EDITOR, The Tribune.
Shoot the messenger and the message will be silenced. That seems to be a plan of attack for the Christie administration when questioned about national health insurance. It is always easy to blame somebody, like rich doctors or businessmen, to distract attention from what you’re really doing. The facts remain the facts, however, new taxes always hurt economies.
The Bahamas is in the early stages of absorbing the new 7.5% value-added tax. We have yet to see the full effects of this tax on the economy. When Japan increased its tax in 2014 by 3%, after a large stimulus plan was put in place, their economy went into recession within two quarters. What makes the PLP believe that we can stay out of recession with the new VAT tax? They do not believe this, what they do believe is that if they do not give the lower income people of The Bahamas national health insurance then they stand no chance to win the general election in 2017.
The PLP’s consultants Sanigest have no doubt told them what to expect from people who oppose their planned national health insurance. I am sure Sanigest has also told the government how to attack its opponents; shoot the messenger, keep secrets, and push forward no matter what because when it is implemented it is hard to reverse. If the PLP continue down this road, the Bahamian people will not have an opportunity to have an open and honest dialogue about healthcare in our nation. How can we achieve a higher standard of healthcare for all? A healthy economy is part of that formula, the stronger we are the more we can afford and the better off we will be.
The PLP government needs to stop shooting the messenger and start listening to the message, the people of the Bahamas have serious concerns about where they are taking us. Spend the time listening to our concerns, and spend some time explaining your position. Then and only then can we truly create a system that we can all believe in and be proud of. We have an opportunity to create a system that can be a blueprint for how other nations provide healthcare for their people.
THE MESSENGER
Nassau,
March 5, 2015.
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