TOUGH CALL: Another set of islands another set of solutions
KIRKWALL, Orkney – Visiting this remote group of islands off Scotland’s northeast coast recently, I was struck by some remarkable similarities to the Bahamas.
A look back at the last talk about tax changes
Large-scale taxation to finance a growing public sector is a 20th century phenomenon.
Tax and poverty in the Bahamas
TOUGH CALL: THE current debate over more and different taxes to pay for an expanding public sector has focused fresh attention on our economy and standard of living.
The policeman who took on the numbers racket
THE Numbers racket has been widespread on New Providence for many decades. In my day, Bahamians bought numbers from street vendors, or in bars and petty shops over-the-hill. Some number sellers visited offices, shops and other businesses to provide custom service.
Bahamas can learn from Condoleezza's lesson
FORMER US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a stirring speech at last week's Republican National Convention in Tampa that focused on education in America.
New government pushes green energy policies
THE new Progressive Liberal Party government issued its first statement on the future of energy in the Bahamas recently, and all signals were positive.
Tax justice and what it would mean for the Bahamian economy
IN July, the Observer newspaper in Britain published an exhaustive study by the Tax Justice Network asserting that at least $21 trillion of unreported private financial wealth was hidden in secret tax havens by the global super-rich elite at the end of 2010 – a sum equal to the combined size of the American and Japanese economies.
Looking at Bahamian education
THIS past summer, scores of experts from around the country sat down in a hotel ballroom at great expense to figure out how to “transform” our failed education system. It was the first major re-evaluation of Bahamian schools since a national task force was set up in January, 1993.
Why the Caribbean must back Australia and Finland
THE 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries will be supporting Australia and Finland for two of the ten non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) when elections are held in the UN General Assembly in New York in October. There is good reason to do so.
Business and government link up to fight pollution
THE Caribbean is, in the coming months, to see a move to strengthen public and private sector partnerships to bring about a reduction in land-based sources of pollution across the region.
PLP hedging on BTC nationalisation?
Franklyn Wilson, PLP negotiator for the proposed government nationalisation of BTC, a company only privatised in early 2011, conceded to Tribune Business recently that “foreign developers and lenders are increasingly including ‘political risk’ in their assessments of whether to invest in the Bahamas…”
Victimisation by the PLP
THE assertion that the FNM engaged in victimisation while in office is not true and such an allegation cannot be substantiated by the record.
A Single Caribbean Sports Academy to ensure future World Champions
ON the basis of the size of populations and medals won, the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada would be ranked in first place in the 2012 Olympic Games in London with another Caribbean island, Jamaica, in second place – though with a larger number of medals. Officially, Jamaica is ranked at 24 and Grenada at 49.
GAMBLING IN THE BAHAMAS
THE gambling debate in the Bahamas has always been surreal – part of a weird fantasy world that is difficult to navigate with logic.
Holding up a Torch for Life: regulating weapons
CARIBBEAN Community (CARICOM) countries joined dozens of other nations in fighting for a robust and comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) during negotiations at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 2 to 27 July, but their efforts were frustrated by President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign team.
