The Editor, Sir:

The letter by Michael Johnson regarding the use of foreign currency for many domestic transactions leads me to repeat my call for the phasing out of the Jamaican dollar.

The United States dollar seems to have become the de facto currency of Jamaica, since no merchant trusts the stability of the Jamaican dollar enough to quote prices in it. We should do away with the charade, and the cost of printing the currency, and outline a plan for full conversion.

My reservation still remains for the currency to be adopted. Conventional wisdom, and economic dependencies, may dictate the U.S. dollar. However, political prudence should dictate another, multinational currency, in order to mitigate the leverage inherited by the issuer of the adopted currency.

We all know that the United States uses its banking and currency regulations as a political tool against those countries with whom they disagree. Therefore, it would be wise to consider the Euro as the preferred alternative.

Regardless of which currency is chosen, I think that most Jamaicans would agree that the Jamaican dollar has outlived its usefulness.

I am, etc.,

STEFAN P.A. BRAND

anynamethatworks@hotmail.com

Orlando, Florida

Via Go-Jamaica