THE EDITOR, Sir:
"JAMAICA IS a failed state," said Mr. Bill Clarke, for which he got much criticism. Recently, he has added that entrepreneurship should be taught in schools to ensure greater prosperity for the nation. He is perfectly right on that score. I would add, however, that it should be placed in the curriculum under the broad heading of life skills and wealth creation.
This aspect of our education is so lacking, to the extent that most tertiary graduates do not even know how to buy property, such as a house or land. This information should be passed on to pupils from the primary level and not wait until university level, which only accounts for a mere three per cent of educated persons in Jamaica's population.
WEALTH CREATION IGNORANCE
The weakness of this capitalist economy is that most of our leaders suffer from wealth creation ignorance. This results in every speech punctuated with freeness, extolling the virtues of poverty and that they are for the poor. At the end of their tenure, we end up with a legacy of increased poverty and neglected garrisons of murderous criminal hopelessness where dons become slave masters, benefactors and the people's government, judge and jury.
This is a capitalist society and the virtues and methods of capitalism should be taught to our people. The Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey taught that only a fool would oppose capitalism as it has proven itself to be the most productive socio-economic system thus far known to mankind. There are those among us who denounce capitalism while chanting socialism, and at the same time enjoying the benefits by fair and foul means while they fool the people.
Jamaica Money Market Brokers, Dehring Bunting and Golding, Mayberry, National Commercial Bank, Scotiabank, Capital & Credit, Jamaica National and Victoria Mutual in combination with a number of media houses and through various avenues, have helped many of us to unravel and participate in wealth creation programmes.
Ultimately, this has to be a cornerstone in the quest to empower the people, make them independent, thus creating a more productive, peaceful, crime-free and happy society. As a state, we would have succeeded.
I am, etc.,
MICHAEL SPENCE
Micspen2@hotmail.com
P.O .Box 630
Liguanea, Kgn 6
