Hilary Robertson- Hickling
THERE IS AN URGENT NEED to address the problem of entitlement which is affecting some of the members of those generations born after Independence in Jamaica. During the colonial era, the population realised that the Government was concerned with providing basic health and social care for the majority of citizens. Higher education and good jobs were the domain of the élite. So people saved their money, built their houses, migrated, looked for work and supported themselves and their communities.
In the post-Independence period, politicians have made many promises that they have not been able to keep, and raised expectations which seem unfulfillable. There has been a tremendous backlog which the country is trying to address in every area of social and economic life. To compound the situation some of those persons who have benefited from the educational and occupational opportunities of these last 43 years have raised their children to ask what the country can do for them. In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy said that people should ask what they can do for their country.
LACK OF SUFFICIENT BOUNDARIES
A Canadian psychiatrist, Dr. Jaswant Guzder, has noted that many children and adolescents who have been brought up without sufficient boundaries, and an understanding about such things as the value of money and the need to be responsible, develop psychological problems and have a sense of entitlement which cannot be met.
Many employers have identified that this problem is one that stymies the growth and development of these otherwise bright, young people and makes them unemployable. They think that they are entitled to the job by some divine right and that they cannot lose the job. Then there are those persons who approach those of us who work and pay their taxes for a variety of 'let offs' to pay for school fees, health costs and funeral expenses. It is intriguing that this is the same country which gave the world the expression, "Have you given me anything to put down?"
While I am not denying that many people are having a hard time to make ends meet, I have seen the disturbing trend where people expect that someone will foot the bill for themselves and their families. Those people are even more vulnerable to the dons and the politicians, as well as the conmen and women who appear throughout the society. There is a tremendous burden placed on the weary law-abiding and tax-paying citizens in the country. We know that some of our large corporate entities do not hand over the statutory deductions collected, nor pay their taxes, yet they wish garbage to be collected and are vociferous in describing the failures of the Government.
MORE SHOULD GIVE BACK
Who is to pay for the goods and services that we need? We seem to be living in a welfare state which no longer exists even in those countries where it originated. University students in the United Kingdom have now to pay something towards their education, and we know that even in Communist countries like China, the citizen has to pay for certain services. I would like to see us address the matter of economic development so that the private and public sectors can collaborate to generate jobs. The need for the promotion of entrepreneurial activity has to be increased, as this will also help many to employ themselves and others. I also expect to see more people giving back something to their schools, communities and nation.
Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies.
