Month: July 2015

Hotter than July – Still ‘Third World’

Posted on July 28, 2015 in Industries, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

- Photo 5

(Source: http://www.accuweather.com/en/bs/nassau/30072/july-weather/30072)

In the Caribbean, this time of the year, it is “hot, hot, hot”.

While that is a hit song by “The Merrymen” of Barbados (see Appendix below), unfortunately, it is also the weather report.

“I just flew back from the Caribbean and boy are my arms tired…from fanning … for relief from the heat” – Old joke-new twist

This is not good! In fact, the hot weather, and the lack of infrastructure to mitigate and remediate the discomfort, is identified as one of the reasons for the brain drain/societal abandonment. (This commentary is an appeal for cooperative refrigeration).

The issue of Caribbean citizens abandoning their homelands is one of the more dire threats to societal life in the region. Why do they do it?

“Push and Pull” reasons!

Push
Conditions at home drive Caribbean citizens to take flight and find refuge elsewhere. Many times these conditions are economic (jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities), security and governance related, but there are other reasons too; consider discriminations due to ethnic diversity or other lifestyle choices.

Lastly, there is the new threat of Climate Change. While this is a threat for the whole world, the Caribbean is on the frontline. Though there is some debate as to the causes of climate change, there is no question as to its outcome: temperatures are rising, droughts prevail, and most devastating, hurricanes are now more threatening. A Caribbean elevation plan must address the causes of climate change and most assuredly its consequences.

Early in the book Go Lean…Caribbean, a roadmap to elevate the Caribbean region, the pressing need to be “on guard” of climate change is pronounced in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11), with these words, (the first of many “causes of complaints”):

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.

The Go Lean…Caribbean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU must advocate for systems and schemes for a lower carbon footprint so as not to contribute further to green-house gases. Plus, the CU must implement recovery measures to respond, and react to the ever-threatening climatic conditions. While this means hurricanes at the extreme, it also includes daily factors that must be dealt with, like excessive heat and frequent power black-outs … during summer months. (The elderly are more susceptible to heat stroke and other ailments).

“Growing up in the Caribbean, summer extended from Easter Monday to Columbus Day” – Recollection of a Caribbean/Bahamas Diaspora Member.

Now, the anecdotal experience is that there is a need to mitigate excessive heat in the region for an even longer season. How do we mitigate excessive heat?

Air conditioning!

But this cure may at times be worse than the disease.

Air conditioning requires even greater energy consumption, (the Caribbean has among the highest energy costs in the Western Hemisphere); the Go Lean book posits that the average costs of energy can be decreased from an average of US$0.35/kWh to US$0.088/kWh in the course of the 5-year term of this roadmap; (Page 100).

In addition, the release of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) in the air-conditioning process is a contributor of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The status quo needs remediation!

Pull
In addition to these climatic “push” factors, there are also climatic pull considerations.

These factors, as related in the Go Lean roadmap, posit that North American and European destinations have been more inviting to Caribbean citizens. Weather-wise, everywhere has “mean seasons”, but it is easier to stay warm during a wintry “mean season” in the North, than it is to stay cool in the “mean season” in the South. Plus with pronounced Climate Change effects on northern communities, the “mean seasons” in the north have been shorter and easier to endure.

This issue refers to an environment – the weather – that maybe outside of human control. But when humans do grab some control – climate control – the northern communities (US, Canada and Europe) do a better job of mitigating and remediating the new acute effects of climate change.

Consider again, the location for the composition for the Go Lean book, Omaha, Nebraska. That community in the American Midwest is notorious as a “land of 4 seasons” and all of them extreme. In May 2013, it snowed on May 1st then the temperature hit 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) on May 15th. Omaha is provided in the Go Lean book (Page 138) as a model for Caribbean communities to emulate. How does Omaha mitigate the extreme climate conditions they have to contend with?

  • Infrastructure
  • Economies-of-Scale

Consider this one example of how a cooling/heating scheme provides the needed air-conditioning for the entire Downtown District:

Company Profile – NRG Energy Center Omaha
(Source: http://www.nrg.com/business/large-business/distributed-generation/district-heating-cooling/omaha/)

- Photo 1

NRG Energy Center Omaha provides energy-efficient and environmentally sound district heating and cooling for the business district of downtown Omaha, including Woodman Tower, Creighton University, the Joslyn Art Museum, Creighton University Medical Center and more than 70 percent of all other public and commercial buildings in the downtown area.

NRG Energy Center Omaha has established a reliability history of “Six-Nines” (99.9999%) for its chilled-water service. Our steam service reliability history is equally impressive.

NRG Energy Center Omaha leverages a variety of conventional fuels, depending on which is most cost-competitive at a given time, and it has also incorporated cogeneration technology – a highly efficient combination of heat and mechanical power –to reduce the amount of energy lost up the smokestack. This kind of technology and fuel flexibility keeps costs down, preserves valuable natural resources and reduces emissions. We also provide the buildings we serve with free energy audits, budget assistance and historical use and cost data on request.

Recent developments linked to NRG Energy Center Omaha include the Hruska Federal Courthouse, First National Bank of Omaha Technology Center, Creighton University expansion, the First National Bank Office Tower, World Herald’s Freedom Center, Qwest Arena and Convention Center, the Omaha Performing Arts Center, and the Lasting Hope and MidCity Centers.

System Profile
Area served: Downtown Omaha
Services Provided: Steam heating and chilled water cooling
Total system capacity: 29,250 tons of chilled water and 735,000 lbs/hr of steam
Buildings on system: Woodman Tower, Creighton University, the Joslyn Art Museum, Creighton University Medical Center and more than 70 percent of all other public and commercial buildings in the downtown area.

- Photo 2- Photo 3- Photo 3b- Photo 4

Consider the photos above; (the building with the mural is a refrigerated warehouse). Imagine this Omaha Downtown model deployed in Caribbean communities. This “District Heating and Cooling” scheme provides economies-of-scale, efficiency and lower costs. The design is a “plant” to produce steam, hot water and/or chilled water at a central location and then pipe the steam and water underground to individual buildings within a specific district. This process is energy efficient and reliable, typically requiring less capital investment, risk and operational costs than systems where each building must maintain its own boiler or air conditioner. The destinations/buildings only need air handlers – much cheaper than full air-conditioning – to blow and control preferred temperature settings.

This is a model of a technocracy. Without these types of infrastructure the Caribbean is just … ‘Third World’.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap recognizes that modern life has expanded the definition of basic needs to now include food, clothing, shelter and energy. And thusly the book proposes many solutions for the region to optimize energy generation, distribution and consumption. There are many lessons to learn from other more-efficient communities. This is the prime directive of the Go Lean roadmap, to apply these lessons and best-practices so as to impact the Caribbean in these 3 ways:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion GDP and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance, including Self-Governing Entities, to support these engines.

As for energy, the Go Lean book posits that the average costs of energy can be decreased from an average of US$0.35/kWh to US$0.088/kWh in the course of the 5-year term of this roadmap. (Page 100). This is a 75% savings!  Cooperative refrigeration allows for even more savings!

These initiatives will take some effort on the part of the community and governmental institutions. This is heavy-lifting! The Go Lean roadmap details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster the progress in the wide fields of energy optimization and cooperative refrigeration. The following list applies:

Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices/Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Model: Regional Taxi Commissions Page 25
Community Ethos – Non-Government Organizations Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations Page 32
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing – Economies of Scale Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Anecdote – Pipeline Transport – Strategies, Tactics & Implementations Page 43
Strategy – Harness the power of the sun/winds Page 46
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Aging Diaspora Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Climate Change Page 57
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 82
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Public Works and Infrastructure Page 82
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Energy Commission Page 82
Anecdote – “Lean” in Government – Energy Permits Page 93
Anecdote – Caribbean Energy Grid Implementation Page 100
Implementation – Ways to Develop Pipeline Industry Page 107
Implementation – Ways to Improve Energy Usage Page 113
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate to the Caribbean – Gerontology Initiatives Page 118
Planning – Lessons Learned from Omaha Page 138
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Public Works – Air Chillers Utilities Page 175
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives – Refrigerated Warehouses Model Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Monopolies – Empower Municipal Authorities Page 202
Advocacy – Ways to Develop a Frozen Foods Industry – Need for Refrigerated Warehouses Page 208
Advocacy – Ways to Battle Poverty – Third World Realities Page 222

The phrase “Hotter than July” should only be a song, not a way of life in the Caribbean.

Energy needs are undeniable. Air-conditioning needs to be readily available and affordable during the “mean season”. This should not be open to any compromise.

Fulfilling these needs is a great target for lean, agile operations, perfect for the CU technocracy. Any failure in this regards results in heightened abandonment.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people, businesses, institutions and governments, to lean-in for the optimizations and opportunities described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean.

Stay cool people! 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

—————

Appendix MUSIC – The Merrymen – Feeling Hot Hot Hot – https://youtu.be/rbc_LxfhSoY


Uploaded on Dec 21, 2011 – The Merrymen recorded this song in 1983 originally on thier album “No Big Ting”, however this version was recorded in 1988 on their album “Hot Hot Soca”. http://www.facebook.com/themerrymenfr…

Music: “Hot Hot Hot” by The Merrymen (Google Play • AmazonMP3 • eMusic • iTunes)

Share this post:
, , , ,

Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages

Posted on July 23, 2015 in Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages - Photo 1According to the news article below, Carnival Cruise Lines is now banning carry-on bottled beverages on their ships. They claim that this move “is not intended to raise beverage revenues”.

Does anybody believe that?

Hardly!

This is the consistent theme in the book Go Lean…Caribbean; it posits that cruise lines have progressively tighten their practices and policies to ensure more revenues for them and less for the port cities (Page 32).

Scratch a liar, catch a thief!

Why so harsh a criticism? Simple: the dynamics of the Crony-Capitalistic cruise industry in the past, present and future.

The cruise line industry was not always as reflective of this Crony-Capitalism … as they are today. There was a time when passenger shipping companies submitted to the laws of the land – the home countries of the ship owners, i.e. US, England, Netherlands, Greece. This compliance dictated that the shipping lines conformed to labor, anti-trust and competition laws. Then the Crony-Capitalistic influence was embedded and the shipping lines started seeking ship-registry third-party countries that are agnostic to community best-practices (Liberia, etc.).

Today the Caribbean cruise industry is dominated by 3 cruise companies (with large percentages of the passenger traffic; Carnival alone had 52% global market share in early 2012), and the fast-growing Disney Cruise Line. These companies are now all publicly-traded on Wall Street – see stock-symbols listing as follows – so they now answer to new bosses, whose goal is singular: increase shareholder value:

Symbol Name

Price Today
CCL Carnival Corporation

51.87
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

83.20
NCLH Norwegian Cruise Line

59.81
DIS Disney (Cruise Line)

118.80

The “modus operandi” is no longer a matter of extending hospitality to their guests, but rather the business ethos – fundamental spirit that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of an enterprise – is simply to maximize profits. This means increasing revenues while simultaneously lowering costs. (In a previous blog/commentary the full extent of the industries’ labor practices were detailed).

This is not a good trend!

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU is a confederation of 30 Caribbean member-states with the mission to form a unified negotiating front in bargaining with the cruise line industry. The CU goal is simple: integrate the region into a Single Market.

Why a Single Market?

The Go Lean book posits (Page 3) that the problems of the Caribbean, cruise industry manifestations included, are too big for any one member-state to tackle alone. Even though some cruise destinations, (like the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and St Martin) have demonstrated some success with this business model, the trend is for the opposite direction. (Wall Street firms try to improve profits more and more for each passing fiscal quarter). As demonstrated in the following news article, the trending is for this cruise industry to extract more and more passenger spending, not share. See the news article here:

Title: Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages
By: KDSK Reporting

Carnival Cruise Line is trying to put a stop to alcohol being smuggled aboard its ships disguised as bottled water.

Beginning July 9, Carnival will effectively ban beverages in bottles from being brought onboard at embarkation. The only exception is a single bottle of fine wine or champagne.

Otherwise, beverages must [be] packaged in unopened cans or cartons, including water, sodas and juices, with a maximum number of 12 packed in carry-on luggage.

CU Blog - Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages - Photo 2The change means passengers can no longer tag beverages for embarkation as checked luggage. In addition, Carnival will restrict the size of coolers brought aboard to those measuring 12x12x12 or less.

In a letter being sent to passengers, Carnival said bottled beverages have become a prime means of bringing unauthorized alcohol on cruises. The line claims inspecting a growing number of bottles was bogging down embarkation, and that episodes of bad behavior on ships often trace back to smuggled alcohol. The letter also explained that cruise personnel cannot effectively monitor consumption of alcohol that isn’t sold on the ships, it said.

“We sincerely apologize for any disappointment these changes may cause,” said the letter, signed by Arlene Marichal, senior director, solutions and special services. “However, we firmly believe this will result in a safer environment while also improving the embarkation process and the overall guest experience.”

Concurrent with the policy change, Carnival has lowered the price of bottled water to $2.99 for a 12-pack of 500 ML bottles, if purchased in advance of the cruise, or $4.99 onboard. Carnival said the move is not intended to raise beverage revenues.
Source: KSDK NewsChannel 5 – St. Louis, Missouri Local NBC Affiliate – Posted June 9, 2015; retrieved July 22, 2015 from: http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/06/09/carnival-to-ban-carry-on-bottled-beverages/28744127/

The goal of the Go Lean roadmap is the Greater Good. This includes applying strategies and tactics to incite more spending at Caribbean ports-of-call.

Singlehandedly, these port cities-member states cannot effect change on this cruise line industry. But together, as one unified front, the chances for success improve exponentially.

The cruise lines “ply their trade” in the Caribbean region (waters and ports-of-call); this is our marketplace so it would be expected that we would have some jurisdiction. After all, the Caribbean is the attraction for Caribbean cruises.

The confederacy goal of the CU entails accepting that there is interdependence among the Caribbean member-states. The Go Lean book initiates with this quest for regional integration with an opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 13); consider these pronouncements:

v. Whereas the natural formation of our landmass and coastlines entail a large portion of waterscapes, the reality of management of our interior calls for extended oversight of the waterways between the islands. The internationally accepted 12-mile limits for national borders must be extended by International Tribunals to encompass the areas in between islands. The individual states must maintain their 12-mile borders while the sovereignty of this expanded area, the Exclusive Economic Zone, must be vested in the accedence of this Federation.

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 [or bargaining] 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. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats …

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 …

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.

This Go Lean roadmap represents change for the Caribbean and all of our stakeholders, including sailing/cruising and flying visitors. But our quest in the CU to elevate Caribbean society is not designed to antagonize cruise line operators. Just the opposite; we set out to be their able-bodied trading partners, not adversarial opponents. We seek the Greater Good for their interest as well, a win-win.

The CU/Go Lean prime directive is 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, including maritime activities on the Caribbean Sea.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Collective bargaining is the key.

The Go Lean book promotes collective bargaining as a community ethos, so as to mitigate the perils of “going at it alone”. The book details the applicable community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementation and advocacies to elevate the benefits of regional cruise line industry in the region:

Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices & Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Return on Investments (ROI) Page 24
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations Page 32
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Confederate 30 Caribbean Member-States Page 45
Strategy – Customers / Stakeholders – Governments, Businesses, and Citizens Page 47
Strategy – Customers / Stakeholders – Cruise Passengers Page 48
Strategy – Competitors – Choices for Cruise Passengers: Pacific Coast, Mediterranean, etc. Page 55
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Climate Change – More Intense Tropical Storms Disrupting Cruises Page 57
Anecdote – Carnival Cruise Lines Strategy Report Page 61
Tactical – Foster a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Shared Portal: www.myCaribbean.gov for Cruise Marketing Page 74
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Regional Tourism Coordination Page 7?
Implementation – Year 1 / Assemble Phase – Consolidate Organs into CU Page 96
Implementation – Foreign Policy Mandates at Start-up – Collective Bargain with other Cruise Destinations Page 105
Implementation – Security Provisions at Start-up Page 106
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Shared/Single Currency – Cooperative Central Bank & Cruise Line Pay cards Page 127
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 Better Manage the Social Contract – Ensure level playing field Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives Page 176
Advocacy – Improve Homeland Security – Emergency Management Readiness Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Tourism – Cruise Passenger Pay Card/Currency Page 190
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Cruise Tourism – Fostering more Port-side Commerce Page 194
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management – Cruise Ship Incidence Readiness Page 198
Advocacy – Reforms for Bank Regulations – Cruise Passenger Pay cards Page 199
Advocacy – Ways to Develop Ship-Building – Cruise Ship Dry-Dock Maintenance – Deal-making Page 209

The issues raised in the foregoing article weigh heavy on a lot of Caribbean commerce. For example, we have a thriving rum industry in the region, with products deemed the best in the world. An objective of rum producers is to market their wares to the 10-million-plus cruise visitors. An unchallenged cruise line policy, dissuading onshore beverage purchases, would undermine this rum industry goal.

The cruise lines have invested heavily in new amenities and duty-free shopping options on board their newer ships. See photos and VIDEO here:

CU Blog - Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages - Photo 3OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERACU Blog - Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages - Photo 6CU Blog - Carnival to ban carry-on bottled beverages - Photo 5

 

VIDEO – Disney Fantasy Shopping Areas on the Disney Cruise Line – https://youtu.be/OvjxlzoetrY

Published on Apr 22, 2012 – A look at shopping on the Disney Fantasy including Sea Treasures, Mickey’s Mainsail, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and White Caps. Visit http://www.wdwinfo.com for more information on Disney Cruise Line.

While these onboard retailers may be in direct competition with port-cities, it is the Go Lean assertion that there is market enough for all these stakeholders; onboard and onshore. There is no need for anti-trust practices.

Consider these previous blog/commentaries that drilled deep on the Go Lean vision and opportunities for the cruise industry:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5210 Cruise Ship Commerce – Getting Ready for Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4639 Tobago: A Model for Cruise Tourism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3956 Art and Science of Collaboration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5307 8th Violent Crime Warning to Bahamas Tourists (including Cruises)
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3889 RBC EZPay – Ready for Change and Cruise Industry Pay Cards

Issues Creating New Cruise Industry Opportunities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3225 Caribbean less competitive due to increasing aviation taxes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2207 Hotels are making billions from added fees
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=242 The Erosion of the Middle Class

The Caribbean region and the cruise line industry must do better … and work together to grow this industry.

In the end, these changes will be for the better; for the Greater Good and to promote a better partnership for all cruise industry stakeholders.

We welcome the 10 million cruise visitors and the many cruise ship operators. Let’s work together … to make the Caribbean destination a better place to live, work and play.  🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Share this post:
, , , , ,
[Top]

Movie Review: ‘Tomorrowland’ – ‘Feed the right wolf’

Posted on July 22, 2015 in Ethos, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

We are now mid-way through the 2015 Summer Movie Season. There have been some BIG ONES. The following is the highest Box Office performance of summer movies thus far in the US alone:

CU Blog - Feed the Right Wolf - Photo 2

Movie Opening Weekend US
Jurassic World $209 million
Avengers: Age of Ultron $191 million
Furious Seven $147 million
Minions $116 million
Inside Out $90 million
Pitch Perfect 2 $69 million
Ant-Man $57 million
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation $56 million
San Andreas $54 million
Insurgent $52 million
Mad Max: Fury Road $45 million
Ted 2 $34 million
Tomorrowland $33 million
Spy $29 million
Terminator Genisys $27 million
Fantastic Four $26 million
Magic Mike XXL $13 million
Entourage $10 million

Movies play a unique role in our lives.

In a previous blog/commentary regarding Caribbean Diaspora member and Hollywood great, Sidney Poitier, it was declared that …

“Movies are an amazing business model. People give money to spend a couple of hours watching someone else’s creation and then leave the theater with nothing to show for the investment; except perhaps a different perspective”.

This foregoing statement sets the foundation for appreciation of one movie in particular from the foregoing list, Disney’s Tomorrowland: A World Beyond which admonishes us to:

Feed the right wolf.
There are two wolves. One bright and hopeful and one dark and cynical. Which wolf wins? Whichever one you feed.

This quotation from the movie aligns with the reality of the Caribbean – art imitating life. The region is in crisis due to calamities and socio-economic changes in the region … and globally. The region has not even kept pace with the “push-and-pull” factors drawing many Caribbean citizens to flee…and abandon their beloved homelands. Already that brain drain among the college-educated population is up to a 70% rate among the entire region, with some communities experiencing alarmingly higher rates: Jamaica 85%; Guyana 89%.

The region is now at the cross-roads: maintain the status quo and watch the societal abandonment and decline continue (dark and cynical) … or … foster change and grant the Caribbean region a new (bright and hopeful) future.

Which wolf/future will win?

The book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts the option of fostering a bright and hopeful future. It provides turn-by-turn directions on how to arrest the societal abandonment and elevate the region’s economic, security and governing engines.

The book describes how/when/why to feed the right wolf!

This book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic agency seen as the Caribbean’s best hope to avert the current path of disaster, human flight and brain drain, and grant the Caribbean a meaningful future for its youth.

This roadmap aligns with the movie plotlines:

Title: “Feed the right wolf.” Disney’s Tomorrowland (2015 film)
Reel Roy Reviews – Movie Review Site; posted May 23, 2015; retrieved 08-21-2015 from:
http://reelroyreviews.com/2015/05/23/feed-the-right-wolf-disneys-tomorrowland-2015-film/ 

CU Blog - Feed the Right Wolf - Photo 1

“Find the ones who haven’t given up. They are the future.” So says George Clooney at the end of Brad Bird’s latest Disney offering Tomorrowland, inspired as much by Disney’s ubiquitous theme parks (from which it derives its inspiration) as it does Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and … Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

In fact, this may be the first children’s film that directly addresses – so darkly, so interestingly, so strangely – global warming among other mankind-created global calamities. I can’t recall the last kiddie flick that depicted so darn many mushroom clouds, or had such a nihilistic sentiment at its gooey center. Good for Brad Bird.

Clearly a passion project for the director, the film suffers, alas, from a narrative lumpiness. It is composed almost like a junior novella, with very abrupt chapter breaks, and an unclear sense of the overall purpose until the crackerjack final act.

Regardless, the journey is an entertaining and worthwhile one, at least philosophically. As I find myself personally at a crossroads in life – looking back at what erroneously seemed an idyllic small-town, all-American way-of-life and now dreaming of a much-needed present/future state when we all can embrace empathy, kindness, and love, regardless our geographically defined boundaries – the film hit a raw nerve for me.

Ostensibly, the film is about Britt Robertson’s Casey Newton, a young, overeager space-loving kid horrified that America has given up on all dreams of galactic exploration. Casey discovers a magic pin that gives her glimpses of a sparkling utopia where we all live hand-in-hand, driving electric cars, zipping to-and-fro in bullet shaped sky-trains, and all wearing flowing garb designed in collaboration between Vera Wang and Judy Jetson (?). (Oh, and everybody in the future is fit. No fast food, no gluten, and, yeah, I bet vegan. Go figure.)

In truth? The film is really about George Clooney’s Frank Walker, a bright-eyed young boy born of nuclear optimism now a middle-aged sot calcified by millennial atrophy. He sees a world that he hoped would be (pushed to be), its limitless potential now squandered by petty greed and intentional hate. The classic baby boomer dilemma.

Casey sparks a reluctant optimism in Frank, as they meet cute, amidst a gaggle of murderous robots blowing up Frank’s steampunk farmhouse. They travel to Tomorrowland in hopes of preventing global catastrophe. Tomorrowland, you see, is an alternate dimension designed as a free-thinking societal construct, intended to gather humanity’s best and brightest in order to effect great change, but now turned to seed. Hugh Laurie, all glowering smarm, is its chief magistrate.

Robertson, who unfortunately has the acting range of a peanut, mugs and screams shamelessly, but Clooney with his oily charm is the perfect antidote. It takes quite a bit of screen time for him to finally emerge, but when he does the film starts firing on all cylinders.

Tomorrowland (the place … in the film) is a marvel of design, taking many cues from but never limited by the aesthetic of Disney’s theme park Tomorrowland(s) as well as the original designs for EPCOT – all swooping spirals, glittering towers, and burnished concrete.

As I understand it, Walt Disney and Ray Bradbury were pals, and they and their creative legacies share a similar take on the “future,” a concept as nebulous as it is thrilling. For these mid-century marvels, the future is a pearly veneer with a toxic venom ever curdling underneath. Both men telegraphed a healthy agnosticism and distrust of humanity – see Bambi, for one – with a deep desire to see us collectively rise above our own insularity and self-absorption … once and for all. Fat chance.

Brad Bird does a fine job capturing and forwarding this idea in Tomorrowland. The film is not perfect, a bit tedious at times, but it is a worthwhile summer blockbuster exercise in challenging how stunted we have become. At one point Casey says something to this effect: “There are two wolves. One bright and hopeful and one dark and cynical. Which wolf wins? Whichever one you feed. Feed the right wolf.”

Feed the right wolf.

————-

VIDEO – Trailer for Movie: Tomorrowland – http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4284068121/

The Go Lean roadmap synchronizes with the theme of the movie Tomorrowland. On Page 21, Go Lean presents a series of community ethos – the fundamental spirit that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a society – that must be adapted to forge change in the Caribbean; listed as follows:

  • Impact the Future (Page 26)
  • Impact the Greater Good (Page 37)

Life imitating art; art imitating life.

This is what movies help us to appreciate; many times, they allow us to look at ourselves and take a retrospective view. Which wolf are we feeding?

The CU/Go Lean roadmap seeks to forge change on Caribbean society with a new level of collaboration to contend with global/regional threats and to fix the defective societal engines. In fact, the prime directives of the CU/Go Lean roadmap are pronounced as these declarative statements:

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

The Go Lean book opens with a quest for regional integration, with the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 14), including these pronouncements:

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.

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.

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.

xxvii. Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

The Go Lean book accepts the premise that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste (Page 8), that these challenging circumstances allow people of goodwill – as conveyed in the foregoing movie review/article: “the ones who haven’t given up … they are the future”  – to emerge and forge the necessary improvements in society. These previous blog/commentaries have also drilled deeper on this vision and opportunity for change now. See the list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5733 Better than America? Yes, We Can!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5098 Forging Change – ‘Food’ for Thought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3956 Art and Science of Collaboration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3490 How One Entrepreneur Can Rally a Whole Community
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817 Caribbean grapples with intense new cycles of flooding & drought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1634 Book Review: ‘Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1596 Book Review: ‘Prosper Where You Are Planted’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1014 All is not well in the sunny Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=623 Only at the precipice, do they change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=599 Ailing Caribbean island open to radical economic fixes

The Go Lean roadmap asserts that change must come to the Caribbean. But the book posits that this burden is too big for any one Caribbean member-state alone, and thus the collaboration efforts of the CU is necessary, as the strategy is to confederate all the 30 member-states of the Caribbean into an integrated “Single Market” – this is the only viable solution.

This is how we “feed the wolf” that is representing a bright and hopeful future.

The following list details the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to “feed the right wolf”:

Community Ethos – Forging Change Page 20
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments Page 24
Strategy – Strategy – Caribbean Vision Page 45
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization Page 57
Tactical – Growing the Caribbean Economy to $800 Billion Page 67
Tactical – Separation of Powers – CU Agencies versus Member-States Page 71
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region Page 127
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 – Was to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood – Global Box Office – Imitating Life Page 203
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Appendix – Hollywood Box Office Model Page 345

Considering the review of the movie in the foregoing article, we see that Caribbean “life can imitate art” of that movie. The moral of that story can be an inspiration for us all in the region. This vision is conceivable, believable and achievable!

The Go Lean roadmap has a simple motive: enable the Caribbean to be a better place to live, work and play. If not now then for the future, for our Tomorrowland.  🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

—————

Appendix VIDEO – Featurette: The Making of Tomorrowland – http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1390981145/

Share this post:
, , , , ,
[Top]

Socio-Economic Change: Impact Analysis of SGE’s

Posted on July 20, 2015 in Economics, Government, Social

Go Lean Commentary

This purpose of the book Go Lean … Caribbean is the elevation of the economic engines in the region. The book serves as a 5 year roadmap to foster new developments and empowerments in the region. If successful – this is the likelihood as past performance is the best indicator of future success – there will definitely be socio-economic changes.

Click on photo to download Report!

Click on photo to download Report!

Mastering socio-economic changes require strenuous effort – it is heavy-lifting. This submission completes the series – 3 of 3 – on this subject; previously, this commentary considered …

1. the manifestation of changes in everyday life – values, habits and nuances, looking across a timeline from the 1960’s versus today;

2. the high suicide rate among the elderly frustrated with acute changes.

This commentary considers that under the Go Lean roadmap, there will be many community investment endeavors; therefore many times there will be the need for “impact analyses”. The roadmap calls for the installation of Self-Governing Entities (SGE) as job-creating engines in many communities; these sites are ideal for technology laboratories, medical campuses, corporate parks, industrial sites, educational facilities and other forms of establishments situated inside bordered facilitates. These types of installations will thrive under the strategies and tactics of the Go Lean roadmap. They allow for an efficient process to launch and manage projects and physical installations in the region, but the SGE concept does require governmental concurrence and maybe even public approvals, as in referendums, at the initiation.

SGE’s are part-and parcel of the prime directives of the Go Lean roadmap, defined by these 3 statements:

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

How are the impact analyses to be conducted in the region? What is the art and science of this socio-economic field of study? Consider the headlines and abstract of this academic study from the University of Wisconsin:

Title: Socio-Economic Impact Analysis
University of Wisconsin – Community Guide to Development Impact Analysis. Posted 05/2/2011; retrieved 07-17-2015
By: Mary Edwards

As Wisconsin communities continue to grow, local officials and community members are constantly challenged by the need to balance fiscal, social, economic, and environmental goals. One aspect of this challenge is deciding how much and what types of new development the community can accommodate without compromising the day-to-day quality of life for residents. Socio-economic impact assessment is designed to assist communities in making decisions that promote long-term sustain-ability, including economic prosperity, a healthy community, and social well-being.

Assessing socio-economic impacts requires both quantitative and qualitative measurements of the impact of a proposed development. For example, a proposed development may increase employment in the community and create demand for more affordable housing. Both effects are easily quantifiable. Also of importance, however, are the perceptions of community members about whether the proposed development is consistent with a commitment to preserving the rural character of the community. Assessing community perceptions about development requires the use of methods capable of revealing often complex and unpredictable community values.

This chapter provides an overview of socio-economic impact assessment, including what it is, why it is important and guidance on how to conduct a socio-economic impact assessment.

WHAT IS SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT?

A socio-economic impact assessment examines how a proposed development will change the lives of current and future residents of a community. The indicators used to measure the potential socio-economic impacts of a development include the following:

• Changes in community demographics;
• Results of retail/service and housing  market analyses;
• Demand for  public services;
• Changes in  employment and  income levels; and
• Changes in the aesthetic quality of the community.

Quantitative measurement of such factors is an important component of the socio-economic impact assessment. At the same time, the perceptions of community members about how a proposed development will affect their lives is a critical part of the assessment and should contribute to any decision to move ahead with a project. In fact, gaining an understanding of community values and concerns is an important first step in conducting a socio-economic impact assessment.

The socio-economic impacts of a proposed development on a community may actually begin the day the project is proposed. Changes in social structure and inter-actions among community members may occur once the new development is pro-posed to the community. In addition, real, measurable and often significant effects on the human environment can begin to take place as soon as there are changes in social or economic conditions. From the time of the earliest announcement of a pending policy change or development project, attitudes toward the project are formed, interest groups and other coalitions prepare strategies, speculators may lock up potentially important properties, and politicians can maneuver for position.

WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS?

Because socio-economic impact assessment is designed to estimate the effects of a proposed development on a community’s social and economic welfare, the process should rely heavily on involving community members who may be affected by the development. Others who should be involved in the process include community leaders and others who represent diverse interests in the community such as community service organizations, development and real estate interests, minority and low income groups, and local environmental groups. In addition, local agencies or officials should provide input into the process of assessing changes in the social environment that may occur as a result of the proposed development (e.g., providing estimates and information demographics, employment and service needs).

WHY CONDUCT A SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT?

Conducting a social impact assessment is important for several reasons. In general, it is used to alert the community, including residents and local officials, of the impact and magnitude of the proposed development on the community’s social and economic well-being. The assessment can help communities avoid creating inequities among community groups as well as encourage the positive impacts associated with the development.

HOW TO CONDUCT A SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT

The following section provides a two-step process for conducting a socio-economic impact analysis. The process is designed to establish a framework for evaluating cur-rent and future proposed developments in a community.

TWO PHASES OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT

1. Defining the scope of the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment

2. Identifying and Evaluating Development Impacts

  A. Quantitative Changes
     A.1 DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACTS
     A.2 DATA SOURCES
     A.3 HOUSING MARKET IMPACTS
     A.4 RETAIL MARKET IMPACTS
     A.5 EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME
     A.6 PUBLIC SERVICES
     A.7 AESTHETIC IMPACTS
  B. Community Perceptions
     B.1 QUALITY OF LIFE

…

This is just the headlines; find the full White Paper at: http://www.lic.wisc.edu/shapingdane/facilitation/all_resources/impacts/analysis_socio.htm

i.e.  Sample Economic Impact Study

Click on photo to download Report!

Click on photo to download Report!

The Go Lean roadmap does not ignore the controversies associated with impact analyses. Many times these studies are abused to justify spending public money to benefit private interests. This is another example of Crony-Capitalism; consider the VIDEO here of how public financing of sports stadiums have been abused in the US:

Appendix VIDEO – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Stadiums (HBO) – https://youtu.be/xcwJt4bcnXs

Published on July 12, 2015 – Cities spend massive amounts of public money on privately-owned stadiums. Cities issue tax-exempt municipal bonds that — wait, don’t fall asleep!
Content warning: Some profanity!

According to this VIDEO, there is an obvious potential for socio-economic studies to be abused. The goal of a socio-economic study is generally to bring about socio-economic development, usually by improvements in metrics such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy, levels of employment, etc.

SGE Impact Photo 3SGE Impact Photo 4SGE Impact Photo 5

The Go Lean roadmap embraces the practice of socio-economic studies – done right – it provides turn-by-turn directions on how to elevate the Caribbean economy while mitigating any pattern of abuse. As a planning tool, the roadmap commences with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the need for regional integration (Page 11 & 13) to foster the foundation to forge a better future. The declarative statements are as follows:

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.

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

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… In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries … – impacting the region with more jobs.

Change has now come to the Caribbean. The driver of this change is technology and globalization. The Caribbean region cannot only consume the innovations being developed around the world; we must develop and innovate ourselves. The structure of SGE’s are perfectly designed for this endeavor; innovators and developers can create their “own world” so as to foster the best practices for Research & Development (R&D) with no intrusion from municipal authorities. This is a win-win! The bottom-line for the developers may be their “bottom-line”, but for the community, it would be the Greater Good.

The subject of SGE’s has been directly addressed and further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4037 How to Train Your ‘Dragon’ – Case Study for Foreign Investments and SGE’s
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3473 Haiti to Receive $70 Million Grant to Expand SGE-like ‘Caracol Industrial Park’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3276 A Role Model – Ideal for SGE’s – Shaking Up the World of Cancer
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2800 The Geography of Joblessness – The need for SGE’s
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750 Disney World – Role Model for Self Governing Entities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 Where the Jobs Are – Ship-breaking under SGE Structure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1214 Fairgrounds as SGE and Landlords for Sports Leagues
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=286 Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – Model of Medical SGE

Sports is also pivotal to the Go Lean roadmap. This was demonstrated in our prior consideration of the economic impact analysis of basketball great LeBron James returning to Cleveland after a 4-year stint in Miami. That consideration summarized that his absence was worth $50 million a season for that metropolitan area.

So thusly this subject of the “business of sports” is a familiar topic for Go Lean blogs as these previous blogs have detailed:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4019 The Business of the Super Bowl … and Commercials
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3414 Levi’s® Stadium: A Team Effort … for the San Francisco Bay
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3244 Sports Role Model – espnW.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2222 Sports Role Model – Playing For Pride … And More
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2171 Sports Role Model – Turn On the SEC Network
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2152 Sports Role Model – US versus the World
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1446 Caribbean Players in the 2014 World Cup
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1341 College World Series Time – Lessons from Omaha
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1214 The Art & Science of Temporary Stadiums – No White Elephants
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1148 Sports Bubble – Franchise values in basketball
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1020 Sports Revolutionary: Advocate Jeffrey Webb
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=498 Book Review: ‘The Sports Gene’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=334 Bahamians Make Presence Felt In Libyan League
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=318 Collegiate Sports in the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=60 Could the Caribbean Host the Olympic Games?

This Go Lean roadmap seeks to implement the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). While the CU/Go Lean effort is to harness the individual abilities of athletes to elevate their performance, the real focus is harnessing the economic impact for the relevant communities. Modern sports engagements cannot be analyzed without considering the impact on “dollars and cents” for the community. The Go Lean book calls for solid business plans to develop sports stadia and arenas at CU-owned Fairgrounds This intent was also pronounced early in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14):

xxxi. Whereas sports have been a source of great pride for the Caribbean region, the economic returns from these ventures have not been evenly distributed as in other societies. The Federation must therefore facilitate the eco-systems and vertical industries of sports as a business, recreation, national pastime and even sports tourism …

The Go Lean book envisions the CU – a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean chartered to do the heavy-lifting of empowering and elevating the Caribbean economy – as the landlord of many sports facilities within the SGE design. The book details the economic principles and community ethos to adopt, plus the executions of strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge Self-Governing Entities and sports enterprises in the Caribbean:

Economic Principles – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways Page 21
Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future Page 21
Economic Principles – Job   Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI) Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 48
Strategic – Staffing – Sporting Events at Fairgrounds Page 55
Tactical – Confederating a Non-Sovereign Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing Economy – New High Multiplier Industries Page 68
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Self-Governing Entities – i.e. ESA Page 80
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Sports & Culture Administration Page 81
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Fairgrounds Administration Page 83
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Education Department Page 85
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver – Embrace of Project Management Arts & Sciences Page 109
Planning – 10 Big Ideas Page 127
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Local Government – Parks & Recreation Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Public Works Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Fairgrounds Page 192
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Sports Page 229
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Sports Leagues Page 234

The Go Lean book and accompanying blogs declare that the Caribbean needs to learn lessons from other communities, especially when socio-economic studies have been used (or abused) to justify community investments in infrastructure.

The design of Self-Governing Entities allow for greater protections from Crony-Capitalistic abuses. While this roadmap is committed to availing the economic opportunities of sports and accompanying infrastructure, as demonstrated in the foregoing VIDEO, sport teams and owners can be plutocratic “animals” in their greed. We must learn to mitigate any plutocratic abuses; see the Appendix – Additional Reporting below.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This roadmap will result in positive socio-economic changes throughout the region. Just consider the Fairgrounds SGE model; the end result for these ventures into the business of sports is projected as 21,000 direct jobs at Fairgrounds and sports enterprises.

Overall, with these executions, the Caribbean region can be a better place to live, work and play. As demonstrated by this discussion on sports stadia, there is a lot of economic activity in the “play” element; the same applies even greater with “live and work” elements. The practice of socio-economic studies must therefore be earnestly engaged in the Caribbean region, especially for projects involving community investments. This is not easy; this is part of the process to elevate the Caribbean region. This heavy-lifting – ensuring that investments get the proper return for the applicable stakeholders – is worth the effort; this ensures the Greater Good.  🙂

Download the book Go Lean…Caribbean now!

————-

Appendix – Additional Reporting: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/six-lies-about-the-marlins-stadium-6380692

Title: Six lies about the Marlins stadium

By: Miami New Times Community Newspaper; posted May 5, 2011; Retrieved July 20, 2015

Share this post:
, , , , , , ,
[Top]

Socio-Economic Change: The Demographic Theory of Elderly Suicide

Posted on July 16, 2015 in Economics, Ethos, Social

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change and Demographic Theory of Elderly Suicide - Photo 2This purpose of the book Go Lean … Caribbean is to elevate the economic engines in the region. However, these commentaries have focused, numerous times on social and socio-economic issues; in this case, focus is given to the threat of suicides.

This seems out-of-scope!

The book and accompanying blogs posit that socio- economic factors must be accounted for in the roadmap to optimize and improve this society. In fact, the book lists 144 missions for the imminent Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), but one of them is an advocacy against suicides. This is identified on Page 36 under the title:

10 Ways to Promote Happiness … in the Caribbean Region

On the surface, it would appear as if promoting happiness would be so easy to do in the region of the world that is arguably “the greatest address on the planet”. Yet, the country with the highest suicide rate has been identified as Caribbean member-state Guyana.

This does not compute! Such a crisis amidst such beauty! The conclusion in the book is that the deficiency – contributing to suicides – is economic, jobs in particular. As the book declares that a man/woman needs three things to be happy:

  1. something to do,
  2. someone to love, and
  3. something to hope for.

The Go Lean roadmap does feature – in its scope – the societal deficiencies that could propel an increase in suicides. This is highlighted by the CU’s prime directives, as described by these 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 ensure public safety for the region’s stakeholders.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance, including a separation-of-powers with member-states, to support these engines.

This commentary is not a re-harsh of the same suicide-driving issues as previously addressed, but rather an exploration of the socio-economic issues associated with the elderly in society. This commentary is the 2nd in a 3-part series on the art-and-science of analyzing socio-economic changes; other commentaries depict …

1. the manifestation of socio-economic changes in everyday life – values, habits and nuances, looking across a timeline from the 1960’s versus today and also …

3. the use-and-abuse of economic impact analyses on community investments.

Within this series, the field of socio-economics is defined as the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of the local, regional or global economy. This commentary though, considers an academic study that examined the demographic population of the elderly and summarized that the logical conclusions of the root causes of suicide are different for this population. Consider the Abstract, here, of the Research Paper from the University of Nairobi (Kenya):

Title: Towards a Socio-Economic and Demographic Theory of Elderly Suicide: A Comparison of 49 Countries at various stages of development
By: Kiemo, Karatu
(Source: University of Nairobi (Kenya) Academic Research; Posted (2004; Retrieved 10-15-2014 from: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/55260)

Abstract: D. Cowgill found out that the role and status of the elderly declined with modernization, but in contradiction G. Hammarström found out that what actually affected the role and status of the elderly during modernization was the rate at which modernization occurred.

From current studies, it can be insinuated that the transformation from socialist to market economies has too affected the role and status of the elderly adversely. In all, the social condition following on the above changes in productive, organizational and demographic structures connects with what E. Durkheim found to cause imbalance in social integration, and therefore could aggravate elders’ rate of suicide.

Using data from 49 developing and developed countries for the period around 1995, elderly suicide rates and elderly/non-elderly suicide ratio are examined in light of the extent and direction of socio-economic development; and in light of the extent of demographic transition and elderly population’s gender structure. Results show that the direction of socioeconomic change impacts differentially on elderly suicide rates, the rates in regressing economies being appreciably higher than in progressing economies. However, the impact of socio-economic trends on the elderly/non-elderly suicide ratio was not clear-cut.

The extent of socio-economic change impacts differentially on elderly suicide rates, the distribution being curvilinear (inverted-U functional) rather than Cowgill’s linear hypothesis. The extent of socioeconomic change also impacts differentially on elderly/non-elderly suicide ratio in an inverse correlation rather than Cowgill’s hypothesized positive correlation. Whereas the results failed to conform to the structuration of Cowgill’s modernisation theory, the theory is deemed substantively relevant especially in explaining the extent to which the status of being elderly aggravates suicide in the context of contemporary developing countries.

In this regard, Riley’s concept of age-integration seems more appropriate than Durkheim’s social integration in explaining how older age aggravates suicide in an especial manner. The thesis in this study is that elderly suicide is a function of age-related role and status and regulated by dynamics of socio-economic and demographic structures. Culture too seems to play some role that is yet to be determined.

———

Full Study: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/55260

CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change and Demographic Theory of Elderly Suicide - Photo 1The Go Lean roadmap does not ignore the needs of the elderly, nor any mental health needs of the Caribbean community. Rather, the roadmap calls for the establishment of a regional sentinel, a federal Health Department, to monitor, manage and mitigate public health issues in the region, including mental health with the same prioritization (cancer, trauma, virus, immunizations).

The University of Nairobi study hypothesizes that the elderly tend to be more affected when society experiences rapid change! This is an acute alarm for the CU/Go Lean planners, as the roadmap does call for near-hyper-growth in a short period of 5 years. Therefore, this foregoing article calls for the region to double-down on its efforts to ensure the health mitigations are in place for this vulnerable group. The need for this awareness was identified early in the Go Lean book, in the opening pronouncement in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11), as follows:

ix.  Whereas the realities of healthcare and an aging population cannot be ignored and cannot be afforded without some advanced mitigation, the Federation must arrange for health plans to consolidate premiums of both healthy and sickly people across the wider base of the entire Caribbean population. The mitigation should extend further to disease management, wellness, mental health, obesity and smoking cessation programs.

The University of Nairobi study is a classic exercise in this field of socio-economics. The goal of a socio-economic study is generally to bring about socio-economic development, usually by improvements in metrics such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy, levels of employment, etc.  In many cases, socio-economists focus on the social impact of some sort of economic change. Examples of causes of socio-economic impacts include new technologies such as cars or mobile phones, changes in laws, changes in the physical environment (such as increasing crowding within cities), and ecological changes (such as prolonged drought or declining fish stocks). These may affect patterns of consumption, the distribution of incomes and wealth, the way in which people behave (both in terms of purchase decisions and the way in which they choose to spend their time), and their overall quality of life.

The Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap constitutes a change for the region, a plan to consolidate 30 member-states into a Trade Federation with the tools/techniques to bring immediate change to the region to benefit one and all member-states. The roadmap calls for the coordination of the region’s (mental) healthcare needs at a CU federal agency. Though there is a separation-of-powers mandate between the member-states and federal agencies, the CU can still wield influence in this area due to funding accountabilities, (strings attached). The Go Lean roadmap details a monitoring and metering responsibility between the CU and the member-states; so there will be some federal compliance and regulatory oversight. This empowerment would also allow for better coordination with international stakeholders – like the World Health Organization (WHO) – and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – there are many that cater to the needs of the elderly, just consider the VIDEO in the Appendix below.

For the Caribbean, we will not want our elderly population “checking out” from society! We love them too much and they have endured far more that they should have; see VIDEO below. The “happiness mandate” identified at the start, is presented in the book as a “community ethos” (Page 20), the definition of which follows here:

… 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.

The book details that there must first be adoption of such a community ethos plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the region’s public health:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Economics Influence Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy versus Public Protection Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 24
Community Ethos – Non-Government Organizations Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness Page 36
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederate 30 Member-States Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Reform our Health Care Response Page 47
Strategy – Agents of Change – Aging Diaspora Page 57
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Separation of Powers – Department of Health Page 86
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Planning – Ways to Model the EU Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Planning – Ways to Measure Progress Page 148
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Healthcare Page 156
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Cancer Page 157
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management Page 196
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Elder-Care Page 225
Appendix – Disease Management – Healthways Model Page 300
Appendix – Trauma Center Definitions Page 336

This Go Lean book asserts that there is a direct correlation of physical/mental health issue with the economy. This viewpoint has been previously detailed in Go Lean blog/commentaries, as sampled here:

Book Review: ‘The Protest Psychosis’
Guyana and Suriname Wrestle With High Rates of Suicides
Public Health Economics – The Cost of Cancer Drugs
Antibiotics Misuse Associated With Obesity Risk
Recessions and Public Health in the Caribbean Region
New Hope in the Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease

There is a place in the new Caribbean for the elderly populations. Granted, they may not be candidates for the highly-sought, high-multiplier STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) jobs, but nonetheless they are stakeholders in the Go Lean mission. Love of neighbor – the Greater Good – is why we do what we do!

This issue of suicide among the elderly, as discussed in the foregoing article is indicative of the need for better stewardship of the economy, security and governing engines in the Caribbean. This makes the region a better place to live, work, and play – for all: young and old.

🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

————-

Appendix VIDEO – “Honor the Elderly” (The Forgotten Ones)  – https://youtu.be/PZvnJv4CZQ8

Uploaded on Nov 5, 2009 – We must honor the elderly! We must treat the elderly with dignity, love and respect. How we treat the elderly is a reflection of who we are. We should treat them the way we would want to be treated when we grow old and feeble. Many elderly are full of wisdom and we can learn valuable lessons from them.
Music:  “On The Other Side Of Jordan” by Rabbit Easter Band (Google Play • eMusic • AmazonMP3)

Share this post:
, , , , , ,
[Top]

Socio-Economic Change: Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed

Posted on July 15, 2015 in Economics, Ethos, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Be careful what you wish for; it just might come true. – Old Adage

This statement is a reporting of facts. In fact, this statement can be defined as a law. The law of the socio-economic dynamic. The definition of socio-economics (or social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of the local, regional or global economy.

This commentary is the 1st of a 3-part series; the other considerations relate to …

2. the high suicide rate among the elderly, and …

3. the economic impact studies to justify public financing of private enterprises.

Over the past half century, the economic structures of many North American and Western European countries have changed dramatically, a mostly upward trajectory (growth) with occasional dips (recessions). During this same past half century, the economics of many Caribbean countries have also changed dramatically, but mostly towards poor or regressive conditions. This fact has forced a brain drain among many of the member-states’ professional classes.

This [brain drain] reality is a socio-economic dynamic; it was the motivation for the publishing of the book Go Lean…Caribbean in the first place. It describes the current assessments of the region and then communicates a vision to elevate the Caribbean’s 30 member-states and 42 million people into a Single Market economy. The goal is to create 2.2 million new jobs and grow the region to $800 Billion GDP. This vision is embedded in the following statements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13) for these member-states:

xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.

xx. Whereas the results of our decades of migration created a vibrant Diaspora in foreign lands, the Federation must organize interactions with this population into structured markets. Thus allowing foreign consumption of domestic products, services and media, which is a positive trade impact. These economic activities must not be exploited by others’ profiteering but rather harnessed by Federation resources for efficient repatriations.

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

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.

Another dynamic has been the advancement and assimilation of technology. This acknowledgement was also pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14):

xxvii. Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

As these changes took hold of society, the social effects on people, families, traditions, habits and values have been drastic; a lot has changed over the past decades. How can this be conveyed graphically? The following – funny and enlightening illustrations – give an accurate depiction of society’s changes – then and now.

16 Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed

CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 1
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 2
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 3
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 4
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 5
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 6
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 7
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 8
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 9
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 10
Illustrations 11
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 12
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 13
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 14
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 15
CU Blog - Socio-Economic Change - Illustrations That Perfectly Show How Society Has Changed - Photo 16
(Source: Brain Jet Daily Cerebral Stream – Ad-supported Online Site – Retrieved July 15, 2015 from: http://www.brainjet.com/random/19913/then-and-now-16-illustrations-that-perfectly-show-how-society-has-changed#slide/1)

Change is afoot!

Among the changes – to people, families, traditions, habits and values – is the socio-economic effects of the Caribbean brain drain, estimated at 70%. This is a crisis!

This is a consistent theme in the Go Lean book; it describes “push and pull” of societal change; it posits that life in North American and Western European countries serve as a “pull” factor for many Caribbean communities. Plus, the failing economic conditions further “push” many citizens away. To alleviate this crisis, there is the need to counter-defend with purposeful change of our own for the region. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap to elevate the economics of the region; and it clearly describes the impact on other societal engines: security and governance. Everyone feels the change; it is like a moving locomotive, “you can’t stop the beat; you can’t stop the motion of the ocean”. This is also the moving imagery depicted in the VIDEO below.

The Go Lean roadmap is a planning tool for the strategic, tactical, and operational empowerments that needs to be implemented to keep pace with the world’s Agents of Change: Technology, Aging Diaspora, Globalization and “Climate Change”. The purpose of the book therefore is to position the region at the corner of preparation and opportunity, so as to benefit from change. We have many needs – economic, security and governance – to avert this societal abandonment trend. The book / roadmap is for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a super-national institution with federal powers to forge change in the Caribbean community. One mission is to dissuade further human flight/brain drain. (An additional mission is to incentivize the repatriation of the Caribbean Diaspora).

The following details from the book Go Lean … Caribbean are the assessments, community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies prescribed to manifest the elevation of Caribbean economy, society and life:

Assessments of Caribbean Communities – English, French, Dutch, and Spanish states Page 15
Community Ethos – Security Principles Page 23
Community Ethos – Economic Principles Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Arounds Page 33
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 – Repatriating Caribbean Diaspora Page 46
Strategy – Mission – Dissuade further Brain Drain Page 46
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers with Caribbean Member-states Page 71
Implementation – Assemble all Member-States Page 96
Implementation – Ways   to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation –Reasons to Repatriate Page 118
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean   Better Page 131
Planning – Ways to Better Manage Image Page 133
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Page 197
Advocacy – Impact the Diaspora Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights Page 220

Many Caribbean citizens love their homeland but the realities of flawed economics will always cause a brain drain. This flight-abandonment creates the need for a societal reboot in the economics, security and governing engines. This is the quest of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap, to reboot these societal engines; employing best-practices and better strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its 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 ensure public safety for the region’s stakeholders.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance, including a separation-of-powers with member-states, to support these engines.

The same as the foregoing illustrations, there are many Go Lean blog commentaries that have detailed the anatomy of change in the Caribbean. Our changes – to systems, people and institutions – have not always been positive, or beneficial. Here is a sample of related commentaries, grouped by the recognizable categories in the illustrations:

  • Transforming Change
  • Internet & Communications Technology
  • Toleration of Minority Classes

Transforming Change

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5695 Repenting, Forgiving and Reconciling the Past
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5088 Immigrants account for 1 in 11 Blacks in USA
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5123 A Lesson in History – Royal Charter: Zimbabwe -vs- South Africa
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5098 Forging Change – ‘Food’ for Thought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4840 Jamaican Poll: ‘Bring back the British!’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3834 State of the Caribbean Union
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3568 Forging Change: Music Moves People
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3512 Forging Change: The Sales Process
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3455 Restoration of Diplomatic Relations with Cuba
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2291 Forging Change: The Fun Theory
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433 Caribbean loses more than 70 percent of tertiary educated to brain drain
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1309 5 Steps of a Bubble
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=248 Is “Print” dead? Maybe soon! The Transforming Change in Media

Internet & Communications Technology

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5840 Computer Glitches Disrupt Business As Usual
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5668 Move over Mastercard/Visa – New Payment Systems in the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5648 Changes in Music Retailing – Online and Mobile
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5435 China Internet Policing – Model for Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4381 Net Neutrality: It Matters Here …
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3974 Google and Mobile Phones – Here comes Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3915 ‘Change the way you see the world; you change the world you see’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1416 The Amazon Model for Caribbean Empowerment
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1092 The Aereo Case Study and the future of TV
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=308 CARCIP – Regional Initiatives to Urge Greater Caribbean Innovation

Toleration of Minority Classes

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5784 Buggery in Jamaica – ‘Say It Ain’t So’!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5720 Disability Advocacy: Reasonable Accommodations
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5527 American Defects: Racism – Is It Over?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5333 Racial Legacies: Cause and Effect
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5183 A Lesson in History – Cinco De Mayo and the Mexican Model
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4613 A Lesson in History – The ‘Luck of the Irish’; Past, Present & Future
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4551 US Territories – Between a ‘rock and a hard place’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2633 Book Review: ‘The Protest Psychosis’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2547 Miami’s Success versus Caribbean Failure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=809 Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=789 America’s War on the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=546 Book Review: ‘The Divide’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=341 US slams Caribbean Human Rights practices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=209 Case Study: Muhammad Ali –vs- the United States

There are many societal defects in the Caribbean region; we need effective strategies, tactics and implementation to effect turn-around.

The needs of Caribbean community cannot be casually dismissed. As crises ensue, people respond; they make choices: fight or flight.

We must do better than our prior track record. We can “rock with the changes” in society. Though this effort is not easy, rather heavy-lifting, the adoption and application of best-practices can yield beneficial results – the returns are worth the investment.

“You can’t stop a locomotive as it comes speeding down the track; yesterday is history and it’s never coming back. But tomorrow is a brand new day and it doesn’t know White or Black” – see VIDEO in the Appendix below.

This is the goal of the Go Lean roadmap: to help make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

————-

Appendix VIDEO – You Can’t Stop The Beat! – https://youtu.be/ovLKUoMqPSg

A VIDEO of the finale of the movie Hairspray (2007) … ENJOY Edna & Tracy Turnblad, Link Larkin, Penny Pingleton, Velma & Amber Von Tussle, Motormouth Maybelle, Corny Collins and other characters, as they drive home the important moral lesson of accepting change.

Share this post:
, , , ,
[Top]

Computer Glitches Disrupt Business As Usual

Posted on July 9, 2015 in Economics, Government, Implementation, Industries, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” – Classic Murphy’s Law!

The age of technology has overcome us; computerized systems are impacting every aspect of modern life.

This is good!

This is bad!

The famous criminal Willie Sutton was once asked why he robbed banks, and his response was simple, eloquent, and humorous:

Because that’s where the money is.

CU Blog - Computer Glitches Disrupt Business As Usual - Photo 3

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that wherever and whenever there is economic prosperity, “bad actors” will always emerge. This fact should be no surprise; it should be expected forthright. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This CU would function as a facilitator for the 30 member-states of the Caribbean, charged to elevate the economic, security and governing engines of the region. There will be the need to facilitate the full breadth and depth of Information & Communications Technologies (ICT).

The “bad actors” or threats to societal engines could be intentional or accidental, man-made or natural. This is duly documented in the current news story of heightened computer glitches that have disrupted major players in the American business eco-system … on the same day.

This has disrupted the business as usual. Is it chance or is it choice?

This is yet to be ascertained; see the news article here:

Title: NYSE re-opens after trading stopped amid United Airlines, WSJ.com tech issues
Reporting by: Kylie MacLellan; Editing by: Dominic Evans

CU Blog - Computer Glitches Disrupt Business As Usual - Photo 1Trading was halted for more than two hours on the New York Stock Exchange floor Wednesday after an internal technical issue was detected – which then set off speculation that a cyber-glitch at United Airlines and a temporary online outage at the Wall Street Journal newspaper were connected.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama had been briefed on the glitch that took out trading on the floor of the NYSE by White House counterterrorism and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco and chief of staff Denis McDonough.

He also said despite indications that it was not a cyber-breach, the administration was “keenly aware of the risk that exists in cyber space right now.”

CU Blog - Computer Glitches Disrupt Business As Usual - Photo 2Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson tried to allay fears, saying, “It appears from what we know at this stage that the malfunctions at United and at the stock exchange were not the result of any nefarious actor.”

He added, “We know less about the Wall Street Journal at this point except that their system is back up again as is the United Airline system.”

Trading at the NYSE stopped around 11:30 a.m. ET though NYSE – listed shares continued to trade on other exchanges such as the Nasdaq.
…
Read the rest of the article here: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/08/nyse-united-airlines-wsjcom-hit-with-computer-issues/

The CU/Go Lean roadmap provides for comprehensive oversight in this arena of ICT; to protect against bad actors and bad happenstance.

The overriding theme of the foregoing news article is that cyber-security is not automatic, and not easy; it takes heavy-lifting on behalf of skilled stakeholders to ensure the appropriate protections are in place. The Go Lean roadmap asserts that some empowerments for the Caribbean may be too big for any one member-state alone; that there will be the need for a deputized technocracy like the CU to provide the remediation and mitigations for regional progress. The roadmap calls for vesting the CU with the authority to establish and execute a comprehensive security apparatus that also covers cyber-threats and computer glitches.

The Go Lean book relates (Page 127) how ICT can be a great equalizer in competition with the rest of the world. This embrace of ICT must include e-Government (outsourcing and in-sourcing for member-states systems) and e-Delivery, Mobile, Social Media, Postal/Electronic Mail, e-Learning and wireline/wireless/satellite initiatives.

In fact, this  the Go Lean book posits that mastery of these technology endeavors are necessary to fulfill the CU prime directives, defined by these 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, authorized by a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance, including a separation-of-powers between CU federal agencies and member-states governments, to support these engines.

The book contends, and this foregoing news report confirms, that bad actors and/or bad happenstance will always emerge to disrupt business as usual in the region. 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 … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

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.

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, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, 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.

So while the CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, with a heavy emphasis of technology, the Go Lean roadmap posits that the security dynamics (and cyber-security) of the region must also be embedded with federal oversight.

The Go Lean strategy of confederating a unified entity made up of the Caribbean to provide homeland security and intelligence gathering-and-analysis for the Caribbean, allows for a one-stop solution for regional assurances. Homeland Security for our Caribbean homeland has a different scope than for our American counterparts. Though we must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism & piracy, we mostly have had to contend with natural and man-made concerns like hurricanes, earthquakes, oil/chemical spills and narco-terrorism. But now we must also add these cyber-threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, like tourism. These cyber-attacks and breaches can undermine the integrity of our institutions and establishments, as previously reported in this prior blog/commentary:

… imagine a “hack” that harvests credit card account numbers used at area hotels; if those fall into the wrong hands, the experience could tarnish the goodwill of the Caribbean brand.

Considering this threatening “what if” scenario described here or the actual incidences in the foregoing news article, there is the need to be on alert against this ‘Clear and Present Danger’.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards” – a security pact or Homeland Security Department –  to ensure public safety includes many strategies, tactics and implementations considered “best-practices”. The Homeland Security Department must be on a constant vigil against “bad actors”, man-made or natural. This necessitate being pro-active in monitoring, mitigating and managing risks. Then when “crap” does happen, the “new guards” will be prepared for any “Clear and Present Danger“. The Go Lean book describes an organization structure with Emergency Management functionality, including Unified Command-and-Control for Caribbean Disaster Response, Anti-crime, enterprise corruption, corporate governance and military preparedness.

These incidences create the need for intelligence gathering and analysis to manage the right resource for the right time and right place. (The same as buildings with elevators must get and maintain appropriate “permits”, the Go Lean‘s corporate governance vision calls for IT and Data Center Best-Practice compliance). The Go Lean roadmap thusly calls for a permanent professional security force plus a robust intelligence (including cyber-security) agency. The CU Trade Federation will lead, fund and facilitate this security effort from “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap, with the full facilitation and accountability.

This security effort is defined in the Go Lean book and blog commentaries as Unified Command-and-Control (UCC). The book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to establish and succeed with Unified Command-and-Control in the Caribbean region:

Economic   Principle – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices and Incentives Page 21
Community   Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection Page 23
Community   Ethos – Intelligence Gathering Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens Page 23
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Tactical – Confederating a Non-Sovereign Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Treasury Department – Publicly Traded Corporate Governance Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security – Unified Command & Control Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Emergency Management Page 76
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives Page 103
Implementation – 10 Trends in Implementing Data Centers Page 106
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media – www.myCaribbean.gov Page 111
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid – Aid   to Security Apparatus Page 115
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization Page 119
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #3: Homeland Security Pact Page 127
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #8: Cyber Caribbean Equalization Page 127
Planning – Ways to Model the EU – Sharing Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices – Intelligence Page 134
Planning – Lessons from East Germany – Regional Security Page 139
Planning – Lessons from the American West – Law   & Order Mitigated Wild-West Page 142
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy – Better Corporate Governance Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Leadership Page 171
Advocacy – Ways to Impact   Justice Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Gun Control Page 179
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering/Analysis Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Wall Street – Ensure Better Corporate Governance Page 200
Appendix – Model of Cutting-edge Data Center Page 285
Appendix – Emergency Management for Information Technology Continuity Page 338

Other subjects related to ICT, security empowerments and UCC for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentaries, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5435 China Internet Policing – Model for Caribbean IT Oversight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5002 Managing a ‘Clear and Present’ Danger
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4308 911 – Emergency Response: System in Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3881 Intelligence Agencies to Up Cyber Security Cooperation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2684 Role Model for Justice-Intelligence-Security: The Pinkertons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554 Caribbean Security Pact vested from a Status of Forces Agreement
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960 Cyber-Security Model: NSA records all phone calls in Bahamas
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=535 Remembering and learning from Boston
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=308 CARCIP Urges Greater Innovation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273 10 Things We Want from the US: #5 – Intelligence Gathering

Cyber-security is now a constant threat globally – see Appendix* below – with headlines emerging almost daily. There are also film and TV shows with plot-lines that parallel this commentary; “art is now imitating life”.

Since the threat of computer glitches can disrupt everyday life, this subject area must now be assumed in the Social Contract between Caribbean citizens and their governments. Cyber-security is too big for any one Caribbean member-state to tackle alone, so rather, shifting the responsibility to the region-wide, professionally-managed, deputized technocracy of the CU will result in greater production and greater accountability. This mission aligns with the quest to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play.

The Caribbean region cannot allow a few “bad actors”, high-tech or low-tech, to disrupt the peace and integrity of Caribbean institutions. Everyone – residents, Diaspora, visitors, businesses and governments – are hereby urged to lean-in to this plan for confederacy, collaboration and convention, the Go Lean roadmap.  🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

——

APPENDIX – *Source Reference: http://www.telos.com/news-and-events/cybersecurity-news/

——

APPENDIX – VIDEO: Computer glitches disrupt stock exchange, United Airlines – http://www.today.com/video/computer-glitches-disrupt-stock-exchange-united-airlines-480883267766

The New York Stock Exchange came to a standstill for nearly four hours Wednesday and hours earlier, the computer system for United Airlines also froze. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports.

Share this post:
, , ,
[Top]

Greece: From Bad to Worse

Posted on July 7, 2015 in Economics, Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

Here a prediction for Greece: Things will get worse before they get worse!

This commentary has previously asserted that there are 3 kinds of people in the world:

1. Those who make things happen
2. Those who watch things happen
3. Those who wonder “What happened?”

Many people are now waking up to the harsh realities that a Failed-State – Greece – is emerging, right in front of their eyes. Unfortunately, this applies to people in the Caribbean as well.

On Sunday (July 5, 2015), a referendum was put to the Greek people to vote whether to accept further bail-out monies with harsh austerity measures from the international community … or go at it alone. They chose the latter!

Now they are waking up to the reality that the “cupboards are bare”; and many international trading partners will not trade with them. Many people are now wondering “What happened?”

-

See the news article here (and a related VIDEO from just before the referendum) conveying the harsh realities that many in Greece are now faced with:

Title: The economic consequences of Syriza
By: C.R. and S.N. | London And Athens

AFTER the party in Syntagma Square celebrating the landslide victory for the “no” campaign in Sunday’s referendum comes the hangover. They went wild “because we are tired of everything, from all the lies, from paying for the rich, and from years of austerity, especially for young”, as one partying Athenian told us. To be fair, with youth unemployment rates of over 50%, many have had little to celebrate for a long time. Young Greeks support the aggressive stance taken towards the country’s lenders by Syriza and its leader, the Greek prime minister Alexis Tspiras, whose position in domestic politics has been strengthened as a result of the referendum.

But two days after the close of the polls the fact remains that Greece’s real economy is in a mess. Capital controls imposed after Mr Tsipras called the referendum on June 26th have kept banks closed. Ordinary Greeks have been limited to cash withdrawals from ATMs of just €60 ($67) a day (which is now in effect down to €50 as smaller notes have disappeared from circulation). Many cash machines in Athens have run completely out of money.

Firms have also been hit particularly hard. Foreign bank transfers have been banned by the Greek government, with few exceptions. Greek credit is no longer accepted outside the country. That has hit firms that rely on foreign credit to import goods, as well as the Greek tourists who found themselves stranded when their credit cards stopped working. Supplies of food and some medicines are running short (see picture); a black market for cancer drugs has even emerged. As we reported on Sunday:

Greece relies almost entirely on foreign imports for its pharmaceutical supplies. But since capital controls imposed last Sunday brought the country’s banking system to a sudden halt, some suppliers have stopped delivering key medication because they cannot get paid…As things stand, she has another week’s worth of insulin in stock for diabetics but will then have to start turning her patients away. “Do you know what that means?” she asks, trying to keep a proud face, “Do you know what insulin does?”

Unsurprisingly, as a result, Greek economic growth—which began to falter shortly after Syriza came to power in January—has collapsed. Consumption has slumped by 70% since capital controls were imposed, according to the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce, a business group. Individuals and firms are hoarding cash at the same time that essential goods are becoming unavailable—a toxic mix for any economy. The decision taken yesterday by the European Central Bank—to keep in place the cap on emergency lending to Greek banks, and to increase the discount applied on Greek bonds accepted as collateral—will tighten the short-run financial crunch.

Greece is running short of time; in the next few days either a new deal will be done that allows the ECB to reopen the liquidity spigots or bank failures will lead to Grexit. In either case, the damage done by this period of uncertainty and financial drought will be severe.

Economic history suggests that economies can be surprisingly resilient when hit by shocks, such as the temporary imposition of capital controls or a reduction in the supply capacity of the economy. The Cypriot economy, for instance, started to grow again just one year after it imposed capital controls in 2013. And as Britain’s experience of general strikes indicates, temporary one- or two-week supply disruptions do not tend to have much impact on output after about a year. Leaving a single currency may also not be a complete disaster; countries such as Ireland (which left the British pound in 1928) have managed it before. And many countries ditching fixed-exchange rates—such as Britain in 1931 and 1992—exited long recessions almost immediately after they bit the bullet.

But there are three main reasons why economists think that the Greek economy will be wounded for far longer than other unfortunates. First, current uncertainty is probably damaging future demand as well as current demand; future tourist bookings have fallen by around a third since capital controls were imposed, for instance, which matters greatly given that the sector produces almost one-sixth of the country’s GDP. And with summer bookings so vital, the likely conclusion of the crisis in early July could not have been timed worse. Second, most countries that experience fast recoveries from supply-side shocks and fixed-exchange rate exits are able to count on a solvent and liquid banking system, which is needed in order to fund investment and growth through loans.

But Greece’s, which is about to collapse because of capital controls and deposit flight, is in a less comfortable position. The speedy introduction of new economic reforms post-Grexit, combined with capable macroeconomic management, could nonetheless cushion the Greek economy against the worst effects of exit and lead to a rapid bounceback. Yet few outside Greece reckon that the Syriza government has the inclination or competence to execute the transition smoothly and responsibly. Whatever Greece’s political fate, its economy is bound to get much worse before it gets better.
Source: The Economist Magazine – Online Edition – July 6, 2015
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2015/07/greeces-economy

—————–

VIDEO – Yes or No? Greece Again on the Brink: Greek Debt Crisis – https://youtu.be/reU7wWgFmDU

Published on Jul 3, 2015 – For the past five years, Greece has been struggling with a financial crisis that has led the country to the brink of an exit from the euro and an economic collapse.

Add this word to your vocabulary: Grexit; meaning a Greek Exit from the European Union.

This experience in Greece is a cautionary tale for the Caribbean, as so many aspects of Greek life parallel those of the Caribbean:

The harsh reality of Greece is a reminder of another crisis, the Great Recession of 2008. The events this week – with the referendum – mirrors September 15, 2008 when the American Investment Bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, thus bringing the US (and the world’s economy) to the brink of disaster. This 2008 consideration is part-and-parcel of the book Go Lean…Caribbean which serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to provide new oversight for the Caribbean region’s economic, security and governing engines. The book was conceived as a result of this 2008 crisis, by stakeholders intimate with the anatomy of the 2008 crisis – People who make things happen – and composed from a position of strength, while in the location of one of the most successful communities to endure the Great Recession crisis: Omaha, Nebraska.

The pretext of the Go Lean roadmap is simple, and applies equally to Greece and the Caribbean:

Only at the precipice do they change!

The lessons learned, and codified, in the pages of the Go Lean book can now be enhanced with the examination of the realities of Greece. This examination must consider the reality of the economic, security and governing aspects of Greek society.

CU Blog - Greece - From Bad to Worse - Photo 3 CU Blog - Greece - From Bad to Worse - Photo 2

This country now has new leadership – the political party Syriza was swept into office on 25 January 2015 – trying to forge change in a dysfunctional environment. Until recently, the Minister of Finance for this sovereign nation was Yanis Varoufakis. (He resigned on July 5th, after the passage of the Referendum). To project transparency, Mr. Varoufakis presented the arguments in favor of their request for more compromise from the European Central Bank, the IMF, and other creditors demanding more austerity from Greece; he vocalized the following:

Our political mandate is to find an honourable, workable compromise. Is it so difficult to do so? We do not think so. A few days ago Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s Chief Economist published a piece entitled ‘Greece: A Credible Deal Will Require Difficult Decisions by All Sides.’ He is right, the three operative words being ‘by all sides’. Dr Blanchard added that: “At the core of the negotiations is a simple question. How much of an adjustment has to be made by Greece, how much has to be made by its official creditors?”

That Greece needs to adjust there is no doubt. The question, however, is not how much adjustment Greece needs to make. It is, rather, what kind of adjustment. If by ‘adjustment’ we mean fiscal consolidation, wage and pension cuts, and tax rate increases, it is clear we [Greece] have done more of that than any other country in peacetime.

  • The public sector’s structural, or cyclically adjusted, fiscal deficit turned into a surplus on the back of a ‘world record beating’ 20% adjustment
  • Wages fell by 37%
  • Pensions were reduced by up to 48%
  • State employment diminished by 30%
  • Consumer spending was curtailed by 33%
  • Even the nation’s chronic current account deficit dropped by 16%.

No one can say that Greece has not adjusted to its new, post-2008, circumstances. But what we can say is that gigantic adjustment, whether necessary or not, has produced more problems than it solved:

  • Aggregate real GDP fell by 27% while nominal GDP continued to fall quarter-in-quarter-out for 18 quarters non-stop to this day
  • Unemployment skyrocketed to 27%
  • Undeclared labour reached 34%
  • Banks are labouring under non-performing loans that exceed 40% in value
  • Public debt has exceeded 180% of GDP
  • Young well-qualified people are abandoning Greece in droves
  • Poverty, hunger and energy deprivation have registered increases usually associated with a state at war
  • Investment in productive capacity has evaporated.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/full-greece-proposal-leaked-by-yanis-varoufakis-2015-6

Mr. Varoufakis’ appeal has been rejected. Greece is now at the precipice. They are willing to change and correct many inequities. But maybe, this is too little, too late? They want to work to build up their communities, not necessarily build up their neighboring countries. They are willing to accept the Grexit.

In this status quo is the primary lesson for the Caribbean. Are we now willing to change and correct the inequities in our society?

The Go Lean book declares: “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste” – quoting noted Economist Paul Romer. The opportunity exists now to forge change in the economic, security and governing engines of the Caribbean, as this cautionary guidance is gleaned from the Greek crisis.

The roadmap calls for a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean into a Single Market of 42 million people; thereby allow an adequate size to absorb economic shocks and downward trends. The Go Lean roadmap provides the details for the creation of 2.2 million new jobs and GDP growth to accumulate to $800 Billion. This vision is at the root of the Go Lean roadmap, embedded in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13):

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 following details from the book Go Lean … Caribbean are the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to effect the turn-around of the Caribbean societal engines – to learn from Greece:

Who We Are – SFE Foundation and 2008 Role Page 8
Anecdote: Puerto Rico – The Greece of the Caribbean Page 18
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Money Multiplier Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Arounds Page 33
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederate all 30 Member-States into a Single Market Page 47
Strategy –   Mission – Build and foster local economic engines Page 45
Strategy –   Mission – Fortify the stability of our mediums of exchange Page 45
Strategy –   Mission – Dissuade further Brain Drain Page 46
Tactical –   Confederating a Permanent Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Implementation – Assemble all Member-States Page 96
Implementation – Ways   to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up Page 102
Implementation – Ways to Better Manage Debt Page 114
Planning – Ways to Model the European Union (EU) Page 130
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 Page 136
Planning – Lessons Learned from Omaha Page 138
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Help the Middle Class Page 223
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Cuba Page 236
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Haiti Page 238
Appendix – Caribbean Failed-State Indicators and Definitions Page 271

Greece will become a Failed-State before it is all said-and-done. We hope that this country, and their European neighbors, can secure their society to assure peace and the protection of human rights.

Greece will recover…eventually! Their disposition will go from bad to worse – see Appendix VIDEO – but then they can reboot, much like Cyprus did just recently, as detailed in the foregoing news article. Take their tourism for example:

Travel and tourism contributed a total of €28.3 billion ($31.3 billion) to the economy in 2013—or 16.3% of GDP. But after one to two years, after the country returns to local drachma currency and it stabilizes after devaluation, destinations in Greece will be cheaper than its competitors. This will eventually be an advantage. – http://www.economist.com/node/21657058

Greece will be a European Failed-State … and will “bounce-back” … eventually.

We also have Failed-States in the Caribbean: Think: Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba; plus a host of countries just slightly behind them. We have to foster our own turn-around strategies for our region.

The Go Lean roadmap declares that the responsibility for fixing the Caribbean though must fall first-and-foremost on the Caribbean, its people and institutions.

The Caribbean must also reboot and “bounce back”; to “step back from the precipice”. The effort is not easy; the Go Lean book describes it as heavy-lifting. But the returns will be worth the investment. This is true for Greece … and the Caribbean.

This is the goal of the Go Lean roadmap: not to wonder what happened, or watch things happen, but rather to make the things happen … that make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

—————–

Appendix VIDEO – The Economic Collapse of Greece. Whiteboard Animation by Angelow – https://youtu.be/dt6w4eE_tg0

Published on Mar 17, 2013 – VIDEO on the previous need for Greek bail-outs. Greece is bankrupt!

Share this post:
, , , , ,
[Top]

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

Posted on July 2, 2015 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Social

Go Lean Commentary

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!

t So - Photo 3The 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 19th 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/

t So - Photo 1
———–

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 …

t So - Photo 2

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

t So - Photo 4Jamaica 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

playbutton-300x300

———–

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]:

  1. anal intercourse or oral intercourse by a man with a man or woman[2] or
  2. 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)

Share this post:
, , , , , ,
[Top]

Pressed by Debt Crisis, Doctors Leave Greece in Droves

Posted on July 1, 2015 in Economics, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - Pressed by Debt Crisis, Doctors Leave Greece in Droves - Photo 3Poor economic conditions are forcing a brain drain among a country’s professionals. Yes, we understand all too well.

This is the crisis for Greece! This is the crisis for the Caribbean, as well!

This is a consistent theme in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. The book posits that the events in Greece are relevant for the Caribbean, North America and the world economy as a whole. What’s worse is that many Caribbean member-states are in the same situation.

Greece is the weak link in the Eurozone; it is inching closer to defaulting on its debt. The country has been in a long standoff with its European creditors on the terms of a multibillion-dollar bailout. If the country goes bankrupt or decides to leave the 19-nation Eurozone, the Greek debt crisis could create instability in the region and reverberate around the globe. (Since this debt crisis began in 2010, most international banks and foreign investors have sold their Greek bonds and other holdings; they are not as vulnerable to what happens in Greece now).

CU Blog - Pressed by Debt Crisis, Doctors Leave Greece in Droves - Photo 1“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste” – states the Go Lean book quoting noted Economist Paul Romer. The opportunity therefore exists to forge change in the economic, security and governing engines of communities, in response to crises.

This story (see VIDEO below) shows that the rest of the world are all paying attention to this crisis in Greece, but few are thinking of the impact on the professional classes. This is of paramount interest to the planners of a new Caribbean, the publishers of the Go Lean book. The purpose of the book is to position the region at the corner of preparation and opportunity, so as to benefit from change. The issue from this article is more pressing for the Caribbean, as we share, as a region, a very high brain drain/emigration rate, estimated at 70%. See article here and VIDEO below:

Title: Pressed by Debt Crisis, Doctors Leave Greece in Droves
By: Erik Olsen, Contributor, New York Times Online Site; posted July 1, 2015; retrieved from: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/world/europe/pressed-by-debt-crisis-doctors-leave-greece-in-droves.html

Greece is in the midst of the worst brain drain in modern history, experts say.

“This is unprecedented in terms of the numbers of educated people that are leaving,” said Lois Labrianidis, a professor of economic geography at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki.

The country is hemorrhaging talent, as professionals in medicine, engineering and academics flee for a better economic climate and more stable employment. The pain has been particularly severe in the health care sector of Greece: Many of the country’s doctors have left or are making plans to do so.

“I don’t feel safe and secure for the future of my family here,” said Spyridon Kotsaris, an Athens orthopedic surgeon who has been planning for months to leave Greece with his wife and two daughters, preferably to Germany or Switzerland.

“We want a better life,” he said. “A better life means we are all together and feel more secure.”

In all, nearly 300,000 people have left Greece since 2010, nearly 3 percent of the country’s population before the crisis, according to government statistics. That includes as many as 5,000 doctors, with about 3,500 of them ending up in Germany, where Europe’s financial crisis has had less impact.

“It’s not that big of a concern for me financially, because I work in Germany,” said Alexios Theodorou, a Greek general surgeon working at a hospital in Gummersbach in North Rhine-Westphalia. Mr. Theodorou left Greece five years ago, as the crisis was beginning.

“My paycheck is secured,” he said. “But that doesn’t make my concern about the future any less, as I have much family in Greece. Greece is where I still call home.”

In some ways, the loss of so much young talent may be more devastating to Greece in the long term than abandoning the euro, if that happens. That has left some who sought a better life feeling increasingly bittersweet about the decision to leave.

“I feel sad seeing my country going through this rough time,” Mr. Theodorou said. “We, the people who left, are not to blame for the situation, but we sometimes feel guilty that we are leaving, that we left the people there to handle their problems.”

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a super-national institution with federal powers to forge change in the Caribbean region. One mission is incentivizing the return of the far-flung Caribbean Diaspora. Another mission is to dissuade further human flight/brain drain. The numbers don’t lie: we need population growth not population contraction.

CU Blog - Pressed by Debt Crisis, Doctors Leave Greece in Droves - Photo 2The CU recognizes that the population numbers must work in favor of societal progress. Greece has lost 3% of its population since the start of this crisis in 2010, so this negative trend cannot be understated. There are many social safety nets that depend of the actuarial fact of population expansion, not contraction. Consider unemployment and pensions: for unemployment, workers pay into a fund and the temporarily unemployed file claims against that fund. Likewise with pensions: young workers pay into a fund, and the older-retired workers draw claims against that fund.

Thus, population contractions are definitely among the indices for a Failed-State status (Page 271).

The confederation of the CU is a reversal of the unfortunate trends inflicted on the Caribbean. The vision is to forge a Single Market of 42 million people in the 30 Caribbean member-states. Then the Go Lean roadmap provides the details for the creation of 2.2 million new jobs and GDP growth to accumulate to $800 Billion. This vision is at the root of the Go Lean roadmap, embedded in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13):

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.

According to the foregoing New York Times article and the VIDEO below, Greece is in “hot water”. They need a remediation plan. Go Lean is the plan … for the Caribbean, not Greece. But we get to apply lessons learned from the experiences in Greece.

The following details from the book Go Lean … Caribbean are the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies prescribed to manifest the reboot and empowerment efforts for the Caribbean economy, society and life in general:

Who We Are – SFE Foundation and 2008 Role Page 8
Anecdote: Puerto Rico – The Greece of the Caribbean Page 18
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Money Multiplier Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Arounds Page 33
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederate all 30 Member-States into a Single   Market Page 47
Strategy – Mission – Repatriating Caribbean Diaspora Page 46
Strategy – Mission – Dissuade further Brain Drain Page 46
Tactical – Confederating a Permanent Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy – Greek Sovereign Debt Case Study Page 64
Implementation – Assemble all Member-States Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate Page 118
Planning – Ways to Model the European Union (EU) Page 130
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 Page 136
Planning – Lessons Learned from East Germany – Eventuality of Failed-States Page 139
Planning – Lessons Learned from Detroit – The Need for Turn-around Page 140
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Entitlements – Austerity Lessons Page 158
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance – Euro-Zone Budget Deficits Model Page 168
Advocacy – Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Impact the Diaspora Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Help the Middle Class – Enforce the Social Contract Page 223
Appendix – Failed-State Indicators and Definitions Page 271

Broken economies can be fixed!

This is not the first economic crisis to be observed-and-reported on by Go Lean planners. The Go Lean book is a product of 2008 Financial Crisis and Great Recession. From this fallout, this roadmap was composed, by individuals intimate with the details of the crisis … and its causes; (Page 8). Their motivation: love of homeland.

While love of the Caribbean homeland is a strong motivator – as Greek expatriates in the below VIDEO express love of their homeland – the realities of a broken economy will still cause a brain drain. These flight-abandonment realities creates the need for a societal reboot in economics, security and governance. This is the quest of Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap, to reboot the region’s societal engines; employing best-practices and better strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its prime directives, identified with these 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 the region’s public safety.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

There are many Go Lean blog/commentaries that have echoed these points of societal abandonment. Here is a sample of related commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5088 Immigrants account for 1 in 11 Blacks in USA
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4613 A Lesson in History: – Emigration from Ireland in History
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4185 Caribbean Ghost Towns: It Could Happen…Again
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2809 A Lesson in History: Economics of East Berlin – A Failed-State
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2025 Caribbean Jobs – Attitudes & Images of the Diaspora
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1596 Book Review: ‘Prosper Where You Are Planted’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433 Caribbean loses more than 70 percent of tertiary educated to brain drain
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=841 Having less babies (and people) is bad for the Caribbean economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=599 Ailing Puerto Rico open to radical economic fixes

From the cradle-to-the-grave, the needs of a community – whether it is in the Caribbean, Greece or anywhere – cannot be casually dismissed. A crisis ensues, people respond, they make a choice: fight or flight.

In Greece, despite this great beauty, they are choosing flight:

CU Blog - Pressed by Debt Crisis, Doctors Leave Greece in Droves - Photo 4

In the Caribbean too!

caribbean_view

We can do better! We must do better. Though success is not guaranteed, it can be forged with the adoption and application of best-practices. This requires the full participation – time, talent and treasuries – of all stakeholders: residents and Diaspora alike. This effort is not easy, but rather strenuous; the Go Lean book calls it “heavy-lifting”.

Strenuous, heavy-lifting – Yes – but the returns are worth the effort: making the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play.

This is the goal of the Go Lean roadmap. Everyone is urged to lean-in! 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———

Appendix VIDEO – Greece’s Doctor Brain Drain – http://video1.nytimes.com/video/2015/06/30/33813_1_greece-doctors-leaving_wg_240p.mp4

playbutton-300x300

In part of a large brain drain that could affect Greece for decades, thousands of doctors have left the nation for Germany since the financial crisis began five years ago.

 

Share this post:
, , , , , , ,
[Top]