UK – Page 2 – Go Lean…Caribbean

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E. R. Braithwaite, Author of ‘To Sir, With Love’ – RIP

Posted on December 16, 2016 in Ethos, Social

Go Lean Commentary

The movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts that one person can make a difference in society; that one can engage a hero’s journey and overcome obstacles to impact society to benefit themselves and others. The book posits that such a hero can function in a lot of different areas of specialty; in fact the book identifies 144 different advocacies, therefore portraying that there a lot of ways to help our Caribbean society. This aligns with this principle:

“ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves”.

We come to this reckoning today … as the Caribbean mourns the passing of Guyana-born author Edward Ricardo Braithwaite; (June 27, 1912 – December 12, 2016); he published under the name E. R. Braithwaite. In his long and accomplished lifetime he excelled as a novelist, writer, teacher, and diplomat, best known for his stories of social conditions and racial discrimination against Black people. He was the author of the 1959 book To Sir, With Love, which was made into the highly acclaimed 1967 British drama film of the same title, starring Sidney Poitier and budding musical artist Lulu. May he “Rest In Peace”.

See the New York Times story here and an excerpt VIDEO from movie below:

Title: E. R. Braithwaite, Author of ‘To Sir, With Love,’ Dies at 104
E. R. Braithwaite, a Guyanese author, diplomat and former Royal Air Force pilot whose book “To Sir, With Love,” a memoir of teaching in London’s deprived East End, was adapted into a hit 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier, died on Monday in Rockville, Md. He was 104.

Mr. Braithwaite’s companion, Genevieve Ast, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. He had taught English at HowardUniversity, in Washington, and lived in the area for many years.

Mr. Braithwaite, who became a diplomat and represented Guyana at the United Nations and in Venezuela, wrote several books, many about racism in countries like South Africa and the United States, where he lived much of his life. But he is best known for “To Sir, With Love” (1959).

The book chronicled his efforts — as a courtly, Cambridge-educated military veteran who had been denied employment as an engineer because he was black — to motivate a group of unruly adolescents raised in a slum in early-1950s Britain, which was still slowly recovering from the austerity of the war years.

The students’ antisocial behavior, casual racism, penchant for violence and, worst of all, self-hatred horrify the new teacher, whose colleagues expect little of the pupils.

He takes them to museums and tells them about his childhood. Slowly, he gains their trust by showing respect and affection, which, for most of the students, have been in short supply. (The title of the book comes from an inscription his appreciative students wrote on a pack of cigarettes they gave him.) He also develops romantic feelings for another teacher, who, like the students, is white.

The memoir was praised for offering a sympathetic account of race and class without naïveté or excessive sentimentality.
Source: New York Times – Daily Newspaper; Posted 12-13-2016; retrieved 12-15-2016 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/books/e-r-braithwaite-author-of-to-sir-with-love-dies-at-104.html?_r=1

VIDEO – Excerpt: ‘To Sir With Love’ (1967) – The Ending – https://youtu.be/nXaEf4ktpPA

Published on Apr 2, 2014 – The rather mawkish, sentimental ending of ‘To Sir, with love’ – Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) tears up his letter of acceptance for an engineering job, and decides to stay at the school.

See the link for the Full Movie in the Appendix below.

That book – To Sir With Love – in 1959 and the subsequent movie in 1967 was a great depiction of the struggles of Black people that migrated to America and the UK; (all of Western Europe for that matter). This was autobiographical. Despite the colonial heritage and the “One Empire” precept, Black immigrants were not treated kindly – “K.B.W.” was a popular phrase at that time: Keep Britain White – they were rejected and resisted in all corners of society of their new homes. These media works helped to convey that pain and suffering for the ordinary (Black) man who tried to move there.

These works were acclaimed and recognized with many awards:

Awards and honors

Laurel Awards

Sleeper of the Year: 1968^[10]

Female New Face – 2nd place: Judy Geeson – 1968^[11]

Nominations

Directors Guild of America

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: James Clavell – 1967^[12]

Laurel Awards

Male New Face: Christian Roberts – 1968^[13]

10th Annual Grammy Awards

Best Original Score from a Motion Picture or Television Show: 1968^[14]

Other honors

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

2004: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs:

“To Sir With Love” – Nominated^[15]

Source: Retrieved December 13, 2016 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Sir,_with_Love

That world of 1959 (or 1967) was a hard existence for a Black man … of Caribbean heritage in America or in the UK. For E.R. Braithwaite to be so accomplished, despite the overbearing racism of the day, is a testament to his devotion to excellence and accomplishment.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean defines that the struggle and effort of this great media work – To Sir With Love – and its Author, a Guyana Diaspora-member, aligns with our movement. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This CU strives to advance Caribbean image and culture with these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance.

A celebration of life for E.R. Braithwaite is also a celebration of Sidney Poitier (age 89), the starring actor of the movie ‘To Sir With Love‘. As Braithwaite was a Caribbean Diaspora-member – from Guyana – so too is Poitier, who is from the Bahamas. Poitier is equally accomplished; as reported in a previous Go Lean commentary, in 1964, Poitier won an Oscar for his performance in the movie ‘Lillies of the Field‘. Hollywood Star and Actress Ann Bancroft, presenting him the award during the telecast and gave him a peck on the cheek. Racial conservatives were outraged. Interracial marriage was still widely outlawed in different communities (think Southern US) and civil rights workers were being killed. Poitier’s Oscar was a symbol that things were changing.

This Go Lean roadmap seeks to change … the Caribbean (not the UK or the rest of the world), so that men (and women) of accomplishment do not have to leave their Caribbean homes to work their craft; they should be able to “work” at home. Our region has to be reformed and transformed to provide such advanced opportunities. The roadmap recognizes that a prerequisite for advancing society is a change in the Caribbean community ethos. Early in the book, the contributions of the arts and artists (music, film, theater and artistic expressions) are pronounced as an ethos for the entire region to embrace; this is identified in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 15) with this statement:

xxxii. Whereas the cultural arts and music of the region are germane to the quality of Caribbean life, and the international appreciation of Caribbean life, the Federation must implement the support systems to teach, encourage, incentivize, monetize and promote the related industries for arts and music in domestic and foreign markets. These endeavors will make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play.

E.R. Braithwaite elevated the culture and image of African Caribbean people in refuge countries (UK and US), and thusly elevated the Black image to the rest of the world. Perhaps this is his greatest legacy, presenting the viability that anyone, from anywhere, can impact his home and the rest of the world. Other Caribbean artists have thusly followed – think musical icon Bob Marley – and more will follow suit going forward. The Go Lean book has prepared a pathway for success for future generations of talented, inspirational and influential Caribbean artists. These ones are sure to emerge, and we want them to have the greatest impact on the world and on the Caribbean image further. We are thusly preparing for this, as specified in the same Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13) with this statement:

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.

The CU represents the change that must be made in and to the Caribbean. The people, institutions and governance of the region are all urged to “lean-in” to this roadmap for change. We know it is important to highlight the positive contributions of Caribbean people, even their Diaspora.

The following list details the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster future artists in the Caribbean:

Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius	Page 27
Community Ethos – Promote Intellectual Property	Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Caribbean Vision	Page 45
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Patents & Copyrights	Page 78
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Culture Administration	Page 81
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media	Page 111
Advocacy – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood	Page 203
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Improve the Arts	Page 230
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Music	Page 231

Previously, this blog-commentary composed other obituaries of role models whose life and legacy made an impact on Caribbean life. These are the previous submissions:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9948	Caribbean Roots: Sammy Davis, Jr. – RIP
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9813	Fidel Castro – RIP – Is Dead. Now What?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8165	Role Model Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight – RIP
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6593	Dr. Mobley – Role Model as a BusinessSchool Dean – RIP
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2726	Caribbean Role Model – Oscar De La Renta – RIP
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1037	Role Model and Humanities Advocate – Maya Angelou – R.I.P.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=866	Caribbean Musical Icon and Role Model: Bob Marley – RIP

E.R. Braithwaite impacted the world of popular culture … and then some. There was the book, movie and song all entitled To Sir With Love. We felt his impact on the world and we will all miss his presence; RIP. The world is a better place because he was here. He came; he saw; he conquered.

We must now carry on without him, but we are empowered by his role model. We now know that any Caribbean stakeholder, resident or Diaspora, can impact the world and their homeland to make it a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———-

Appendix VIDEO – ‘To Sir With Love’ (1967) – Watch the Full Movie – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89yJ6rIdibs

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10 Things We Want from the UK and 10 Things We Do Not Want

Posted on October 17, 2016 in Government, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

There is a “give and take” relationship between the Caribbean and the United Kingdom (a reference to Britain or England).

18 of the current Caribbean 30 member-states have a British heritage. They (the UK) have given a lot to the Caribbean over the centuries: systems of commerce, systems of governance, education, language, art and culture. The UK was more than just a country, it was an Empire, with colonialism exploited to the maximum; Mother England.

In addition to giving, they have taken a lot as well; consider the centuries of British mercantilism. Plus, during the World Wars, the UK drafted this population to staff their Armed Forces; see the drama depicted in the classic cultural song in the Appendix B VIDEO below. After the Second World War, with their economy in tatters, the UK, took from the Caribbean again, this time the human capital of so many Caribbean territories; see the Caribbean experience related musically in the Appendix A VIDEO below.

This historicity was detailed in this previous blog-commentary …

“There was plenty of work in post-war Britain and industries such as British Rail, the National Health Service and public transport recruited almost exclusively from Jamaica and Barbados”. Retrieved July 10, 2014 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_African-Caribbean_people#The_.22Windrush_generation.22

This point is in consideration of the book Go Lean…Caribbean; it posits (Page 3) that “the Caribbean is the greatest address in the world”, but yet the region could not compete with the economic opportunities extended by England and the rest of Europe after World War II. The hope was always to glean some of the economic returns by venturing to England – for a short while – and then come back home. There was the definite plan to discourage any subsequent emigration by future generations of Caribbean citizens.

To our chagrin, that is not what happened. The situation went from bad to worse in the English-speaking Caribbean.

The Caribbean British territories created a pipeline to England for a cheap, low-skilled, labor force. As more and more residents left, the society declined more and more in their wake. Today, a large number of Caribbean people live abroad; in places like the UK, Europe, Canada and the US. This commentary is Part 3 of 4 in a series examining the destinations of the Caribbean Diaspora. The full series is as follows:

10 Things We Want from the US and 10 Things We Do Not Want
10 Things We Want from Canada and 10 Things We Do Not Want
10 Things We Want from the UK and 10 Things We Do Not Want
10 Things We Want from Europe and 10 Things We Do Not Want

So for the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), we must ask the questions of our Diaspora there:

Why do they live in the UK and what can we learn from that experience?
What can we gather for the Pros and Cons of British life?

Overall, there continues to be “push and pull” reasons why Caribbean citizens have emigrated in the past – and continue to do so now. The extent of that societal abandonment is so acute that it is now at an atrocious 70% rate among the region’s college-educated classes. The Go Lean book makes the frank and earnest admission that the Caribbean has blatant societal defects … in the economic, security and governing engines of the communities.

The Go Lean movement (book and blog-commentaries) have looked inward and identified the defects of Caribbean life. Now we look at these refuge countries so as to glean the Good and Bad lessons of those destinations. This is also a competitive analysis, as the Caribbean region is competing with these foreign locales for the hearts and minds of the Caribbean youth. Like other submissions in this series, here is the laundry list of the Good and the Bad from the UK and the Go Lean roadmap describes the applications or mitigations of these lessons in the implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU):

CU Blog – UK Imports

*10 GOOD* Things We Want from the UK**		*10 BAD* Things We Don’t Want from the UK**
1	Leadership in International Commerce Up until 1876, the United Kingdom was the richest nation on earth. (After the California Gold Rush, the US took that mantle). The key to Britain riches was mercantilism in which they exploited the resources from their colonies, imported raw materials to England, engaged factories processes for finished goods, and exported goods back to the colonies (and the rest of the world) for huge profits. Despite decline over the past century, the UK is still the 5th strongest economy in the world (by GDP) and a permanent member of the United Nation Security Council. The Go Lean roadmap recognizes the strategic advantages for expanded trade; the book quotes the Economic Principle that “Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth”. The CU is branded a “Trade” Federation.	Brexit Mentality The UK is still one of the major economic and political powers. But the public approved a referendum on June 23, 2016 to exit the European Union within 2 years. The Brexit proponents want more autonomy and less subjection to EU authorities. The freedom of movement mandate in the EU made the “Brexiters” uncomfortable with recent Middle Eastern refugees. The UK can lose the “world leader” statue they current enjoy. The Go Lean roadmap advocates for interdependence more so that independence. The CU is modeled after the EU, so we want all that the UK is now trying to “throw away”. Our strategy for free movement of labor is more conditional than our EU counterparts. For jobs, priority go first to locals, then other CU members, then foreigners.
2	National Healthcare The UK’s National Health System is a great example of successful healthcare for all of its citizens. They ensure that everyone has access and quality delivery. They have coverage for indigent care, so there are no price shocks. The Go Lean roadmap calls for schemes to mandate healthcare insurance for every adult. With the leverage across the 30 member-states and 42 million people, the wholesale costs of products/services would be reduced.	Healthcare Egalitarianism The British Health delivery is a Single Payer and not an insurance program. So everyone gets the same level of treatment. The realities of personal healthcare is that there is no universality, “one size does not fit all”. Many times patients may have had to wait for specialized procedures.The Go Lean roadmap advocates for a mandated insurance solution. The key is that every adult will be required to select some insurance plan, of their choosing.
3	Tourists Tourism is still the primary economic driver for the Caribbean region. While there is a lot of competition for British tourists, the Caribbean continues to make the case that its region is the best tourism destination in the world. The region wants to continue to appeal to Britons of all demographic persuasions to come visit the islands for stay-overs (land-based hotels) and/or cruise ships. We want to forge vacation options and traffic for the upper, middle and lower classes of British society. The CU forges plans, advocacies and re-boots to further enhance the Caribbean tourism product array.	British Diaspora During the early days of nation-building, many British workers came to the English-speaking Caribbean to work jobs that many locals could have done. As many Caribbean states obtained independence, many Britons still remain. This practice led to the false ethos that White Britons were “better” capable than local personnel. The Go Lean roadmap dictates a labor standard where local workers get priority for jobs, then regional citizens, then and only then foreign workers (like Britons).The Single Market would have freedom of movement but with this labor-qualifying caveat.
4	Capital There are many FinancialCenters around the world (London, New York, Zurich, Hong Kong, etc.); London has huge liquidity, second only to New York’s Wall Street. So they have the capital the Caribbean wants and needs for Direct Foreign Investments. The Go Lean roadmap calls for the emergence of the Caribbean Dollar (C$) managed by a regional technocratic Caribbean Central Bank. This structure allows for more liquidity in the existing stock exchanges in the regions.	Re-valued Currency The British Pound is stronger than the US dollar and the Euro, so British products are more costly. When a UK- Caribbean financial transaction is executed in US dollars, a British trading partner have to endure higher prices. The C$ is not designed to be pegged to the US dollar, but rather a basket of currencies including the British Pound, Euro, and Japanese Yen. So Britons doing business in the Caribbean will not be vulnerable to US$ fluctuations. The C$ is modeled on the Euro dollar in that regards.
5	British Navy Great Britain has been a military powerhouse, with a rich history of naval dominance. The British Navy enforced the abolition of the Slave Trade in support of international treaties and accords. We are forever grateful. The CU roadmap provide for a complete Homeland Security apparatus to defend the Caribbean region and the Caribbean Sea. In addition, there is a comprehensive Intelligence Gathering and Analysis functionality.	Deportees The UK repatriates Caribbean citizens guilty of criminality on British soil. So these one become the concern for Caribbean authorities once deported. The Go Lean roadmap calls for proactive mitigations for “bad actors” that might bring a lawless ethos to the homeland. We seek a treaty with the UK for full intelligence sharing for those affiliated with organized crime (gangs) and low-level felons.

UK Imports (cont’d)

*10 GOOD* Things We Want from the US**		*10 BAD* Things We Don’t Want from the US**
6	Foreign Aid The UK designed the defunct West Indies Federation, with independence and societal elevation in mind. The regional construct was intended as mature democratic entity. Despite the rejection of this scheme, the British still do help out in the “time of our need” after natural disasters (earthquakes and hurricanes). But they prefer to help as a regional bloc rather than country by country. The CU is designed to be a new regional construct. The Go Lean roadmap corrects many of the defects from the original UK designed. We can finally get regionalism right! Then we can better manage foreign aid (financial and technical assistance) from the UK and other donors.	Condition for Philanthropic Support Many times foreign aid comes from NGO’s who skim too much for their administrative overhead – think Red Cross. The CU wants the aid, funding and philanthropy from the UK, but not the “bad actors” raising money on our behalf with little follow-up to the Caribbean / West Indies region. The Go Lean roadmap asserts that the region must “grow up” and handle its own development, philanthropic fund- raising, collection and distribution, with full accountability. The CU thusly features the regulatory oversight for governmental and NGO accountability. This is the maturity envisioned at the start of the West Indies regional construct and all subsequent integration movements.
7	Reconciliation after Colonialism The UK has a history of repression of the native colonized peoples in their homeland and those in the Diaspora in the UK; but this country has reconciled that bad history with positive empowerments; and human rights mandates. The Go Lean* roadmap calls for formal reconciliation commissions to settle a lot of bad treatment in the past.*	Virtual Segregation The UK has a bad history of racial divide in many cities (Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, etc). While not a legal segregation, there was a de facto segregation with many ethnic migrants living in urban pockets. The CU proposes repatriation back to the Caribbean homeland. There is nothing like being home.
8	Co-existence of the Diverse The UK has become a diverse society, with the immigration of so many people from so many corners of world, most representing the former the British Empire. These diverse groups co-exist well in the urban areas. The Go Lean* roadmap calls for Minority Equalization for different language groups; this includes multilingual media and government communications.*	Right-Wing Extremism The UK has been negatively impacted by the global Agents of Change: Globalization, Technology, etc.. Many Britons – on the “Right” – wrongly feel that declines in the economics of their society are due to the emergence of immigrants. The CU/Go Lean* roadmap calls for managing the country of Canada as a competitor for our hearts of our youth.*
9	Media Arts – Film, TV, Stage, Music The British Film, Television and Music industries thrive. They produce and distribute many movies (i.e. James Bond), television shows (i.e. Downton Abbey) and music artists (i.e. Beatles, Adele) to international markets. (Shakespeare is still “King”). Their quality contributes to a media trade surplus with the rest of the world. The CU roadmap posits that art and music can drive big economic returns as long as the complete eco-system is there to identify, foster & compensate stakeholders.	Cultural Neutralizations – Domination of airwaves If not abated, the English-speaking Caribbean media can be dominated by British programming. There is the need to promote local and regional media for both the cultural and economic expressions. The CU makes it a priority to foster a local-regional industry in the arts. Success in this area would increase trade in media and also tourism, as the performing arts make the cultural exchange better. One of the missing ingredients is the payment systems.
10	Sports Professionalism The English Premier League (Soccer/Football) is a great example for monetizing the interest in sports. This British league is appreciated and celebrated globally; consider that Manchester United is one of the most valuable sports franchises internationally. In addition, national teams (Cricket, Rugby, Field Hockey, etc.) foster professional occupations for participants. The Go Lean* roadmap places high priority on the business of sports; it includes a comprehensive promotion and administration apparatus within the CU Cabinet level State Department.*	Recruitment of Caribbean Athletes Due to a lack of professional opportunities in the Caribbean region, the British sports eco-system recruits Caribbean talent. Unfortunately, these athletes then “make a life” in the UK, exacerbating our “brain drain”. The Go Lean roadmap seeks to reboot the Caribbean societal engines, lowering the “push and pull” factors that cause citizens to flee to other countries, like the UK. For athletes with the “genius qualifiers”, there must be adequate opportunities in the Caribbean. The Go Lean roadmap seeks to implement a regional sports eco-system for amateur, collegiate and professional participation.

The UK has been a frequent topic for considerations from the Go Lean movement (book and blogs). The opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14) recognized that there is value in considering the Good and Bad examples of Canada, with this statement:

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 … On the other hand, the Federation must also implement the good examples learned from developments/ communities …

Not just life in Britain is addressed by the Go Lean book, but also life in the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. The CU treaty includes the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos and the Virgin Islands. Though the UK is one of the biggest/richest economies (#5 by GDP), British economic prosperity has not always extended to these islands; so many chose to just emigrate to the British mainland.

In addition, the book specifically addresses Britain, British Territories and the Caribbean Diaspora in Britain with these direct references of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocates:

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth	Page 21
Community Ethos – Minority Equalizations – Westminster Parliamentary Model of 2 Chambers	Page 24
Strategy – Invite empowering immigrants – Like British Intellectuals & Snowbirds	Page 46
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy – Case Study of British Invasions for Sovereign Debt Issues	Page 66
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security – Alliance for Defending British Territories	Page 75
Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives – Trade Mission Office: London	Page 117
Implementation – Reason to Repatriate – From the UK	Page 118
Implementation – Ways to Promote Independence – Autonomous Rule for Territories	Page 120
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade – Trade to Diaspora in the UK	Page 128
Planning – Lessons from the previous West Indies Federation – Designed for UK Independence	Page 135
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy – Encourage More Foreign Investment from the UK	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Entitlements – UK Model of Bad Austerity Policies	Page 158
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives – Models from British Origins	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora – England‘s Large Pockets	Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Impact British Territories	Page 245
Appendix – Transportation Infrastructure Model: English Channel Tunnel	Page 281
Appendix – The Guianas Historic Timeline	Page 307

In addition, previous Go Lean blog/commentaries addressed many issues in regards to the UK, the British Overseas Territories and the interactions of Caribbean people that live there in the UK; see sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8351	‘Brexit’ Lesson in Economic Fallacies: No Such Independence
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7682	American Abolitionist Frederick Douglass Success in the UK
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5123	The Legacy of Royal Charters from the UK: Good & Bad
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4840	Jamaican Poll: ‘Bring back the British!’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1933	Britain’s Neglected Diaspora
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1683	British Public Sector Workers / Diaspora Strike Over Pay
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=732	UK’s Turks and Caicos Islands Drama with Autonomous Rule
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=451	CariCom Address Issue of Reparations from the UK
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=353	Nine Economic Policy Disasters: #1 British Mercantilism

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the CU. Our scope is to impact the Caribbean’s economic, security and governing engines, not British society. But we do hope to engage the Caribbean Diaspora living there. Perhaps even entice them to consider a Caribbean repatriation. 🙂

There are Good lessons and Bad lessons that we can learned from the UK. So let’s pay more than the usual attention to the lessons from “over there”. Everyone is urged to lean-in to this Go Lean/CU roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation, to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———–

Appendix A VIDEO – Prince Malachi – Great Welcome [Official Video 2015] – https://youtu.be/6lr6VnE0AQM

Published on Sep 24, 2015 – http://www.REGGAEVILLE.com
Commenters: 1. “No Blacks, No Irish & No Dogs in England”
2. “Really big tune with meaningful lyrics. ‘The troubles we face are still not yet done but we’ll have to keep on pushing through’.

———–

Appendix B VIDEO – The Last Farewell ~ Roger Whittaker – https://youtu.be/sGWs1HK8iDU

Uploaded on Feb 13, 10 – Song Lyrics; a cultural phenomenon depicting the “love” of a British Expatriate in the Caribbean.

There’s a ship lies rigged and ready in the harbor
Tomorrow for old England she sails
Far away from your land of endless sunshine
To my land full of rainy skies and gales
And I shall be aboard that ship tomorrow
Though my heart is full of tears at this farewell

For you are beautiful, I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell
For you are beautiful, I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell

I’ve heard there’s a wicked war a-blazing
And the taste of war I know so very well
Even now I see the foreign flag a-raising
Their guns on fire as we sail into hell
I have no fear of death, it brings no sorrow
But how bitter will be this last farewell

For you are beautiful, I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell
For you are beautiful, I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell

Though death and darkness gather all about me
My ship be torn apart upon the seas
I shall smell again the fragrance of these islands
And the heaving waves that brought me once to thee
And should I return home safe again to England
I shall watch the English mist roll through the dell

For you are beautiful, I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell
For you are beautiful, I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell

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A Lesson in Economic Fallacies – Independence: Hype or Hope

Posted on July 6, 2016 in Economics, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Now after the Fourth of July – American Independence Holiday – we focus on the many Caribbean member-states that are celebrating their independence in the next weeks and months. See list of Independence Dates in the Appendix below.

For a long time, independence was ‘all the rage’; but was it hope or just hype? With a world-wide emphasis on globalization, this commentary posits that the ‘rage’ needs to be interdependence. That African proverb rings so loudly:

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

So, it is the assessment of this commentary that Independence is so overrated; rather than independence, the call is for interdependence. A model of this desired interdependence is the inter-state cooperation in the European Union (EU). But even that modeled structure is now in jeopardy …

… as a referendum in Britain (actually all of the United Kingdom) on exiting the EU passed the ballot test. A proponent for this Brexit or Leave campaign, UK Independence Party Leader Nigel Farage, declared that the balloting day – June 23 – would be Britain’s Independence Day. The assumption here is that the UK had lost its autonomy for too many governing matters and has therefore become occupied by the EU.

The detailed results of the balloting is explained in this article here:

Quick facts about the Brexit

• On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin. There is no legal precedent for an EU member state to exit the Union, and a prolonged period of political and economic uncertainty is expected.

• Following the vote in the U.K., Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign, setting off a power struggle for his successor.

• Cameron said there would be no immediate change in the free movement of people, goods and services, both in and out of the U.K.

• The Bank of England stated it will enable British lenders to provide credit to businesses and households throughout the period of uncertainty. The BoE said it is also prepared to provide an additional £250 billion in liquidity to banks, in sterling and foreign currency, if required.

• Companies must continue to abide by regulations based on EU legislation until the exit is complete, which is expected to take up to two years.

What are some of the political implications?
Bernie McKay, Chief Public Policy Officer of publically-traded Silicon Valley-based company Intuit, Inc. said: “There are uncertain downstream implications about Britain’s future political leadership, which will take months to settle. But the governmental implications extend much further, including uncertainty about the future unity of the United Kingdom itself – watch for the revival of calls for Scottish independence, and for a referendum about the future of Northern Ireland. There is also the risk of exit ‘contagion’ in the EU – watch for movements in other member countries for EU exits.”

“There will be lots of speculation and rumors about Brexit implications for businesses, but it is again premature to reliably predict the real world outcomes, which will emerge gradually over the next several years as the dust settles. We will continue to engage and closely follow developments and implications.”

Source: Posted June 29, 2016; retrieved July 1, 2016 from: https://insight.intuit.com/IntuitNews/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=874bdd47%2D5d8f%2D4fcd%2Dbd9c%2De4d70b533740&ID=4213&Web=d3d40795%2D7bb5%2D4e3d%2Db930%2Db6e2cf3191eb

There is a lot of uncertainty from this Brexit action – the subject of independence is turning out to be more hype than hope; see the VIDEO in the Appendix below.

This subject is presented in conjunction with the book Go Lean … Caribbean and its accompanying movement. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government – modeled after the EU – to administer and optimize the economic, security, and governing engines of the 30 member Caribbean states. The book and previous blogs are reflections of a regional interdependence movement. This is more hope, than hype!

A philosophical attack on the EU is therefore an attack on the Caribbean’s future. We must be aware … and on guard.

In truth, the EU has prospered; it has been a win-win for all of its members. It has endured hardships (consider for example, the sovereign debt crisis in Greece) that under previous European regime’s would have resulted in wars; on two occasions, World Wars. Now so much of the rest of the world – especially Africa and the MiddleEast – wants what the EU has. This is why one of the greatest challenges for the EU as a whole and for each individual member-state is immigration or refugee migration. A basic requirement of the economic integration of the EU is the free movement of labor. So anytime, a refugee finds his/her way inside EU borders, they can travel to any member-state. The only way to prevent this free movement is to exit the EU. This is the British decision!

The UK does not want economic stagnation; they way progress. But they have wrongly accepted the fallacy of economic independence.

Things in Britain will get worse before it gets worse.

True, the EU is not perfect. They have some defects to fix. But the winning formula for fixing the governance is not shouting instructions from outside the trading group, but rather reforming and transforming it from the inside. But with Britain’s exit, they will have not further influence on the group, or the EU’s policies and procedures.

Make no mistake, EU member-states are Britain’s largest trading partners. Like any kind of collaborative relationship, there must be some “give-and-take”. The masses who voted to “Leave“, seem to want to take and not contribute as freely to the giving part. See the related chart in the photo here.

Considering the EU as a model for the CU, a big lesson for us from this drama is that without a “give-and-take” ethos, no economic integration would succeed. This has always been a problem for the UK since the start of the European “Integration Project”. Time and again, they opted-out out of so many regional regulations/proceedings. For example, the EU needed a constitution, but some countries, the UK most prominently, balked at the idea, so the rest of the trading pact opted for modified treaties as opposed to an enforceable constitution. Britain wanted their “cake and to eat it too”. So hopefully now, with a true Brexit, the constitution effort can re-emerge.

Then there is the issue of unity; the Brexit vote shows that some elements in the United Kingdom are not so “united”. Just two years ago, a referendum in Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom – and join the EU as a full member including the Eurozone Monetary Union – was narrowly defeated. No doubt, this Brexit vote will renew the call for Scottish Independence, and maybe even spur a similar campaign for Northern Ireland.

But the complaints of the British masses who voted to “leave” must be acknowledged. They are angry, dissatisfied and protesting the status quo. The Go Lean roadmap posits that globalization is less than perfect; it creates a lot of winners, at the expense of a lot of losers. Those who cling to their nationalistic orthodoxy tend to be among the losing classes. Change is afoot; there is the need to move from the status quo and position a community at the corner of preparation and opportunity.

The recent 2008 global financial crisis taught the important lesson that without preparation and planning the people suffer. The events of that year proved to be a crisis, one that still lingers even to this day. But the Go Lean book trumpets that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste”. In the Caribbean, we want our homeland to be a better place to live, work and play, so we must avail ourselves to the crisis in the UK, EU and the rest of the world and apply the lessons learned here at home.

For 16 of the 30 Caribbean member-states – see chart in the Appendix of 5 actual British Overseas Territories – the United Kingdom is their colonial legacy. The sins of the parents – much of the UK’s “Leave” supporters were motivated by hate – should not fall to the children. While ‘Mother England’ balks at the EU confederacy, we in the Caribbean should embrace the confederacy of the CU, even though it is a model of the EU. Only then can real solutions be forged for the Caribbean region, like creating 2.2 million jobs across the integrated market of 42 million people and growing the regional economy to $800 Billion of GDP.

There are a lot of lessons in this Brexit drama for the Caribbean. Many of these lessons were codified in the pages of the Go Lean book; though the book was written in 2013, it anticipated opposition to any confederation effort. The book presents “sharing” or give-and-take as a community ethos – the fundamental spirit of a culture that drives the practices of society – that needs to be adopted. The book also details other ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge collaborations in Caribbean communities:

Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship	Page 28
Community Ethos – Promote Intellectual Property	Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Bridge the Digital Divide	Page 31
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Confederate 30 Caribbean Member-States into a Single Market	Page 45
Strategy – Customers – Member-state Governments	Page 47
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization	Page 57
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Member-state Governments -vs- CU Federal Agencies	Page 71
Implementation – Year 1 / Assemble Phase – Integrate Regional Organs	Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Impact Elections – For Federal Offices and a Constitution	Page 116
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization	Page 119
Implementation – Ways to Promote Independence	Page 120
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade	Page 128
Planning – Ways to Model the EU	Page 130
Planning – Lessons Learned from the West Indies Federation – Previous Integration Effort	Page 135
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	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Communications	Page 186
Advocacy – Ways to ImpactBritishTerritories	Page 245

The underlying spirit behind this Brexit protest is a quest to “appoint new guards” to make the homeland a better place to live, work and play. The Caribbean’s quest for societal elevation is similar; but instead of a call for independence, it is a quest for interdependence; so pronounced in this Declaration of Interdependence at the outset of the Go Lean book (Page 12):

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

The need for “new guards” have been frequently detailed in previous Go Lean blog-commentaries. Consider this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8306	New Guards – Women Get Ready for New Lean-In Campaign
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7896	New Guards for Disaster Relief
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789	New Guards for Global Trade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7749	New Guards for Regional Elections
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601	New Guards for Caribbean Sovereign Debt
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7327	New Guards for Disease Control
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6341	New Guards for Tourism Stewardship
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103	New Guards Against Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5183	A Lesson in History – Cinco De Mayo and Mexico’s Security Lapses
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531	A Lesson in European Dysfunction: 100 Years Ago – World War I
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1193	EU willing to fund study on cost of not having CARICOM
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833	European Model: One currency, divergent economies

The events in the UK and EU are important for us to consider … and learn. Truth be told, the Caribbean is in competition with this European world, and losing. We lose a lot of our citizens to these very same countries.

The quest to change the Caribbean will require convincing people to not act to their own detriment, as it appears the UK has done with this Brexit vote. Independence is not the answer; interdependence should be embraced more. This message must be trumpeted throughout Caribbean society – loud and clear. This is a mission of the Go Lean roadmap. This is a heavy-lifting task, but worth all the effort.

This is commentary 1 of 6 from the Go Lean movement on the subject of Economic Fallacies. This series presents the imagery of an animal – a dog perhaps – foraging for food, but then gets distracted and “chases a squirrel up a tree”. The squirrel in the tree will never be a meal; it is just a waste of time and energy for the animal. This analogy conveys the waste of time associated with frivolous and fallacious pursuits. The other commentaries are detailed as follows:

All of these commentaries are economic in nature. They refer to rules for managing the valuable resources of time, talents and treasuries. There are best-practices for winning and cautionary tales from losing. Normally these are discovered after the fact, not before hand. So examining the experiences of other communities, the winners and losers, can be extremely helpful to our Caribbean cause. This too, is a mission of the Go Lean roadmap.

Everyone in the Caribbean – citizens, institutions and member-state governments – are hereby urged to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap. The end-result, once successful, is a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———–

Appendix – Caribbean Independence Dates

Member-State	Independence Day
Anguilla	British Overseas Territory = BOT
Antigua and Barbuda	November 1, 1981
Aruba	Netherlands Constituent
Bahamas	July 10, 1973
Barbados	November 30, 1966
Belize	September 21, 1981
Bermuda	BOT
British Virgin Islands	BOT
Cayman Islands	BOT
Cuba	May 20, 1902; Revolution July 26, 1953
Dominica	November 3, 1978
Dominican Republic	July 12, 192
Grenada	February 7, 1974
Guadeloupe	French Department
Guyana	May 26, 1966
Haiti	January 1, 1804
Jamaica	August 6, 1962
Martinique	French Department
Montserrat	BOT
Netherlands Antilles	Netherlands Constituent
Bonaire	Netherlands Constituent
Curaçao	Netherlands Constituent
Saba	Netherlands Constituent
Sint Eustatius	Netherlands Constituent
Sint Maarten	Netherlands Constituent
Puerto Rico	July 4^th, 1776
Saint Barthélemy	French Department
Saint Kitts and Nevis	September 19, 1983
Saint Lucia	February 22, 1979
Saint Martin	French Department
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	October 27, 1979
Suriname	November 25, 1975
Trinidad and Tobago	August 31, 1962
Turks and Caicos Islands	BOT
US Virgin Islands	July 4^th, 1776

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Caribbean#Independence

——————-

Appendix VIDEO – Brexit Update: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) – https://youtu.be/aGL5sDg7b8Y

Published on Jun 27, 2016 –
The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, and it looks like it may not be an especially smooth transition.
EXCUSE THE PROFANITY!

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Britain’s Neglected Diaspora

Posted on August 10, 2014 in Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Oh, how the mighty has fallen!

It is not only the Third World that struggles with brain drain. According to the foregoing news article, Great Britain, one of the world’s richest economies, also has a problem keeping their highly skilled workers as home. Accordingly, the article reports that there are over 5 million British expatriates living abroad.

Title: Message to the British Diaspora: “… and don’t come back”

Sub-title: Some 5 million Britons live abroad. The country could do far more to exploit its high-flying expats

When British politicians talk about winning the “global economic race” (as they often do) they have athletes like Gregor Wilson in mind. Mr. Wilson taught himself to code as a child. He started and built his first company while at university and sold it on graduating. His second venture, a software firm, is booming and will soon be ready to take on more staff. He is also preparing to leave Britain for good.

In the popular imagination, British expats are leathery retirees in the Mediterranean. But from 2006 onwards the weak pound, the bursting of Spain’s property bubble and rising taxes in France made the costas less attractive. The number of old Britons emigrating annually has more than halved since then. Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat, part of the high-street bank, says that a different breed of emigrant is now on the march: the ambitious graduate bound for North America or Asia.

The sharpest rise has been among those moving to the glittering East (see chart). Mr Wilson will build his business in Hong Kong. The web, along with the reach of the English language and the cachet of a British degree, gives young people like him opportunities undreamed-of by their parents’ generation. They are also un-tethered for longer: on average, they buy a house and form a family later in life than did previous generations. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that, since the eve of the economic crisis, emigration is down by 19% overall but up by 8% among 15- to 24-year-olds.

High housing costs help to drive young folk abroad. For the monthly rent on a rabbit hutch anywhere near central London, graduates live grandly elsewhere. “We can afford to travel around Australia, rent an apartment with a sea view and save some money,” explains Emma, a publisher and recent Oxford graduate who moved to Melbourne last year. Those with advanced degrees are especially likely to leave for countries where pay and research facilities are better.

This is regrettable. Britain’s productivity rate is puny; firms and factories badly need such skilled employees. But it is also an opportunity—which the country is squandering.

According to the World Bank, the British diaspora (at nearly 5m people, roughly the size of Scotland) is the largest of any rich country and the eighth biggest overall. Britain’s many expats could strengthen its trading links, channel investment into its economy and generally burnish the national brand. But Britain’s government seems to have “no coherent strategy” for engaging with them, says Alan Gamlen of the Oxford Diasporas Programme, a research unit at OxfordUniversity.

Of 193 UN member states, 110 have formal programmes to build links with citizens abroad. Britain is not one of them. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s database of Britons abroad is patchy. Of all the high-flying expats with British passports your correspondent asks, only one—Danny Sriskandarajah, a migration expert based in South Africa—has had any contact with local embassies or with UKTI, Britain’s trade-promotion body. And his Indian friend has received much more attention from his consulate.

Indeed, India is a trailblazer in this field. It has an entire ministry for its emigrants. Mr. Gamlen says it partly has this to thank for the success of its IT industry, built by Indians lured home from Silicon Valley and Europe. Other countries are similarly welcoming. Italy and France even reserve parliamentary seats for their diasporas.

The British government would probably have to work harder than most to sustain ties with the country’s expats. Britons are relatively good at melting into other countries without trace. They are a individualistic bunch, have Commonwealth links and a native language that often makes it easy to integrate.

Kiwi seeds
New Zealand offers a good model for Britain’s hands-off diplomats to emulate. Wellington has spent 30 years encouraging firms and philanthropists to root out Kiwis abroad. Its proudest achievement is the Kiwi Expat Association, a public-private partnership that supports and connects overseas New Zealanders through social media and networking events, and helps them return home if they so wish. Britain might also make it easier to bring spouses into the country. Expats who want to move back with their non-British partners often collide with their home country’s ever-tougher immigration regime.

If Britain does not want its talented globetrotters, others do. Germany actively recruits Britons to take apprenticeships there. Middle Eastern governments tour British universities doling out visas. Mr. Wilson was contacted out of the blue by the Chinese authorities, who invited him to relocate his firm and offered to pay for his flight. “America and China seem really keen to attract us,” he says. “Britain just doesn’t seem that interested.”
The Economist Magazine – (Posted 08/09/2014) –
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21611102-some-5m-britons-live-abroad-country-could-do-far-more-exploit-its-high-flying-expats-and?fsrc=nlw

The analysis is straight forward, this is Globalization 101. In a global economy, the economic rules of supply and demand are magnified globally. Highly skilled individuals are a commodity that is in demand, customers for that commodity emerged from all corners of the earth.

For the Caribbean, the lessons are very pointed, the exacerbated brain drain, estimated at 70%, with one country Guyana registering a 81% ratio, will not go away on its own. There must be a concerted effort of mitigations and solutions to remediate the problem. The book Go Lean…Caribbean is the concerted mitigation effort on behalf of the Caribbean region. The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).

This roadmap is for the elevation of Caribbean society, including the Diaspora. There is no laissez-faire attitude toward this population, there are specific missions to impact the Diaspora into the effort to empower the Caribbean. In fact, the prime directives of the CU are presented as 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.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The book posits that, just like Great Britain in the foregoing article, the Caribbean is in crisis with this brain drain problem. This point is stressed early in the book (Page 13) in the following pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:

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.

This commentary previously related details of the vibrant Caribbean Diaspora, such as the causes of emigration, efforts to reduce the “push-and-pull” factors and the region’s continuous interaction with the “exile community”, in these earlier Go Lean blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1896	American “Pull” Factors – Crisis in Black Homeownership
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698	American “Pull” Factors – STEM Jobs Are Filling Slowly
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1683	British public sector workers strike over ‘poverty pay’
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=1350	PayPal expands payment services to 10 markets
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1296	Remittances to Caribbean Increased By 3 Percent in 2013
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1256	Traditional 4-year College Degree are Terrible Investments for the Caribbean Region
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=841	Having Less Babies is Bad for the Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=740	Trade/Foreign Mission Offices – Why not … a profit center?

Losing a portion of any population is bad for any economy. But losing large portions of a skilled population, is worst still as it creates a debilitating brain drain.

So how do we, in the Caribbean, find success when even John Bull (metonym referring to England) has failed? The foregoing article identifies a best practice: Diaspora outreach. This plan requires capturing a database of all Caribbean Diaspora and their legacies, a natural feature of the myCaribbean.gov social media site.

The Go Lean roadmap spells out the full details of the plan to engage the Diaspora residing, working, and studying in foreign lands. (Many students study abroad and never return “home”). The goal is to expand trade and absolutely-positively encourage a repatriation to their Caribbean homelands.

The CU will surely not abandon their Caribbean expatriates, even though these ones may have abandoned the Caribbean.

In line with the foregoing article, the Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster the best practices in Diaspora outreach, thus furthering interaction with far-flung Caribbean stakeholders:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification	Page 21
Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influences Choices & Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – The Consequences of Choice Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship	Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development	Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations	Page 34
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Mission – Repatriate Diaspora	Page 46
Strategy – Customers – Diaspora	Page 47
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Department of State – Foreign Affairs	Page 80
Implementation – Year 1 / Assemble Phase	Page 96
Implementation – Year 4 / Repatriate Phase	Page 98
Implementation – Improve Mail Services – e-Mail for Diaspora	Page 108
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media	Page 111
Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives	Page 117
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate	Page 118
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization	Page 119
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade	Page 128
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education	Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology	Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Impact British Territories	Page 245
Appendix – Analysis of Caribbean Diaspora by Country of Residence	Page 267
Appendix – Analysis of Caribbean Remittances	Page 268
Appendix – Analysis of Caribbean Emigration	Page 269
Appendix – Alternative Remittance Modes	Page 270
Appendix – Puerto Rican Diaspora Population in the US	Page 304

This roadmap focuses on the Caribbean, arguably the world’s best address, not Great Britain, a less than tropical, less than paradisiacal land . Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the changes in this Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap.

This is a big deal for the region. This roadmap is not just a plan, its a prescription for what ails the region; it advocates for the CU to serve as a delivery vehicle to carry the hopes and dreams of generations of Caribbean residents…and Diaspora.

The region needs this delivery; the region needs this cure. The region needs this roadmap to be a better place to live, work and play.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Civil Rights, Diaspora, Foreign Policy, Model, UK

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British public sector workers strike over ‘poverty pay’

Posted on July 10, 2014 in Government, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

The grass is not greener on the other side.

Go from being a big fish in small pond, to small fish in big pond.

These expressions are relevant in considering the fate of so many Caribbean Diaspora that had fled their Caribbean homelands over the past decades to take residence in Great Britain. Many of them sought refuge as career civil servants; (one reason ^[a] was the acute racism and intolerance encountered in private enterprises). These ones are faced with the harsh reality that pay scales in the public sector have not kept pace with inflation; they are now at poverty level. See the news article here:

By: Tess Little (Editing by Stephen Addison)

LONDON (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers including teachers, council workers and firefighters staged a 24-hour pay strike on Thursday in a stoppage that has prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to pledge a crackdown on union powers.

Protesters marched through the streets of many of Britain’s main cities in one of the biggest co-ordinated labour stoppages for three years.

Denouncing what they called “poverty pay,” they demanded an end to restrictions on wage rises that have been imposed by the government over the past four years in an effort to help reduce Britain’s huge budget deficit.

In London, demonstrators marched towards Trafalgar Square at midday, chanting “Low pay, no way, no slave labour” to the beat of a drum. A giant pair of inflatable scissors, carried by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), read “Education cuts never heal.”

Firefighter Simon Amos, 47, marched wearing his uniform behind a flashing fire engine parading members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). “The government [is] making us pay more for our pension for it to be worth the same, and making us work longer,” he said.

The biggest public sector union involved, Unison, said early reports showed the strike had led to 3,225 school closures with more than 1,000 others partially closed.

Refuse collectors, school support staff, cleaners, street sweepers, care workers, nursery assistants and social workers were joining the strike, it added.

Hot spots, it said, included the North East, Wales and East Midlands where most council offices had closed, while more than 60 picket lines have closed most services in Newcastle.

“It is a massive decision by local government and school support workers to sacrifice a day’s pay by going on strike, but today they are saying enough is enough,” said Unison General Secretary, Dave Prentis in a statement.

Britain’s coalition government has enforced a policy of pay restraint for public sector workers since coming to power in 2010, imposing a pay freeze until 2012 and then a one percent pay rise cap, resulting in a fall in income in real terms [compared to inflation].

The Cabinet Office played down the impact of the strike, saying that most schools in England and Wales were open and that fire services were operating throughout the country.

On Wednesday, Cameron told parliament he planned to limit unions’ powers to call strikes.

“How can it possibly be right for our children’s education to be disrupted by trade unions acting in this way” he said.

Tough new laws would be proposed in the Conservative manifesto for next year’s general election, he added.

These would include the introduction of a minimum threshold in the number of union members who need to take part in a strike ballot for it to be legal.

The manifesto could also back the introduction of a time limit on how long a vote in favour of industrial action would remain valid.

The NUT mandate for Thursday’s strike, for example, came from a 2012 strike ballot based on a turnout of just 27 percent, Cameron said.

The issue of minimum voting thresholds last arose three months ago when a strike by London Underground train drivers caused huge disruption in the capital, prompting Mayor Boris Johnson to demand that at least half of a union’s members should vote in favour for a strike to go ahead.
Source: Reuters News Service; retrieved 07/10/2014 from: http://news.yahoo.com/public-sector-workers-strike-over-poverty-pay-105040672.html

Frankly, the Caribbean Diaspora employed in the British public sector can now do better at home … in the Caribbean.

This is the assertion of the book Go Lean…Caribbean. That once the proposed empowerments are put in place, the Caribbean Diaspora should consider repatriating to their ancestral homelands.

Unfortunately for the Caribbean, this societal abandonment has continued, since the early days of the “Windrush Generation”^[a] right up to now. In a recent blog post, this commentary related analysis by the Inter-American Development Bank that the Caribbean endures a brain drain of 70% among the college educated population; (https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433).

Change has now come to the Caribbean.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This roadmap will spearhead the elevation of Caribbean society. The prime directives of the CU are presented as the following 3 statements:

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

The book posits that the improved conditions projected over the 5 years of the roadmap will neutralize the impetus for Caribbean citizens to flee, identified as “push and pull” factors. This point is stressed early in the book (Page 13) in the following pronouncements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence:

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.

This foregoing article highlights other issues that have been prominently addressed in the Go Lean book, namely that of the Civil Service and Labor Relations. There is the need for a professional staff in the Federal Civil Service. They require marketable benefits and compensation. There is also a role for Labor Unions to play in the elevation of Caribbean society. The Go Lean roadmap envisions an inclusionary attitude towards unions. The Go Lean community ethos is that of being partners with unions, not competitors. The book features specific tools and techniques that can enhance management-labor relationships.

These issues constitute heavy-lifting for the regional administration of the Caribbean:

fostering best practices for federal civil service and labor unions,
minimizing the brain drain, and
facilitating repatriation to the homeland.

These issues cannot be glossed over or handled lightly; this is why the Go Lean book contains 370 pages of finite details for managing change in the region. The book contains the following sample of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the Caribbean homeland:

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Choices & Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations	Page 32
Strategy – Competition – Remain home –vs- Emigrate	Page 49
Strategy – Agents of Change – Aging Diaspora	Page 57
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Versus Member-States Governments	Page 71
Implementation – Year 1 / Assemble Phase – Establish Civil Service	Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives	Page 116
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate	Page 118
Anecdote – Experiences of a Repatriated Resident	Page 126
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region	Page 127
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Labor Unions	Page 164
Advocacy – Ways to Manage Federal Civil Service	Page 173
Anecdote – Experiences of Diaspora Member Living Abroad	Page 216
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217

The Go Lean roadmap has simple motives: fix the problems in the homeland to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work, learn and play. There should be no need to go abroad and try to foster an existence in a foreign land. So for those of Caribbean heritage working in the British Civil Service, we hear your pleas. Our response: Come home; come in from the cold.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people residing in the homeland and those of the Diaspora, to lean-in for the empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This Big Idea for the region is a dramatic change; one that is overdue. The policies & practices of the past have failed Caribbean society. Too many people left, yet have little to show for it.

Caribbean music icon Bob Marley advocated this same charter for the Caribbean Diaspora. He sang to “come in from the cold” in the opening song of his last album Uprisings in 1980. How “spot-on’ were his words in the following music/video:

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

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Appendix – Cited Reference
a: “There was plenty of work in post-war Britain and industries such as British Rail, the National Health Service and public transport recruited almost exclusively from Jamaica and Barbados”. Retrieved July 10, 2014 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_African-Caribbean_people#The_.22Windrush_generation.22

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