The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

I read the very interesting “Investing in People & Communities” - a Government Progress Report, which was an insert in your paper recently. The report talks about investing $17 million in upgrading wifi in schools, a grant of $840k to help young entrepreneurs and other small amounts to improve the quality of life in the Bahamas, a sovereign country. Then we read about the US elections at the same time where Michael Bloomberg, an individual, can splash out half a billion dollars to try and persuade unsuccessfully people to vote for him to be President.

And splashing out half a billion dollars from his total wealth does not make him blink or short of a penny to buy a cup of coffee, a drop in the ocean as they say. To be fair there are a lot of people struggling in the US who need help and handouts who could benefit from this largesse, but Bloomberg’s largesse and the Bahamas Government which probably does not have half a billion dollars to throw away illustrates the extreme gap there is in the world between those who can afford to do this to benefit themselves and those who struggle to use funds to benefit others, the Bahamian people. One is a individual and one is a Government. Too bad he does not want to stand for election in the Bahamas!

PATRICK H THOMSON

Nassau

March 8, 2020