Jamaica: What are your bright ideas?

Question

How can you make the economy an education system better?

Solutions for high unemployment rate?

High murder/violence rate?

Given the choice, would you live in Jamaica or somewhere else?

Answer 1

Performance-driven, rewards-based tax system. The current system is penalty-based rather than rewards based.

Rewards can actually motivate people to acheive a higher standard in virtually any sphere (public or private citizens).

Even if we have to borrow to implement such a system, the result would be years of profitability as a society. Crime? The devil finds work for idle hands.

If you have years of consistent push towards high performance in everything from tourism to policing, there will be fewer and fewer youths willing to go the darker route. Just having a CHANCE to own a house, a car and send your kids to school would change the attitudes of 50% of all the criminal pawns in the society. The positive route will offer more oppurtunity for MOST.

Where else to live? South Florida or Atlanta. Southern parts of europe.

Answer 2

My ideas in Jamaica would be to STOP the violance and to create better jobs and housing!!

Answer 3

if i had the choice i would live in Jamaica,

the high murder/violence that you talk about is only in a small area of Jamaica, roughly a 1 mile area surrounding the hospital in Kingston,

people may not have as much as us in Jamaica but they are certainly more laid back and happier ( no not every one smokes weed ).

their whole way of life is much more relaxed,including their culture, food and music.

if you take the time to get to know them, they become very good friends for life.

Answer 4

ECONOMY - One of the things our government can do is to make it easier for the average Jamaican to export ground provisions.  They can do this by establishing community factories where small farmers can get services like canning or bottling their produce done.  This would provide an incentive to young people who are interested in venturing into agriculture as well as provide jobs and steady incomes for communities throughout the country.  

They can also have community workshops where they provide the equipment and training to people who want to learn more about their trade.  For example, the mechanics can learn about the latest car engines, how to use computer to diagnose problems in vehicles etc.

The government should also restructure their business application system to make it less complicated and time-consuming for the small business owner.  At the moment, it's hard to even get the same answer from two people at the tax office about the same question and each time the process involves going back and forth from one window to the next.

Another way to boost our flagging economy is by improving and maintaining our basic infrastructure - especially our roads.  This is a great way to provide jobs for many people for a prolonged period of time.

EDUCATION - Our entire education system needs to be revamped.  We need to change the way we are teaching our children i.e. we need to teach them to be entrepreneurs rather than employees.  To do this teachers have to be retrained in order to be able to understand and pass on this new concept to students.  

The idea that we go to school simply to get a good job is obsolete and does nothing to empower the student who after years of studying finds that he/she cannot get a decent job.  Students should leave school thinking "What can I do to to help myself?" rather than "What can the boss do to help me?"  Too many young people are sitting around lamenting the fact that they can't find jobs yet they have many skills and talents that are waiting to come to the fore.  They just don't have the mentality that would help to propel them into action.  They think the only way they can 'make it' is if they get a job.

Teachers, doctors, nurses and police officers need to be paid what they are worth to society.  These people are essential in providing our very basic necessities and yet this is not reflected in their salaries.  Politicians, on the other hand, continue to get all the perks and high salary increases that in no way correspond to the poor job they've been doing over the years.

HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE....As we stand right now, we need to have training centers geared at honing students' natural talents.  HEART is now out-dated in both it's approach to training and the quality of training it provides.  We need institutions that are capable of churning out students that are able to compete globally.  It is for this reason I think they should focus on what the students are interested in and the natural talents they have rather than what they think they can do based on some examination result.

I know some guys who do joinery and they have done some really wonderful pieces, but they lack the finesse to make those products marketable elsewhere.  If they could be given an opportunity to learn new techniques and how to use new tools that become available on the market everyday, they would be able to perfect their craft very easily.  The same goes for mechanics, masons, carpenters etc.

HIGH MURDER/VIOLENCE....This will naturally decrease once there are attractive, alternative opportunities for financial empowerment available to the average Jamaican.  

Our justice system is in shambles and stuck in the 1960s in terms of record keeping and due process.  Cases need to be dealt with quickly and effectively.  I'm tired of reading in the papers that cases were rescheduled because witnesses, police officers or lawyers did not show up to court.  There should be real consequences for such display of social irresponsibility.  Records should be computerized to the extent that a judge should be able to click on a case and see all the details without having to shuffle through a bundle of papers.

What is worse than crime in Jamaica though is the corruption.  This is rife in ALL sectors of our society and needs to be stamped out without mercy.  It has gone far beyond 'who knows who(m)' it is now clearly 'who can pay off who(m)'.

Accountablity is key here and the government has to put a system in place wherein all civil servants are held accountable for their actions.  There should be a clear trail showing the actions (or lack thereof) of those who are responsible for handling our money.  In addition, there should be stiff penalities given to those who are found to be engaged in corrupt activities.

CHOICE OF PLACE TO LIVE....Well, I made that choice last year and have not regretted it.  Jamaica is a beautiful place to live and despite all of the problems that we have, it is still paradise for me.

If things should get so bad that I would not be able to live here anymore, I'd move to Turks & Caicos, Barbados or The Bahamas.

Answer 5

Hmmm...My bright ideas......

Everything is so bad already, but 1 step I would take is to give all teachers (and require them to have) special training in identifying learning disabilities/psychological. I know it has been discussed alreay but it needs to be implemented -Too much high shcool children are dropping out of school, Too much children are not getting the attention that they need. No child is 'dumb'. It's just that some have special needs.

The economy - More jobs would be nice. That would decrease the high unemployment rate. Where to get more jobs though? I think that perhaps a recycling plant wouldn't be such a bad idea. Recyling the old scrap metals, plastics and styrofoam we throw away everyday (both of which may NEVER biodegrade, by the way) would help the country in so many ways. It could even become a source of income for this country.

High murder rate? Like Stingjam said, the devil makes use for idle hands. Also The dancehall artists who constantly sing about violence can make a difference, but their only care, unfortunately, is to sell records. I know some may argue that violent music does not influence people to be violent. Art has been the main influence in societies from ancient days, visual and performing. It still is. How is it you are convinced by a simple ad on t.v. to buy something you know you don't really need, for example, a big flat screen t.v., with H.D.? If you sit down and listen to music glorifying killing and guns, and "marrow a fly" you are going to eventually believe it. How many little boys you here talking about "man a bad man".? And don't tell me it's the parents duty, some of whom will leave there children alone to go dance. The others have no choice in what their kids hear because everywhere you go you hear it.

The corruption in the police force needs serious addressing. You can't fight crime with criminals. To weed them out, I would suggest they do some serious background checks before employing them. Then give them real rigourous training, not just shooting lessons (I could be wrong but from what I get that's all they really know) and serious lessons in morallity wouldn't hurt, though that may or may not help. You know why that guy who tried to bribe the officer with $800 got arrested? because he offered him that. You don't here about a man getting arrested for offering $50,000.00.

The last quetion - I honestly don't know. I guess if I had to move, I would; but I know no other home.