Locally Owned

[Irine]

I had a quick look at Jamaica's place in the 2018 economic freedom rankings and some of the supporting data. They are definitely being abused by the international money lending community. As a 3rd world economy it's pretty disgusting to see the interest rates they have to pay and the long term effects it has on the country and it's people. Most of the Caribbean countries seem to be in a similar strangle hold. You would think foreign investment would be interested in strengthening their investors not bringing them to their knees. OK Ok I'll stop being a Debbie downer, and this isn't the right thread either. It' just that when I see the Jamaica of old compared to the Jamaica I visit every year it makes my heart ache. Locally owned is a small ray of sunshine.

[Accompong]

I had a quick look at Jamaica's place in the 2018 economic freedom rankings and some of the supporting data. They are definitely being abused by the international money lending community. As a 3rd world economy it's pretty disgusting to see the interest rates they have to pay and the long term effects it has on the country and it's people. Most of the Caribbean countries seem to be in a similar strangle hold. You would think foreign investment would be interested in strengthening their investors not bringing them to their knees. OK Ok I'll stop being a Debbie downer, and this isn't the right thread either. It' just that when I see the Jamaica of old compared to the Jamaica I visit every year it makes my heart ache. Locally owned is a small ray of sunshine.

Always a dangerous thing commenting on another country's economy with only "facts" and not familiar with the history of how they got there in the first place.
No need to start an argument where there will be as many differing opinions as there are people. If being abused means having to get their fiscal house in order before anyone (including the IMF) would loan them any more money then I guess guilty as charged. Being an island with virtually no manufacturing or VAR business and an enormous trade imbalance with the US, trying to live beyond your means and borrowing more money to pay what you already owe is a recipe for disaster. The abuse is working and the price has been high but the Economy is getting better.]

[Rasta Animal]

I had a quick look at Jamaica's place in the 2018 economic freedom rankings and some of the supporting data. They are definitely being abused by the international money lending community. As a 3rd world economy it's pretty disgusting to see the interest rates they have to pay and the long term effects it has on the country and it's people. Most of the Caribbean countries seem to be in a similar strangle hold. You would think foreign investment would be interested in strengthening their investors not bringing them to their knees. OK Ok I'll stop being a Debbie downer, and this isn't the right thread either. It' just that when I see the Jamaica of old compared to the Jamaica I visit every year it makes my heart ache. Locally owned is a small ray of sunshine.

Irine, if you haven't seen it, I would recommend that you watch the documentary "Life and Debt".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_and_Debt

[Irine]

I will watch it for sure, thanks.
I guess Accompong I have a hard time understanding why the IMF charges the interest they do when they know it will cripple the country that has to make the payments. And it's not a Jamaica conversation alone, they loan money to many countries who struggle with repaying it. Definitely don't want to star an argument, not my nature, just an opinion shared.

Irine, if you haven't seen it, I would recommend that you watch the documentary "Life and Debt".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_and_Debt

[Accompong]

I will watch it for sure, thanks.
I guess Accompong I have a hard time understanding why the IMF charges the interest they do when they know it will cripple the country that has to make the payments. And it's not a Jamaica conversation alone, they loan money to many countries who struggle with repaying it. Definitely don't want to star an argument, not my nature, just an opinion shared.

I didn't mean with you necessarily. Just that everyone has a different opinion on things. The IMF has to charge interest because it uses other people's money to make the "secured loans" (which they back) and the investors who put the money up are not in the give away business. If Jamaica had good credit, they could go elsewhere but they don't.

Also, thanks Rasta Animal for adding that important video. It is in my collection and watched quite a bit.

Think about this. If you were a private investor, would you want to invest in a country where it's currency wasn't properly stabilized? As soon as you convert your currency into Jamaican Dollars you are at the will of the market value. Look at Venezuela now where $1 US is worth $41290 Venezuelan Bolivars on the black market and virtually worthless and Jamaica owes them money for oil they supplied.

Crime will have to be stabilized before foreign investments will feel comfortable with risking their money on a large scale other than possibly hotels.

Peace and Guidance

[Rob]

Irine, if you haven't seen it, I would recommend that you watch the documentary "Life and Debt".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_and_Debt

While Life & Debt is an excellent historical documentary explaining how the old IMF and World Bank operations worked at the time and did leave Jamaica in worse shape than when it began, it needs to be put in its historical perspective. The opening narrative of Life & Debt is taken from "A Small Place", a 1988 novel. The world has undergone significant changes since then.

Michael Manley was interviewed for the documentary and he died back in 1997. Released in April of 2001, the IMF has undergone restructuring with less "draconian" rules in 2005 and then again in 2011.

I am in no way defending the IMF, but facts being what they are, they have eased up a bit on their old dictatorial way of micro-managing the economy's of their loaner countries.

Since that movie was released Jamaica has gotten out of "partnership" with the IMF under one administration and then back into "partnership" with the IMF under the following administration. When the admin changed again, the government renegotiated the terms of the loans from the IMF, which was unthinkable back in 2001 when the movie was released.

The free trade zones mentioned prominently in the documentary have changed substantially as well since 2001, with the current free trade zone rules bearing little resemblance to the rules in effect 17 years ago.