalizing Gay Marriage may be considered too tolerant for some people’s good taste.

Where does the Caribbean fit in this discussion?

If ISIS is one end of a scale and Gay Marriage in America is another end, then one Caribbean member-state, Jamaica, would be closer to …

ISIS!

Yes, it is that bad. Say it ain’t so.

See Appendix-VIDEO’s below …

While this commentary directly targets Jamaica, the majority of the countries and overseas territories of the former British Empire, still criminalize sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. This has been described as being the result of “the major historical influence” or legacy of the British Empire. In most cases, it was former colonial administrators that established anti-gay legislation or sodomy acts during the 19^th century; see Appendix below. The majority of countries then retained these laws following independence.^[1][2].

There is an effort now to transform society in Jamaica (and other countries) in this regards. There are Gay Pride Activities being planned for this Summer of 2015. See the relevant news article here:

Title: J-FLAG Is Planning Gay Pride Activities, But No Parade For August – Exec
Source: Jamaica Gleaner Daily Newspaper Online Site; posted June 30, 2015; retrieved from: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20150630/j-flag-planning-gay-pride-activities-no-parade-august-exec

Local gay lobby, J-FLAG, is refuting reports that it will host a road parade in August when the group plans to have a series of gay pride activities.

Social media has been abuzz since yesterday following a report that the group would host a parade, similar to what is done in the United States and other countries.

However, executive director of J-FLAG, Dane Lewis, says the report is wrong, adding that Jamaica is not ready for such an event.

Meanwhile, he says the group is planning a week-long series of activities starting on Emancipation Day, August 1, to mark growing tolerance for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

Some years ago, an attempt to host a gay parade was thwarted after anti-gay supporters reportedly planned attacks against marchers.

Jamaica is accused of being one of the most homophobic places on earth.

Last week, the US government released a report noting that anti-gay laws and the dancehall culture are responsible for perpetuating homophobia in Jamaica.
Additional reference sources: http://jflag.org/

———–

VIDEO: Executive Director of JFLAG, Dane Lewis: “We Are Jamaicans” – https://youtu.be/sJ-17R5DCoI

Published on Jan 17, 2013 – “We Are Jamaicans” is funded with the kind support of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) through its Global Fund Vulnerablised Project.

Building a diverse society is not easy. The book Go Lean … Caribbean describes the challenge as heavy-lifting. Though the US had failed at this challenge, it proudly boasts that it got better with every generation. The Caribbean on the other hand, leaves much to be desired in terms of the willingness to change and keep pace with progressive societies. (Now the US, Canada, Ireland and other countries have legalized Gay Marriage).

In a previous blog-commentaries, this defect – Homosexual Intolerance – was listed among the blatant human rights abuses in the region.

This is an important consideration for the planners of Caribbean empowerment. The Caribbean, a region where unfortunately, we have NOT … tried to be as tolerant as may be required, expected and just plain moral.

We must do better!

The book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts that Caribbean society’s prosperity has been hindered with a high abandonment rate – reported at 70% for educated classes region-wide, but an even higher 85% in Jamaica. The primary mission of the Go Lean book is to “battle” against the “push-and-pull” factors that draw so many of our Caribbean citizens away from their homelands to go to more progressive countries.

The Go Lean book campaigns to lower the “push” factors!

The purpose of the Go Lean book is to fix the Caribbean; to be better. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to pursue the quest to elevate the Caribbean region through empowerments in economics, security and governance. It is the assertion that Caribbean citizens can stay home and effect change in their homelands more effectively than going to some foreign countries to find opportunities for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The book therefore asserts that the region can turn-around from failing assessments by applying best-practices, and forging new societal institutions to impact the Greater Good for all the Caribbean. This point was pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 10 – 14) with these acknowledgements and statements:

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

xxxiii. Whereas lessons can be learned and applied from the study of the recent history of other societies, the Federation must formalize statutes and organizational dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of communities like … Egypt. On the other hand, the Federation must also implement the good examples learned from developments/ communities like New York City, … Canada, … and tenants of the US Constitution.

The CU/Go Lean vision to elevate Caribbean society must also consider the issue of image. There is the need for a sentinel role for Caribbean image, as there are a lot of times that Caribbean life and people are denigrated in the media: news, film, TV, books, magazines. It’s unfortunate when we are guilty of scathing allegations. The Go Lean roadmap calls for the CU to assume a role of protecting and projecting positive Caribbean images. The plan is to use cutting edge delivery of best practices; the applicable CU agencies will employ strategies, tactics and implementations to impact the Go Lean prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines and mitigate challenges/threats to public safety for all citizens… LGBT or straight.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Jamaica has a failing economy.

Jamaica’s primary economic driver is tourism. So …

Is the Caribbean ready for this economic activity? A bridge too far, too soon?

Jamaica has a long way to go; the country has been described by some Human Rights groups as the most homophobic place on Earth because of the high level of violent crime directed at LGBT people; (Padgett, Tim: “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?”. Time Magazine posted 12 April 2006). The United States Department of State said that in 2012, “homophobia was [unacceptably] widespread in the country” (2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Jamaica, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, pages 20-22). As depicted in the VIDEO below, even President Obama indicted the island on a recent official State Visit.

Why is this country’s homophobia so acute compared to other countries? For one, they have held on emphatically to the British Laws on Buggery – see Appendix below – from their colonial days; even though the host country of England has already abandoned the laws (in 1967).

Jamaica is partying like it’s 1899!

This is therefore a matter of community ethos. The Go Lean book defines community ethos as the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; the dominant assumptions of a people or period. This tropical paradise of Jamaica, as defined in the foregoing news article and VIDEO continues to spur bad attitudes, bad ideas, bad speech and bad actions towards the LGBT community. This is unbecoming of a progressive society in 2015.

Alas, this is a crisis…for victims and their loved ones. The Go Lean book posits that this crisis can be averted, that the crisis is a “terrible thing to waste”. The Go Lean roadmap seeks to optimize the eco-systems for Jamaica and the entire Caribbean. The book stresses new community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to transform and turn-around the eco-systems of the regional society. These points are detailed in the book as follows:

Who We Are – SFE Foundation – Comprised of Caribbean Diaspora	Page 8
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederate all 30 member-states into a Single Market	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Build and foster local economic engines	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Repatriate the Diaspora, even Minorities like those of the LGBT community	Page 46
Tactical – Ways to Foster a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Growing the Economy to $800 Billion GDP	Page 68
Tactical – Separation-of-Powers – CU Federal Government versus Member-State Governance	Page 71
Anatomy of Advocacies – Examples of Individuals Who Made Impact	Page 122
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Homeland Security Pact	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices – Minority and Human Rights	Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from US Constitution – Equal Protection for all Minorities	Page 145
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance – For All Citizens	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract – Security against “Bad Actors”	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice – Internal Affairs Reporting Line	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Remediate and Mitigate Crime – Hate Crime Qualifiers	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism – Consider Bullying as Junior Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Youth – Collaborating with Foundations	Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Jamaica	Page 239
Advocacy – Ways to Impact British Territories	Page 245

Looking at the disposition of the island nation of Jamaica’s, we see that its societal engines are failing.

Could the investment in the diversity of its people be at the root of the problem?

The failing indices and metrics of Jamaica have been considered in previous blog/commentaries; see sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4840	Jamaican Poll: ‘Bring back the British!’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3694	Looking for a job in Jamaica, go to Canada
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2830	Jamaica’s Public Pension Under-funded
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica to receive World Bank funds to help in crime fight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=313	What’s Holding Back Jamaica’s Reforms

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to empower and elevate Caribbean societal engines to make Jamaica, and the rest of the Caribbean, better places to live, work and play … for all citizens, including the LGBT communities.

Most of the Jamaican Diaspora that has abandoned the island now lives in the US, Canada or the UK. Their new home-communities are more tolerant societies of their LGBT neighbors.

Perhaps, there is some correlation.

This commentary is not urging the abandonment of the Judeo-Christian moral code; Jesus Christ instructed to “let them be” at Luke 22:51 (The Message Translation). Rather this commentary urges tolerance and moderation: Live and let live!

Fight the hate!

Yes, we can … do this. Yes, we must do this. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
———–

Appendix VIDEO: US President Obama’s LGBT comments at Youth Leaders Town Hall – https://youtu.be/636mgw1THpc?t=5m1s

Published on Apr 9, 2015 – President Obama delivers remarks and answers questions at a town hall with Young Leaders of the Americas at University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. April 9, 2015.
———–

Appendix VIDEO: Gay rights in Jamaica – https://youtu.be/_nSgMGoBAmU

———–

Appendix – Encyclopedic Reference: Buggery in English Common Law

The British English term buggery is very close in meaning to the term sodomy, often used interchangeably in law and popular speech. It may also be a specific common law offenceencompassing both sodomy and bestiality.

In English law “buggery” was first used in the Buggery Act 1533, while Section 61 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, entitled “Sodomy and Bestiality”, defined punishments for “the abominable Crime of Buggery, committed either with Mankind or with any Animal”. The definition of “buggery” was not specified in these or any statute, but rather established by judicial precedent.^[1] Over the years the courts have defined buggery as including either [of these]:

anal intercourse or oral intercourse by a man with a man or woman^[2] or
vaginal intercourse by either a man or a woman with an animal,^[3]

But [no other] form of “unnatural intercourse”^[4] [was defined], the implication being that anal sex with an animal would not constitute buggery. Such a case has not, to date, come before the courts of a common law jurisdiction in any reported decision. However, it seems highly improbable that a person would be exculpated of a crime associated with sex with animals only by reason of the fact that penetration involved the anus rather than the vagina. In the 1817 case of Rex v. Jacobs, the Crown Court ruled that oral intercourse, even with an underage and/or non-consenting person, did not constitute buggery or sodomy.^[4]

At common law consent was not a defence^[5] nor was the fact that the parties were married.^[6] In the UK, the punishment for buggery was reduced from hanging to life imprisonment by the Offences against the Person Act 1861. As with the crime of rape, buggery required that penetration must have occurred, but ejaculation is not necessary.^[7]

Most common law jurisdictions have now modified the law to permit anal sex between consenting adults.^[8] Hong Kong did so retroactively in 1990, barring prosecution for “crimes against nature” committed before the Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 1990 entered into force except those that would still have constituted a crime if they had been done thereafter. In England and Wales, homosexual buggery was decriminalised in 1967 with an age of consent at 21 years, whereas all heterosexual intercourse had an age of consent at 16 years. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 did not fully remove buggery as a concept in United Kingdom law, as the previous law is retained for complainants (consensual or “pseudo-consensual”) under the age of 16, or 18 with regards to an adult perceived to be in a “position of trust”. As the law stands, buggery is still charged, exclusively regarding “pseudo-consensual” anal intercourse with those under 16/18, because children cannot legally consent to buggery although they may appear to do so. Rape is charged when the penetration is clearly not consensual. Buggery with an animal is still unlawful under Section 69 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

In the Republic of Ireland, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 abolished the offence of “buggery between persons”.^[9] For some years prior to 1993, criminal prosecution had not been made for buggery between consenting adults. The 1993 Act created an offence of “buggery with a person under the age of 17 years”,^[10] penalised similar to statutory rape, which also had 17 years as the age of consent. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 replaced this offence with “defilement of a child”, encompassing both “sexual intercourse” and “buggery”.^[11] Buggery with an animal is still unlawful under Section 69 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. In 2012 a man was convicted of this offence for supplying a dog in 2008 to a woman who had intercourse with it and died.^[12]

Etymology – The word bugger and buggery are still commonly used in modern English as a mild exclamation. “Buggery” is also synonymous with anal sex.

The word “bugger” was derived, via the French bougre, from Bulgar, that is, “Bulgarian”, meaning the medieval Bulgarian heretical sect of the Bogomils, which spread into Western Europe and was claimed by the established church to be devoted to the practice of sodomy.^[13] “Buggery” first appears in English in 1330, though “bugger” in a sexual sense is not recorded until 1555.^[14]

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buggery)

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‘Free Market’ Versus … Common Pool Resources

Posted on June 24, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Locations

Go Lean Commentary

Socialism-Communism – a reference to any heavy-handed centrally controlled governance – is one way to govern the natural resources for the betterment of the people. But after 100 years of failed experimentations, the conclusion is valid that socialistic-communistic practices are defective and deficient. We do not want this – any further – in the Caribbean.

[Pure] Capitalism, on the other hand, provides a few models for managing natural resources to help the national economy; think leases, exploration rights and exclusive franchises. Ancient European powers had their track records of Papal Charters and Royal Charters. Among Republican governments, the American experience is most noted for anecdotes of the government extending exploration rights to private institutions and individuals: think mines and oil fields. (Or development rights like railroads). After hundreds of years of exploitation and abuse, Crony-Capitalistic practices have emerged as an “Enemy of the [Common] People.

What we want is simpler policies and practices intended for the Greater Good. (This ethos was defined by Jeremy Bentham, who lived 1748 – 1832, as: “the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong”).

This was the academic challenge: devising a better way to manage a country’s natural resources. The best answer thus far:

The Commons.

… and this turned out to be the culmination of one woman’s work; and she won the Nobel Prize for it. (To this date, she remains the only woman to ever win the Nobel Prize in Economics.^[5]). See VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Elinor Ostrom on managing “Common Pool” Resources – https://youtu.be/D1xwV2UDPAg

OECD
Published on Jun 28, 2011 – Elinor Ostrom, Nobel laureate in economic sciences, talks about managing “common pool” resources like forests or fisheries, where one person’s use means less is available for others.

Category: News & Politics

Well done, Dr. Elinor Ostrom. Her life’s work was proving to the world that there is a better way to manage Common Pool Resources without government or private control – think: no Socialism and no Crony-Capitalism. This summation was provided in the book Go Lean … Caribbean under the advocacy title “10 Ways to Better Manage Natural Resources“. The book (Page 183) first states this definition of Common Pool Resources:

The Bottom Line on Common Pool Resources

The 2009 Nobel Prize winning economist Elinor Ostrom (1933 – 2012), a Political Science Professor at Indiana University, received the award for her landmark work on the management of common pool resources. Her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons, showed how groups work together to manage common resources such as water supplies, fish and lobster stocks, and pastures through collective property rights. She showed that common pool resources can be effectively managed collectively, even without government or private control, as long as those using the resource are physically close to it and have a relationship with each other. Because outsiders and government agencies don’t understand local conditions or norms, and lack relationships with the community, they may manage common resources poorly. By contrast, insiders who are given a say in resource management will self police to insure that all participants follow the community’s rules.

——–
The Go Lean book asserts that there are best-practices that we can adopt in the Caribbean to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play.

There are a lot of Natural Resources that must be managed in the Caribbean region, consider: the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea, the waterways between the islands, the river borders with foreign countries, etc.. Most importantly, there is the need to manage the Fish & Seafood Stock in the region. This is one of the foremost reasons that the member-states of the region need to confederate a super-national agency in the first place. The Go Lean book introduces the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) for this purpose. The problem in this region is the same problem as in most other regions of the world; this is what the academic exercises were trying to address:

It was long unanimously held among economists that natural resources that were collectively used by their users would be over-exploited and destroyed in the long-term. Elinor Ostrom disproved this idea by conducting field studies on how people in small, local communities manage shared natural resources, such as pastures, fishing waters, and forests. She showed that when natural resources are jointly used by their users, in time, rules are established for how these are to be cared for and used in a way that is both economically and ecologically sustainable.^[26]

We, the Caribbean, need to double-down in our economic engines and manage Common Pool Resources better. This theme is embedded throughout the 370 pages of the Go Lean book. See the multiple references here:

Separation of Powers – F. Interior Department This Department in the Executive Branch manages the physical terrain of the Caribbean, in conjunction with, and on behalf of the member-states. This governance is vital in facilitating the economic interest in the region, as many people are engaged in occupations and livelihoods involving the “land, and the seas”…. This Department manages the oversight of this “common” territory. In addition, this Agency will have to work with foreign entities in the management of common pool resources, like water rights, river ecosystems in Guyana, Suriname and Belize where they are bordered by other (bigger) countries.	Page 82
Separation of Powers – J. Agriculture and Fisheries Department This Department in the Executive Branch coordinates the region efforts in agriculture, agri-business and fisheries. These endeavors will be executed in collaboration and on behalf of the CU member-states. The CU will take the lead in facilitating the food supply and distribution systems to ensure the region can feed itself, more from local production and less from trade….Many of the member-states get 90% (or more) of their food supplies from imports; even fish from Alaska. This department will coordinate the CU‘s implementation of agri-business investments to generate more regional options for food production: common grazing lands, cooperatives (co-ops), farm credit, fisheries oversight, canaries, aqua-culture endeavors, etc.There is the need for strenuous regional management regarding natural resources like fish stock. There are breeds of seafood germane to Caribbean culture that are becoming more and more endangered every year. This includes lobster, conch, flying fish and grouper. … This motivation is one of the prime directives for petitioning the UN for the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Caribbean Sea, the space between the islands. In many ways, this office is to be managed like a Project Management Office, coordinating one region-wide project after another. This department will also oversee the common pool resources for the region. This will include fish stock and common grazing lands.	Page 88
Advocacy – 10 Lessons from the American West # 5 – Common Pool Resources: Water / Public Works There were many environmental deterrents to conquering the West. There is actually a continental divide in North America in which minimal rain falls west of that divide; the western states were not sustainable for large populations. Over the years, the US Army Corps of Engineers created canals, dams, reservoirs, irrigation, water pipelines and other measures, in multi-state compacts. The CU must also engineer multi-state public works projects to improve economies.	Page 142
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Better Manage Natural Resources # 1 – Lean in for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) treaty. This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby integrating to a single economy of 30 member-states… . The region needs joint management of the common pool of natural resources, and this one of the foremost reasons for confederating the CU. First it garners international support for the UN petition for an Exclusive Economic Zone in and near the Caribbean Seas. The CU’s representation of a Single Market allows for effective negotiations with foreign parties – the islands will no longer be viewed as inconsequential. The CU’s Separation-of-powers mandate is germane for managing the local needs of the region’s common resources; it allows for closer oversight of local regulators, but with CU principles.	Page 183
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Improve Fisheries # 3 – Common Pool Resources (Lobster, Conch, Grouper, Flying Fish) Though the waters between the islands may be uninhabited, their resources can still be depleted. The CU will govern the common pool resources to promote the sustainability of fish stock. Fishing for lobster, conch, grouper, “flying fish” and other species must be controlled, with limited harvesting seasons, otherwise there will be none for future generations.	Page 210
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact Rural Living # 3 – Common Pool Resources Oversight and Management The CU will exercise eminent domain to buy a lot of “crown” land, and the Exclusive Economic Zone, to promote as common pool resources (farming, fishing, and mining). This ownership allows for the implementation of proper oversight rules, with local coordination, and best practices. …	Page 235

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This vision for technocratic management for Common Pool Resources completes this series on Free Markets Versus… . There is wisdom to this strategy of managing natural resources on a local level, by people close to the target. Dr. Ostrom presented a lot of lessons in her writings and advocacies. This submission, 6-of-6 of the full series, completes this consideration; the full catalog is as follows:

Free Market Versus: Communism – Can they both co-exist?
Free Market Versus: China – Two systems at play in ‘Words and Actions’
Free Market Versus: Socialism – Prevalent in the Caribbean
Free Market Versus: Cooperatives
Free Market Versus: Labor Unions – Junior Communists?
Free Market Versus: Common Pool Resources – Simpler Cooperation

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. We need the intended community of communism and the Greater Good of Socialism, but with none of the trappings that come with those systems. For managing the natural resources of a country, there is an alternative way, a better way, and that is the approach and strategies of Common Pool Resources. This approach is both an art and a science.

This theme – fostering better management of natural resources – aligns with many previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16000	Good Governance for Local Economic Empowerment
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15359	Industrial Reboot – Fisheries 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12724	Lessons from Colorado: Water Management Arts & Sciences
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12230	Commerce of the Seas – Extraction Realities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4700	Rare Earths: Managing for the new ‘Gold Rush’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3594	Lessons Learned from Queen Conch – Regional Reality

The stewards for a new Caribbean, the movement behind the Go Lean book, present many testimonies of the life work of Economists. This is just a sample list of some that we have featured in the past:

Paul Romer, 2018 Nobel Prize Winner
Adrian Augier, Local (Saint Lucia) Economist
Mark Blyth, Dangers of Austerity
Alban William Phillips, MBE (1914 –1975) – i.e. The Phillips Curve – inverse relationship between unemployment & inflation.
Adam Smith, Father of Modern Economics, (1723 – 1790)

Dr. Elinor Ostrom is in this class of fame and infamy. Regrettably, she passed in 2012, after leaving a legacy for others to benefit from; we are forever grateful for her contributions to the field of Economics and Common Pool Resources. May we all pay more than the usual attention to her productions.

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to Dr. Ostrom work, and to the Go Lean roadmap for optimizing Caribbean economics, security and governance. We can … do better in making our homelands better places to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 13):

iv. Whereas the natural formation of the landmass is in a tropical region, the flora and fauna allows for an inherent beauty that is enviable to peoples near and far. The structures must be strenuously guarded to protect and promote sustainable systems of commerce paramount to this reality.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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‘Free Market’ Versus … Labor Unions – Junior Communists?

Posted on June 23, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

All Labor Unions are Communists, right?

Surely, there is no validity to this simple statement, right?

The truth is … “not so fast”! While the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is a landmark for modern civilizations, it only came about because of the left-leaning interests of its advocates and proponents. (‘Left-leaning’ = pseudonym for communism).

Yes, there is a long history of Labor Unions and communism. Examine these facts, considering an American perspective:

International Workers’ Day

… also known as Workers’ Day, Labour Day in some countries^[1][2] and often referred to as May Day,^[3][4]is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement which occurs every year on May Day (1 May), an ancient European spring festival.^[5][6]

The date was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886.^[6] The 1904 Sixth Conference of the Second International, called on “all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace.”^[7] …

… some countries celebrate a Labour Day on other dates significant to them, such as the United States and Canada, which celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September. – Source: Wikipedia.

[These countries choose dates other that May 1 to differentiate from socialist and communist regimes].

Taft–Hartley Act

The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United States Congress over the veto of President Harry S. Truman, becoming law on June 23, 1947.

Taft-Hartley was introduced in the aftermath of a major strike wave in 1945 and 1946. Though it was enacted by the Republican-controlled 80th Congress, the law received significant support from congressional Democrats, many of whom joined with their Republican colleagues in voting to override Truman’s veto. The act continued to generate opposition after Truman left office, but it remains in effect.

The Taft–Hartley Act amended the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), prohibiting unions from engaging in several “unfair labor practices.” Among the practices prohibited by the act are jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns. The NLRA also allowed states to pass right-to-work laws banning union shops. Enacted during the early stages of the Cold War, the law required union officers to sign non-communist affidavits with the government. …

Anti-communism
The amendments required union leaders to file affidavits with the United States Department of Labor declaring that they were not supporters of the Communist Party and had no relationship with any organization seeking the “overthrow of the United States government by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional means” as a condition to participating in NLRB proceedings. Just over a year after Taft–Hartley passed, 81,000 union officers from nearly 120 unions had filed the required affidavits.^[11] In 1965, the Supreme Court held that this provision was an unconstitutional bill of attainder.^[16] – Source: Wikipedia.

———–

This history helps us to appreciate two things:

Principles and proponents of communism have been embedded in the history of labor movements since the beginning of the quest to reform the workplace for more workers’ benefits.
The efforts to monitor and mitigate advances of pro-communists have been promoted as an opposition to labor unions themselves.

This is why this discussion is so important.

The Caribbean must examine its governing-and-economic principles. The most successful models in the history of mankind has been associated with the adoption of Free Market options. Yet, all the most successful countries employ a hybrid of Free Market and Communism-Socialism-Central-Control.

This is a complicated subject to master. But master it, we must.

Think of these line items of occupational progress:

8-hour work-day
40-hour work-week
health insurance
sick leave
workers compensation
tuition reimbursements
gender protections
minority empowerments.

The summary from the historic review is succinct: the progress that the labor movements have enjoyed have only emerged because of their communist advocacy.

This is the continuation of the series on Free Markets Versus… . There is wisdom to this strategy of treating workers as consequential stakeholders in the production process; they are not invisible and disposable. So we must consider these lessons. This submission is entry 5-of-6 of the full series cataloged as follows:

Free Market Versus: Communism – Can they both co-exist?
Free Market Versus: China – Two systems at play in ‘Words and Actions’
Free Market Versus: Socialism – Prevalent in the Caribbean
Free Market Versus: Cooperatives
Free Market Versus: Labor Unions – Junior Communists?
Free Market Versus: Common Pool Resources – Simpler Cooperation

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. It seems that the dissent to Free Market capitalism has been good in itself. Right-leaning extremes can be bad just like left-leaning extremes.

We need the perfect balance!

Labor Unions tend to be early adopters and early advocates. So there is a place for Labor Unions in the roadmap to elevate the societal engines in the Caribbean. This is the focus of this commentary, and for the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean, a roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The book presents one advocacy (Page 164) specifically focused on labor relations, entitled: “10 Ways to Impact Labor Unions“. These “10 Ways” include the following highlights, headlines and excerpts:

1	Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, expanding to an economy of 30 member-states of 42 million people. The CU is a reboot of the economic engines of the region resulting in the creation of 2.2 million new jobs after 5 years of accedence. Jobs mean labor unions must be part of the discussion and part of the equation. The labor unions in the region have the potential of being part of the solution, as the CU advocates a “meritocracy” rather than seniority. For unemployment, the CU envisions the Ghent System with “Union” management powered by CU systems.
2	Labor Unions and e-Government Under the CU plan, trade/labor unions will have access to e-Government services and functionalities, (same as Foundations). Therefore, the Unions will be able to access online account management and transaction processing systems to review, request CU services on behalf of their members. They will have the tools to service their charters.
3	Expertise Certification
4	Community Ethos – Automation & Partnership The CU’s mission is to level the playing field for global competition by fostering and deploying technology to the fullest extent possible. Technology and Labor do not also align in objectives (think: The Legend of John Henry). But there are case studies of successful adoption of Internet & Communications Technology (ICT) embedded in the quality processes to maximize the outputs of the labor force. The ethos for Caribbean labor must be partnership with management.
5	QA Adoption
6	Work-At-Home Promotion
7	Federal Civil Service
8	Self-Governing Entities (SGE)
9	Volunteers / Foundation The CU envisions certain volunteers (Fire Departments for sparsely populated areas) and Not-For-Profit Foundations; these ones still need labor protections. The CU requirement is for Workers Compensation for anyone injured on the job.
10	Emergencies – Martial Law – Union Suspension

This theme – fostering better relations between management and workers on the job – aligns with many previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16803	Ready for ‘Free Movement’ of Labor – Starting in Barbados
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16000	Good Governance for Local Economic Empowerment
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14954	Overseas Workers – Not the Panacea
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14191	New Labor Marketplace: Gig Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10869	Bill Gates Strategy for Labor versus Automation : ‘Tax the Robots’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5759	Lesson from Greece – Macroeconomics affects Labor Markets
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4240	Immigration Policy Exacerbates Worker Productivity Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5597	Wage-Seeking – Market Forces -vs- Collective Bargaining

The stewards for a new Caribbean, the movement behind the Go Lean book, presents a sober view of the history of communism.

Labor Unions = Junior Communists = Communism-Lite.

But good things did result! Instead of squishing progressive movements, many companies started a “race to the top” to be A Great Place to Work.

This quest did bring about competition, in catering towards the needs of workers. Yes, by dissenting on the absolute power of industrial giants – think plutocrats – the end-result was more people-oriented labor practices.

See the Appendix VIDEO A for further elaborations on the merits of the labor movement during the 19th & 20th centuries.

There is much we have learned from considering this history of Labor Unions in the Western World (North America and Western Europe): complaints from people on the left, is not just noise. Those should be listened too.

Most importantly, the poignant lesson as a take-away from this consideration is that companies – and industries – can accommodate the demands of labor while not cow-tailing to communism. There are benefits – and continuing challenges – to having unions today; see more in the Appendix VIDEO B.

We can all do better. This is how we make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

————

Appendix VIDEO A – The Labor Movement in the United States | History – https://youtu.be/ewu-v36szlE

HISTORY
Published on Sep 26, 2017 – Analyze the impact of the labor movement in America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Category: Entertainment

————

Appendix VIDEO B – The Pros and Cons of Unions Explained… – https://youtu.be/3YnhxYFmeH8

Philly D
Published on Aug 30, 2018 – As seen first on http://DeFrancoElite.com Subscribe today!!
#LaborDay #Unions #RightToWork

Category: News & Politics

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‘Free Market’ Versus … Cooperatives – Simple Solution

Posted on June 22, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

Can we all just get along?! – Rodney King 1993; on the occasion of L.A. Riots after the acquittal of police officers who beat him.

This should be more than just a complaint, it should be a prescription. A prescription for economic empowerment as well as social harmony. In fact, one of the original motivations for communism was a supposed camaraderie and fraternity among its adherents. In fact, this expression for Brotherhood is usually interchangeable for “fellow communists”:

Com·rade, noun

a person who shares in one’s activities, occupation, etc.; companion, associate, or friend.

a fellow member of a fraternal group, political party, etc.

a member of the Communist Party or someone with strongly leftist views.

Source: Retrieved June 22, 2019 from: Dictionary.com

Is it possible to “get along” and have camaraderie without the communism? Yes, indeed! At the heart of the word communism is the verb “commune”, this means “to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings”. There is also a substitutable concept and simple solution: a cooperative:

Cooperative, Adjective – working or acting together willingly for a common purpose or benefit.

Cooperative, Noun – a jointly owned enterprise engaging in the production or distribution of goods or the supplying of services, operated by its members for their mutual benefit, typically organized by consumers or farmers.

See VIDEO here:

———–

VIDEO – What is a Co-operative? – https://youtu.be/90FL_bBE4mw

Co-operatives UK
Published on Jun 20, 2015 – Co-operatives give people control over things that matter to them. There are nearly 7,000 independent co-operatives working across the economy. They contribute £37 billion to the British economy and are owned by 15 million people across the country.

Category: Nonprofits & Activism

License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

The 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean – a roadmap for the implementation for the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) – presented a comprehensive view of Cooperatives. These were presented as necessary organizational expressions that the Caribbean must adopt. See this definition here (Page 25):

Governing Principles – Cooperatives
As a governing entity the CU will structure many cooperative endeavors to marshal economic and homeland security benefits for the region. (While cooperatives advocate the practice of sharing, this roadmap is not proposing any redistribution of existing Caribbean wealth). For example, the CU will aggregate business incubators into networks, similar to cooperatives, as this is a successful practice in Europe. These networks share best practices and can spread new methodologies and systems across a regional footprint. The CU will task utility cooperatives with the delivery of some public utilities, even a proposed regional power grid will operate as a cooperative. This strategy shares the cost of the installation across the full co-op membership (in this case, the 30 member-states).

So the Caribbean can abide by Free Market economic principles and still have cooperatives. With this strategy, we “can all get along”, come together and work towards common goals.

Yes, we can …

There is wisdom to this strategy of coming together and working towards a common goal. This is the continuation of series on Free Markets Versus…; this submission is entry 4-of-6 of the full series cataloged as follows:

Free Market Versus: Communism – Can they both co-exist?
Free Market Versus: China – Two systems at play in ‘Words and Actions’
Free Market Versus: Socialism – Prevalent in the Caribbean
Free Market Versus: Cooperatives
Free Market Versus: Labor Unions – Junior Communists?
Free Market Versus: Common Pool Resources – Simpler Cooperation

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. We have many role models of communities around the world embracing formal cooperatives so as to leverage the high costs of societal investments; we can look, listen and learn from these accomplishments. This is the focus of this commentary, and for the Go Lean book; the book presents one advocacy (Page 176) specifically focused on cooperatives, entitled: “10 Ways to Foster Cooperatives“. These “10 Ways” include the following highlights, headlines and excerpts:

1	*Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market* – Ratify treaty for the CU.** The CU in effect represents a cooperative with the unification of the region into a single market of 42 million people across 30 member-states with a GDP of $800 Billion (2010 figures). Following the Rochdale principles, the CU will structure other cooperative endeavors to marshal the economic and homeland security interest of the region.
2	Consumer Cooperatives
3	Worker Cooperatives
4	Purchasing Cooperatives The CU will function as a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO), an entity created to leverage the purchasing power of a group of institutions to obtain discounts from vendors based on the collective buying power of the members. In effect, the CU will aggregate the unified market to minimize costs of necessary purchases – an efficient use of supply and demand.
5	Cooperative Banking The Caribbean Central Bank (CCB) is a cooperative among the region’s Central Banks. The CCB will be the sole controlling agent of the monetary policies for the Caribbean Dollar and aggregate currency printing and coin-pressing.
6	Housing Cooperatives These legal entities rents out the real estate they own to their own members, allowing for the pooling of the members’ resources so that their buying power is leveraged, thus lowering the cost per member in all the services and products associated with home ownership. The members, through their elected representatives, can also screen and select who may live in the cooperative. The CU endorses this scheme for adult housing (60+ years) for repatriation of the Diaspora.
7	Agricultural Cooperatives
8	Utility Cooperatives
9	Mutual Education
10	Mutual Insurance and Risk Management

The Go Lean book doubles-down on the concept of cooperatives for societal deliveries in the region. For example, there is the recommendation for fomenting and strengthening the non-government organization (NGO) referred to as the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. See this except from an anecdote in the book (Page 60):

By: Caribbean News Now – (excerpt) – Published on August 31, 2010
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association President Josef Forstmayr has called for urgent action by all Caribbean governments for a sustainable cooperative marketing and promotion fund and regional integration and removal of barriers for intra-Caribbean travel.

This theme – fostering cooperatives for the economic, security and governing empowerments in the region – aligns with previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16172	Bad example for failed Agricultural Cooperative – Jonestown, Guyana
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15858	A Media Network and Cooperative Vision for a New Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15662	Urban Cooperatives – Manifesting High-Tech Neighborhoods
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15521	Caribbean Disunity and for the Need Tourism Cooperatives
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11544	Forging Change: Collective Bargaining & Cooperatives
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7991	Transformations: Caribbean Postal Union, actually a Cooperative
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7384	Oil Refineries – A Model of a Purchasing and Utility Cooperative
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7034	Caribbean Central Bank Cooperative – The Future of Money
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6016	A Refigeration Cooperative – Yes, we can … ‘Stay Cool’

The stewards for a new Caribbean, the movement behind the Go Lean book, want to pronounce the significance of the alphabet letter ‘C‘ to all Caribbean stakeholders.

This episode is brought to you by the Letter ‘C‘ – Familiar promotion from the TV Show Sesame Street.

This discussion on Free Market alternatives started with a consideration of Communism; now we are considering Cooperatives. The assertion is that we can have the needed Community and Camaraderie without the perils of communism. This strategy will also bring these other benefits:

Collaboration.

Confederation.

Cooperation.

Collusion.

See the Appendix VIDEO for further elaborations on the merits of Cooperatives.

Yes, the letter ‘C‘, and the adoption of these C-word concepts is the Way Forward for the Caribbean; this is how we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

————-

Appendix VIDEO – How to stop poverty: start a worker-owned cooperative | Jim Brown | TEDxTuscaloosa – https://youtu.be/LFyl0zz2yqs

TEDx Talks
Published on Jul 7, 2015 – Why is chronic poverty tolerated in America? Is our economic system flawed? Through personal stories and insights, University of Alabama professor J. Palmer (Jim) Brown explores the problem of poverty and advocates a solution in worker ownership and cooperation.

Jim Brown is a social entrepreneur and clinical professor at the University of Alabama. His research focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship. He studied at Cal Poly and MIT prior to a long career in industry. In addition to teaching, Mr. Brown has an extensive consulting background in business startups and operations improvement. His work with non-profit companies and people in poverty led him to co-found The Moses Project, an organization dedicated to the promotion of worker-owned cooperatives in Alabama.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Category: Nonprofits & Activism

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‘Free Market’ Versus … Socialism – Very Prevalent in the Caribbean – Encore

Posted on June 21, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government

Socialism and dependency seems to go hand-in-hand.

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money. – Margaret Thatcher

There are 18 dependent member-states in the Caribbean region.

Then when it comes to Charity Management, we seem to not be able to grow-up and manage our own affairs.

Do you see the trend?

No self-sufficiency … and we have now ran out … of other people’s money.

We need to talk; this is not working; we need to start seeing other people.

I know you love me, but I want, need and deserve better.

It would be such a humorous story, if this boy-meets-girl-boy-loses-girl anecdote was only fictional. But, it is real, and it is us in the Caribbean losing the love and livelihood of our Diaspora, those that have emigrated away. 🙁

So we must contemplate the economic stewardship that exists in our Caribbean region; we must look at the attributes of the competing homelands that have lured away our people and we must do better / be better. That competing attribute is not the Democratic Socialism precepts where we are counting on Other People’s Money. No, it is the full embrace of Free Market economic principles.

This is the purpose and scope of this current series for the month of June 2019; see the catalog here of our submissions:

Free Market Versus: Communism – Can they both co-exist?
Free Market Versus: China – Two systems at play in ‘Words and Actions’
Free Market Versus: Socialism – Prevalent in the Caribbean
Free Market Versus: Cooperatives
Free Market Versus: Labor Unions – Junior Communists?
Free Market Versus: Common Pool Resources – Simpler Cooperation

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. The book Go Lean…Caribbean – a roadmap for the implementation for the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) – asserts that we must reform and transform to have any hope of retaining our young people in the region; the book states (Page 3):

Our youth, the next generation, may not be inspired to participate in the future workings of their country; they may measure success only by their exodus from their Caribbean homeland.

This is entry 3-of-6 for this academic-yet-energetic series. In the first submission, the history of Free Market versus Communism was traced. It was concluded that:

After some debate – 100 years – the judgment is that Free Market economies are more prosperous than centrally controlled economies, think Communist states. Even Russia, the former Head of the communist-bloc Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has transformed and is now a Free Market country.

We lament that so many of the 30 Caribbean member-states have married themselves to left-leaning economic-political systems or worse have not even tried to exert economic independence at all. See these details here:

Left-Leaning Socialist Extremes	Colonial Dependencies
Antigua & Barbuda – does not even allow private property ownership on the island of Barbuda.	British Overseas Territories (6)
Grenada – Flirted with Marxism that lead to an invasion by Eastern Caribbean & American forces to quell a military coup in 1983	Dutch Overseas Territories (6)
Guyana – doubled-down on extreme socialism to where they invited the People Temple to commune there in 1978. The resulting atrocities of over 900 deaths remain a “black-eye” on Caribbean governance.	French Overseas territories (4)
Cuba – After 60 years of a failed communist revolution, the country’s infrastructure is still stuck on 1959. Half of the natural citizens have fled in that time.	2 US Territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands

This is not our first close-examination of Caribbean socialism. In fact, now is a good time to Encore the blog-commentary from October 12, 2017 lamenting a new round of Caribbean leaders begging colonial masters for undeserved bail-outs and hand-outs. See that Encore here as follows:

====================================

Go Lean Commentary – Caribbean proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money. – Margaret Thatcher

Many Caribbean member-states feature a governmental structure of democratic socialism; (see Appendix below).

In some places, socialism is a bad word – think Venezuela – but other states feature an advanced prosperous country despite the socialism tag – think Canada. In general, socialism can be depicted as a scale with leftist communism on one end and right-wing capitalism on the other end. The observation and analysis of these varying states during good times and bad times is that the left-leaning socialism countries tend to suffer from a lot of societal abandonment, especially when things go bad, for the reason as described by Margaret Thatcher above. (Consider for example, the Caribbean island of Barbuda, before their recent disaster, there was no private land-ownership).

So many Caribbean member-states have “run out of other people’s money”, thus ensuring a crisis. Alas, this …

… crisis is a terrible thing to waste – American Economist Paul Romer

The crisis in the Caribbean region right now is in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 that have devastated many islands – think Puerto Rico, Barbuda and Dominica. It is a good time to re-think the affinity for democratic socialism. These natural disasters are forcing our region to re-think one of the hallmarks of capitalism; our policies on …

… Trade; American Trade to be exact.

Yet still, it becomes obvious what the problem is for so many Caribbean member-states, they seem to “just” want to spend other people’s money rather than do the heavy-lifting – Big Deal – of growing their own economy/wealth. Notice this theme in the news article here from the St. Lucia Times daily newspaper regarding the urgings of their Prime Minister Allen Chastanet:

Title: Prime Minister Chastanet proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative

On the side-lines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has been speaking to the American business network CNBC.

Prime Minister Chastanet discussed the recent hurricanes that have devastated parts of the Caribbean, rebuilding the Caribbean and Caribbean – US relations.

He said recent events have showed that the Caribbean needs to diversify in terms of its sources of food, pointing to a shutdown of the American hub for several days.

“The support has had to come from the south because while we were going through this, you had two hurricanes heading up north. And literally Miami was on a shutdown. So unfortunately the American hub got shutdown almost for ten days out of Miami. And so it really has shown us that we need to diversify ourselves a bit and maybe look a bit more to Panama in terms of supplies of food,” Chastanet.

Chastanet said the resilience of the Caribbean is very strong and the region will band together to recover from the disasters.

Chastanet proposed the establishment of a new private sector led initiative what would allow US companies to invest in St Lucia tax free and have their resources sent back home without facing heavy US government taxes.

He said there are great investment opportunities in the Caribbean for American companies.

“Can we not get an incentive, and that’s what we’re in discussions with the US about, that if US companies invest into the Caribbean, that those investments in our books are always tax free that the US allow those funds to be repatriated back into the US tax-free, only on those investments. So 1, it accomplishes getting the funds back into the United States of America. It creates an avenue for the private sector to participate in this growth and brings a lot of money to the table, Chastanet said.

Prime Minister Chastanet is expected to address the UN General Assembly today.

Source: Posted September 21, 2017; retrieved October 11, 2017 from: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/21/prime-minister-chastanet-proposes-new-us-caribbean-trade-initiative

As related, the Prime Minister of St. Lucia – also Chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and a governing stakeholder of CariCom – wants to “count America’s money”! He is lobbying for a law – in the US – in which American investors will have tax concessions on their tax obligations to the US Treasury. (There would be no benefit to the US in this scheme).

He is the Chief Executive of a Caribbean member-state urging the US government to skip on their revenue collections so as to benefit the Caribbean; in effect he is “counting” America’s government revenues. See the full interview in the Appendix VIDEO below.

It should be noted that there is no such bill in the US Congress proposing these measures; so this is not lobbying. Rather the imagery of this whole appeal is just that of a foreign Head of Government begging for money with a sign that reads:

“Will NOT work for food”.

No, this is not the branding or image we should want to project to the watching world. But rather, the Honorable Prime Minister’s earlier words reflect the ethos we really need to portray:

Chastanet said the resilience of the Caribbean is very strong and the region will band together to recover from the disasters.

Rather than looking to the US to solve our problems, we want to band together – an interdependence – and work for our own remediation. This is the theme of the book Go Lean…Caribbean and the accompanying blog-commentaries. “Band together” should have been the only appeal at the United Nations. These words should have been echoed in public forums and private discussions with other Caribbean leaders. The Go Lean movement describes this “banding” as a confederation of the 30 Caribbean member-states, including the 2 US Territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This formation of a Single Market and accompanying Security Pact would usher in the economic empowerments and security/emergency optimization that the region needs.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of this confederation, the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This complex organization structure is designed for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies. This includes Self-Governing Entities, bordered campuses that practice pure capitalism.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines can be successful, but only if it is a regional pursuit – all the member-states band together. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

i. Whereas the earth’s climate has undeniably changed resulting in more severe tropical weather storms, it is necessary to prepare to insure the safety and security of life, property and systems of commerce in our geographical region. As nature recognizes no borders in the target of its destruction, we also must set aside border considerations in the preparation and response to these weather challenges.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Our appeal to the PM of St. Lucia and to the leaders of all the other member-states:

This is not our first hurricane nor will it be our last. We must recover from these ones and be prepared for others, a lot more of them. “Begging” should not be our recovery plan!

On the other hand, the Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

The branding of the CU is a Trade federation, so there is emphasis for optimizing trade for the Caribbean region. Yes, there is tactical plan to establish trade routes beyond Miami-to-the-Caribbean. The Go Lean roadmap posits that with the close proximity of Trinidad to the South American country of Venezuela (7 miles), there could be an elaborate network of transportation options to facilitate the shipment of goods (and passengers) into the Singe Market.

This roadmap is a Big Deal / Big Idea for the Caribbean region; in many ways, the community commitment for the Caribbean may be similar to the American commitment in the 1960’s to Go to the Moon. The Go Lean book relates this on Page 127:

The Bottom Line on Kennedy’s Quest for the Moon
On 25 May 1961, US President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the American Space program’s “Apollo” missions and redefined the ultimate goal of the Space Race in an address to a special joint session of Congress:

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth”.

His justification for the Moon Race was both that it was vital to national security and that it would focus the nation’s energies in other scientific and social fields.

This quest was succeeded. At 10:56 pm EDT, on 20 July 1969, the first human (American Astronaut Neil Armstrong) ventured out of the Apollo 11 landing craft and set foot on the Moon declaring: “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind“.

Other countries have had subsequent moon landings.

Can we get the support of the Prime Minister of St. Lucia and the other Heads of Government throughout the whole region for our “Moon Shot” equivalent, our Big Deal / Big Idea? This is the actual title of one advocacy in the Go Lean book. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines here from Page 127, entitled:

10 Big Ideas … in the Caribbean Region

1	Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market The CU is a big idea for the Caribbean, our parallel of the American “moon quest”, allowing for the unification of theregion into one market of 42 million people. This creates the world’s 29th largest economy, based on 2010 figures.The pre-ascension GDP figures are actually less that $800 Billion, but the aggregation into a Single Market willmanifest the economic “catch-up” principle, in 5 years. Further, after 10 years the CU’s GDP should double andrank among the Top 20 or G20 nations.
2	Currency Union / Single Currency
3	Defense / Homeland Security Pact
4	Confederation Without Sovereignty
5	Four Languages in Unison
6	Self-Governing Entities (SGE)
7	*Virtual “Union Atlantic Turnpike” Operations* Ferries, Causeways/Bridges, Pipelines, Tunnels, Railways and limited access highways will function as “blood vessels to connect all the organs” within the region, thus allowing easier transport of goods and people among the islands and the mainland states (Belize, Guyana or Suriname) – See Appendix IC Alaska Marine Highway [on Page 280].
8	Cyber Caribbean Forge electronic commerce industries so that the Internet Communications Technology (ICT) can be a great equalizer in economic battles of global trade. This includes e-Government (outsourcing and in-sourcing for member-states systems) and e-Delivery, Postal Electronic Last Leg mail, e-Learning and wireline/wireless/satellite initiatives.
9	e-Learning – Versus – Studying Abroad
10	Cuba & Haiti

There have been a number of blog-commentaries by the Go Lean movement that highlighted the art and science of optimizing our eco-system for “Trade and Transport”. See a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13140	Region-wide Industrial Reboot of Caribbean Pipelines
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12322	Ferries 101 – Launch of a Region-wide Inter-Island Ferry System
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9179	The Vision of Ferries for Snowbirds to Head South
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4897	Plan for Natural Gas Distribution for Caribbean Consumption
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3225	Caribbean is Less Competitive Due to Increasing Aviation Taxes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=829	Facilitating Trade with Trucks and Trains
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=673	Future Model: Ghost Ships – Autonomous Cargo Vessels

In summary, it is only logical to expect any stewards of society to “corral” the resources, assets and people of the community to effect change, to elevate. On the other hand, it is not logical to expect others to do it for us. This is a child’s expectation for his/her parents. This is inappropriate for independent Caribbean member-states. The aforementioned Economist, Paul Romer, asserted the appropriate strategic plan:

“Economic growth occurs whenever people take resources and re-arrange them in ways that are more valuable”.

Obviously, this economist was advocating a capitalist agenda, in contrast to the democratic socialism practice in the region.

There is only a 7-mile strait between the Caribbean island Trinidad of and its southern neighbor. It is only logical to consider that trade route when the northern route – Miami – is impeded. Such a tactical plan will allow for resiliency for post-disaster scenarios. A potpourri of transportation options – Union Atlantic Turnpike – to facilitate interstate commerce among the islands and coastal states is a better plan than begging for other people’s money.

To all you Caribbean leaders: Do not be surprised when a hurricane hits. Count on it! There will be more … such scenario’s. Climate Change is undeniable! Destructive storms will manifest! Bad actors will emerge. There is a need for security empowerments along with economic empowerments. The economic solution for the Caribbean cannot be: Counting other people’s money.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the leaders and the people – to lean-in for the empowerments described here in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. It is conceivable, believable and achievable to prosper ourselves where planted here in the region; to reform and transform and make our own homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Saint Lucia PM Allen Chastanet: Caribbean Needs To Diversify Search For Relief | CNBC – https://youtu.be/asg87s29c4E

Published on Sep 20, 2017 – Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, talks about rebuilding the hard-hit Caribbean after recent storms left the islands devastated. Also Prime Minister Chastanet addresses insurance coverage.

Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License

———–

Appendix – Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism is a political ideology that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, often with an emphasis on democratic management of enterprises within a socialist economic system.

Democratic socialists see capitalism as inherently incompatible with the democratic values of liberty, equality and solidarity; and believe that the issues inherent to capitalism can only be solved by superseding private ownership with some form of social ownership. Ultimately, democratic socialists believe that reforms aimed at addressing the economic contradictions of capitalism will only cause more problems to emerge elsewhere in the economy, that capitalism can never be sufficiently “humanized” and that it must therefore ultimately be replaced with socialism.^[1][2]

Democratic socialism is distinguished from both the Soviet model of centralized socialism and from social democracy, where “social democracy” refers to support for political democracy; the nationalization and public ownership of key industries but otherwise preserving and strongly regulating, private ownership of the means of production; regulated markets in a mixed economy; and a robust welfare state.^[3] The distinction with the former is made on the basis of the authoritarian form of government and centralized economic system that emerged in the Soviet Union during the 20th century,^[4] while the distinction with the latter is made on the basis that democratic socialism is committed to systemic transformation of the economy while social democracy is not.^[5]

The term “democratic socialism” is sometimes used synonymously with “socialism” and the adjective “democratic” is often added to distinguish it from the Leninist, Stalinist and Maoist types of socialism, which are widely viewed as being non-democratic in practice.^[6]

Democratic socialism is not specifically revolutionary or reformist, as many types of democratic socialism can fall into either category, with some forms overlapping with social democracy, supporting reforms within capitalism as a prelude to the establishment of socialism.^[7] Some forms of democratic socialism accept social democratic reformism to gradually convert the capitalist economy to a socialist one using pre-existing democratic institutions, while other forms are revolutionary in their political orientation and advocate for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the transformation of the capitalist economy to a socialist economy.^[8]

…

Relation to economics

Democratic socialists have espoused a variety of different socialist economic models. Some democratic socialists advocate forms of market socialism where socially-owned enterprises operate in competitive markets and in some cases are self-managed by their workforce. On the other hand, other democratic socialists advocate for a non-market participatory economy based on decentralized economic planning.^[38]

Democratic socialism has historically been committed to a decentralized form of economic planning opposed to Stalinist-style command planning, where productive units are integrated into a single organization and organized on the basis of self-management.^[39]

Contemporary proponents of market socialism have argued that the major reasons for the failure (economic shortcomings) of Soviet-type planned economies was the totalitarian nature of the political systems they were combined with, lack of democracy and their failure to create rules for the efficient operation of state enterprises.^[40]

Source: Retrieved October 11, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

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‘Free Market’ Versus … China – Two Systems at Play

Posted on June 20, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government

Go Lean Commentary

China is on the verge of overtaking the US as the Number 1 Single Market economy in the world…

Wait, isn’t China a communist state?

Hasn’t communism failed to deliver on its promises to elevate societies that abide by its principles?

Yes, and yes …

But China demonstrates that there is a difference between principles and practices.

China abides by communist principles, but their practice is more aligned with Free Market concepts, especially with their doubling-down in trade, World Trade.

Do we truly consider Hong Kong as a communist state? Far from it; yet it is China; it is part of the “One country, two systems” practice. This means:

… a constitutional principle formulated by Deng Xiaoping, the Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), for the reunification of China during the early 1980s. He suggested that there would be only one China, but distinct Chinese regions such as Hong Kong and Macau could retain their own economic and administrative systems, while the rest of the PRC (or simply “China”) uses the socialism with Chinese characteristics system. Under the principle, each of the two regions could continue to have its own governmental system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including trade relations with foreign countries. – Source: Wikipedia

This is “two systems at play”. This Hong Kong/Macau reality is the most pointed Lesson from China for a new Caribbean. We can employ the Two Systems-One Country approach so as to introduce Self-Governing Entities with their “own governmental system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including trade relations with foreign countries”.

There is wisdom to this strategy. China elevated itself from poverty to prosperity for 1.3 Billion people in just 40 years. Well done. See VIDEO here:

VIDEO – How China became the world’s second largest economy – https://youtu.be/_sV5P_F3frY

CNN Business
Published on Oct 6, 2015 – More than 500 million people have been lifted out of poverty since China’s economic reforms began in 1978.

Category: News & Politics

——–

See additional VIDEO in the Appendix below.

We must do the same … for a new Caribbean.

This is the continuation of series on Free Markets Versus…; this submission is entry 2-of-6 of the full series cataloged as follows:

Free Market Versus: Communism – Can they both co-exist?
Free Market Versus: China – Two systems at play in ‘Words and Actions’
Free Market Versus: Socialism – Prevalent in the Caribbean
Free Market Versus: Cooperatives
Free Market Versus: Labor Unions – Junior Communists?
Free Market Versus: Common Pool Resources – Simpler Cooperation

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. We do have a role model in China, to look, listen and learn. The 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean – a roadmap for the implementation for the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) – made references (Page 64) to China with this explanation of the technocratic process:

Fostering a Technocracy
# 2 – Economists & Engineers – not Lawyers nor Politicians
The concept of a technocracy remains mostly hypothetical, though some nations have been considered as such in the sense of being governed primarily by technical experts in various fields of governmental decision-making. A technocrat has come to mean either ‘a member of a powerful technical elite’, or ‘someone who advocates the supremacy of technical experts’. Scientists, engineers, economists, and technologists, who have knowledge, expertise, or skills, would compose the governing body, instead of politicians and business people. In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable and skillful they are in their fields. Even the leaders of the Communist Party of China are mostly professional engineers. The Five-Year plans of the People’s Republic of China have enabled them to plan ahead in a technocratic fashion to build projects such as the National Trunk Highway System, the High-speed rail system, and the Three Gorges Dam.

China uses technocratic practices.

This is the biggest take-away in studying China.

There is so much more for us to learn by studying the Chinese reality of their brand of Free Markets and their brand of Communism, or their hybrid reality in between. In a previous blog-commentary, this lesson was detailed:

No doubt, there is the need to grow the Caribbean economy; we need jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities, better educational and healthcare options, a safer homeland and more efficient governmental services. Since trade policies (chattel goods and intellectual property) affect all of these deliveries, we need to pay more than the usual attention to these discussions. Trade has also been prominent in the news as of late, with the current American Federal government’s (under President Donald Trump) new penchant for tariffs and the UK negotiating a new trade deal as they leave the European Union (Brexit).

So there is the need for a 360 degree view of trade: the good; the bad; and the ugly. The Caribbean status quo is ugly, in terms of trade, there is the need to reform and transform, so as to reboot our society. But we are not the first, (and will not be the last). Let’s see the lessons we can learn from the trade strategies, tactics and implementations of others. We can all benefit!

Let’s start with China; there are parallels to consider. They need to provide for 1.3 Billion people, and so they are embracing market-based economics. In the Caribbean we only need to provide for 42 million, but we are like a fish in the pond; it does not matter how big the ocean is, we are limited to our pond. This is the definition of scope; our time, talents and treasuries must be designed to impact just these 30 island-nations and coastal states. Despite the size, there is the need for efficiency and effectiveness with market-based economic concepts. This is defined in the Go Lean book as technocratic/technocracy:

The term technocracy was originally used to designate the application of the scientific method to solving social & economic problems, in counter distinction to the traditional political or philosophic approaches. – Go Lean book Page 64.

Is the “One country, two systems” truly effective for Hong Kong, Macau and China? They do have problems. There have outstanding and ongoing political discrepancies between the 2 entities. These all seem to tie to issues of culture and governance, rather than economics or security. See these encyclopedic details:

Title: Hong Kong

Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China. With over 7.4 million people of various nationalities^[d] in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is the world’s fourth-most densely populated region.

Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after Qing China ceded Hong Kong Island at the end of the First Opium War in 1842.^[17] The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War, and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898.^[18][19] The territory was transferred to China in 1997.^[20] As a special administrative region, Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China,^[21] and its people overwhelmingly identify as Hongkongers rather than Chinese.^[22]

Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages,^[17] the territory has become one of the world’s most significant financial centres and commercial ports.^[23] It was estimated to be the world’s tenth-largest exporter and ninth-largest importer,^[24][25]and its legal tender (the Hong Kong dollar) is the world’s 13th-most traded currency.^[26] Hong Kong hosts the largest concentration of ultra high-net-worth individuals of any city in the world.^[27][28] Although the city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, there is severe income inequality.^[29]

Hong Kong is classified as an alpha+ world city, indicating its influence throughout the world.^[30] The city has the largest number of skyscrapers in the world, most surrounding Victoria Harbour.^[31] Hong Kong consistently ranks high on the Human Development Index, and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.^[32] Over 90 per cent of its population uses public transportation.^[33]Air pollution from neighbouring industrial areas of mainland China has caused a high level of atmospheric particulates in the region.^[34] …

Source: Retrieved June 20, 2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong

———

Title: Special administrative regions of China
The special administrative regions (SAR) are one type of provincial-level administrative divisions of China directly under Central People’s Government. They possess the highest degree of autonomy.

The legal basis for the establishment of SARs, unlike the administrative divisions of Mainland China, is provided for by Article 31, rather than Article 30, of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China of 1982. Article 31 reads: “The state may establish special administrative regions when necessary. The systems to be instituted in special administrative regions shall be prescribed by law enacted by the National People’s Congress in the light of the specific conditions”.^[3][4][5][6]

At present, there are two SARs established according to the Constitution, namely the Hong Kong SAR and the Macau SAR, former British and Portuguese dependencies respectively,^[7] transferred to China in 1997 and 1999 respectively pursuant to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 and the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration of 1987. Pursuant to their Joint Declarations, which are binding inter-state treaties registered with the United Nations, and their Basic laws, the Chinese SARs “shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy“.^[8] Generally, the two SARs are not considered to constitute a part of Mainland China, by both Chinese and SAR authorities.

There is additionally the Wolong Special Administrative Region in Sichuan province, which is however not established according to Article 31 of the Constitution.

The provision to establish special administrative regions appeared in the constitution in 1982, in anticipation of the talks with the United Kingdom over the question of the sovereignty over Hong Kong. It was envisioned as the model for the eventual reunificationwith Taiwan and other islands, where the Republic of China has resided since 1949. Special administrative regions should not be confused with special economic zones, which are areas in which special economic laws apply to promote trade and investments.

Under the One country, two systems principle, the two SARs continue to possess their own governments, multi-party legislatures, legal systems, police forces, monetary systems, separate customs territory, immigration policies, national sports teams, official languages, postal systems, academic and educational systems, and substantial competence in external relations that are different or independent from the People’s Republic of China.

Special administrative regions should be distinguished from the constituent countries system in the United Kingdom or Kingdom of the Netherlands. …

Source: Retrieved June 20, 2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_administrative_regions_of_China

———-

Title: Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict
Relations between people in Hong Kong and mainland China have been relatively tense in the early 2000s. Various factors have contributed, including different interpretations of the “One country, two systems” principle; policies of the Hong Kong and central governments to encourage mainland visitors to Hong Kong; and the changing economic environment.

These tensions are expressed as hostility toward mainlanders by radical political actors and ordinary citizens alike. More broadly, it is expressed in a sense of superiority of Hong Kongers over mainlanders, resentment toward mainland-Hong Kong convergence or assimilation, interference from the mainland in Hong Kong’s internal affairs and disappointment over Hong Kong’s declining economic influences. While some mainlanders view Hong Kongers as arrogant, ungrateful, and disloyal, Hong Kongers see mainlanders as rude, ill-mannered, poorly-educated, and dirty.^[1][2]

1.0 Background

The sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. The terms agreed between the governments for the transfer included a series of guarantees for the maintenance of Hong Kong’s differing economic, political and legal systems after the transfer, and the further development of Hong Kong’s political system with a goal of democratic government. …

Hong Kong has more international cultural values from its past as a British colony and international city, and at the same time has retained many traditional Chinese cultural values, putting it in stark contrast to the culture of many parts of mainland China, where many international cultural values have never taken root and where many traditional cultural values have evolved.^[8] Hong Kong is also a multi-ethnic society with different cultural values in relation to race, languages and cultures to those held by the Chinese government and many mainland residents. As a highly developed economy with a high standard of living, Hong Kong culture has different values in relation to hygiene and social propriety compared to mainland China. Hong Kong-mainland conflict is mainly attributed to the cultural differences^[9] between Hong Kong people and mainlanders, such as languages,^[10] as well as the significant growth in number of mainland visitors. …

2.0 Incidents

Tour guide Lee Qiaozhen verbally abused mainland tourist

Dolce & Gabbana controversy

Kong Qingdong calling Hong Kongers “old dogs”

Parallel trading in Hong Kong

Anchor babies in Hong Kong

Racial abuse of Hong Kong football team

Siu Yau-wai case

Anti-mainlandisation motion

CUHK democracy wall tensions

Source: Retrieved June 20, 2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong%E2%80%93Mainland_China_conflict

For our efforts of stewardship in the Caribbean, we look at China and declare the Lesson learned. We know we must optimize culture and governance simultaneously as we elevate the economic engines.

We do want the China kind of growth here in the Caribbean; we do want Free Market-based trade with the rest of the world; we also want a harmonious society. See how this theme – carefully directing societal defects – aligns with many previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=17515	Changing the Culture & Currency of Commerce
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=17464	Bad Ethos Retarding ‘New Commerce’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=17284	Way Forward – ‘Whatever it takes’: Life Imitating Art
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16907	Societal Empowerment – Thoughts. Feelings. Speech. Action.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14718	A more Perfect Union – ‘At the Table’ Rather than ‘On the Menu’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10216	Waging a Successful War on Orthodoxy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13321	Making a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ – Multilingual Realities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5695	Repenting, Forgiving and Reconciling the Past

Yes, we can … do the heavy-lifting to reform and transform.

The underlying motivation of the Go Lean book is to reform and transform the Caribbean member-states. Therefore we need to embrace market-based economics, the way China has. As stated in that previous blog-commentary:

… they [China] only shifted to a market-based economy since the 1970’s, and now they have the 2nd largest single market economy … in the world. While America – the champion of market-based economies – is the largest trading partner for Caribbean member-states, we cannot just be parasites, we must be protégées.

The growth that China has shown is remarkable and repeatable. We can model their successes here in our region; the foregoing article conveyed this:

China, having raised hundreds of millions from poverty to middle-class status since it embraced a market-based economy.

The CU roadmap is designed to drive change among the economic, security and governing engines. The Go Lean book – see below – describes how and when a new Caribbean can emerge using Free Market economic principles and operate Self-Governing Entities along side legacy systems. This approach calls for new community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocates to grow the regional economy and make a homeland a better place to live, work and play.

Everyone in the Caribbean is urged to lean-in to this roadmap to make the Caribbean member-states can offer the prospect to our young people that “Yes, they can” prosper where planted here. 🙂

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

—————-

Appendix VIDEO – China’s Economic Miracle | The RISE of CHINA Mini-Documentary | Episode 1 – KJ Vids – https://youtu.be/MJLpGiHhr8E

KJ Vids
Published on Sep 11, 2017 – The Rise of China Mini-Documentary | Episode 1 | China’s Economic Miracle

Two centuries ago, Napoleon warned, “Let China sleep: when she wakes, she will shake the world.”

The rise of China will undoubtedly be one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. China’s extraordinary economic growth and active diplomacy are already transforming East Asia, and future decades will see even greater increases in Chinese power and influence. In this episode we will look only at the sheer size of China today.

We will then look at it’s threats, challenges and confrontations with America in future episodes.

Watch other episodes of our Rise of China Mini-Documentary:

Episode 2 – China’s Risks and Challenges https://youtu.be/73k3v-AxJvM

Episode 3 – What Does the Chinese President XI JINPING Want? https://youtu.be/nvm0V95yjeA

Episode 4 – The SOUTH CHINA Sea Dispute https://youtu.be/Ea_9CxpF79E

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Category: News & Politics

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