...I agree. The growth of the Bahamas could be amazing again. But it should be done by force. When Ping did it, they were too nice. There was still a power differential. I agree that we should stop whining. Burning and looting is more appropriate. There are no mechanisms in place to protect the socially disadvantaged. Name the agencies?? There are none. No FDIC. No SEC. No IRS. No regulatory agencies that ensure fair and equitable economic practices. So we should elect Smith and Wesson.

Economics at the point of a gun! That will work! :sarcastic Ask Robert Gabriel Mugabe. He has been able to turn Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) from the bread basket of Africa to the arm pit of the world using ".45 cal economics."

No. Rebellion at the point of a gun. Opportunities don't come easy. Especially when the people charged with providing opportunity for the country aren't doing their job. Bahamians with a modicum of intelligence make the choice of destroying their futures by returning home or finding a better future elsewhere.

Its easy to spew those tired notions of inspiration. But a simple thing, like moving much of the industry from an overcrowded island to appropriate islands cannot be done. Such things are vital to the Bahamas' growth. But people fight it at every turn. And its not the poor. Its those who realize that their arms are only so long that they can't have their hands in every cookie jar. Imagine if the ministry of fisheries would move to Bimini where fishing is king. Lots of traffic would cut down. Prices would fall. Bahamians would be able to save more of the pittance called a salary. More money saved, more money to loan at cheaper rates. More growth. Viola. Now imagine the same thing happening with the ministry of agriculture. The ministry of education.

All of the overcrowding of nassau would disappear. Facilities would be better kept because of less crimes like vandalism. People would feel better about learning or working because their surroundings are nicer. The price of land in Nassau would tumble. The price of land in other islands would skyrocket. Which meant that millions of dollars would shift from the hands of the already wealthy to the already penniless. That huge spread between the inflation rate and the interest rate (which is practically theft because it keeps those rich richer and those poor poorer) would almost vanish.

But it won't happen. Because Bahamians don't want growth. Growth takes too long. Investing in the general welfare of the Bahamas takes too long. And the people it would most benefit don't like it when you build your own fortune for yourself. They prefer you to come to them. A favor for a favor.

That's the Bahamas. And that's why smart people aren't coming back.

I don't know how to elaborate more than that. He graduated in 2003 and tried finding jobs but when you're broke -- suddenly a job becomes a job. I tried to tell him that there were hundreds of jobs in the US at factories that would pay a healthy salary, if he didn't mind living in a rural area.
But hard-headedness...couldn't tell him anything..
He didn't want to live in a town with 30,000 people. No beach. No clubs. But making 100,000 a year -- you could fly to nassau every weekend if you wanted. I can't feel sorry for him. I got tired of sending him on interviews and he would turn them down because he didn't like the town. He wanted to do the right thing and go back to the bahamas and help his people.
Right. Now he's 30 years old living at home, hanging out with strippers and alcoholics. Pathetic.

wow...see, now i would happily take a salary cut if it means i'm doing a job associated with my llm. that would make me really happy. however, moving to nassau probably means: 1. i wont have a job in the field that i did my post-grad, BUT 2. i will probably make more money home (doing corporate/banking)than if i moved somewhere else (working in human rights)! dont know if i'm willing to compromise my happiness... amazing...what you study and where you live is so important. on the other hand...if i was your bro, i have to say i would have stayed in the states! imagine having a job NOT in your field AND making much less money! :what: no buddy! my sister did the same tho....didnt take the opportunity to stay in the states (and she had an awesome internship) because "the water in florida was 'muddy'"! damn...talk about priorities not in order.

$100k a year, darn, once its not in Iraq, id take it in a flash .. could be washing dishes for all i care, just show me da money :friday:

See, I'm working on my MBA with a concentration in banking because its a large industry in the Bahamas. I have/had every intention of returning home.

on this issue of nepotism...i agree its a problem in bahamas, but really what i am discovering first hand (even today)...having contacts is the only thing that matters! for example, i have been trying for months to get on the UN roster - and couldnt. on the w/end i met a guy who gave me THE contact person in germany. so i just sent her personal email (literally 5 minutes ago), and she has already emailed back and said she will put in my name in for a vacancy coming up in cairo! ha...i'm not even on the roster! go figure.

having said that, i have double 'bad luck', cause i dont come from a 'privileged' bahamian family at all. my parents struggled to put me and my sisters through university. when i was at uni, i did every extracurricular activity possible to set me aside from others. that paid off, cause when i finished law school, i applied to ONE law firm in nassau (i had never even done summer work there and knew noone) and within 2 weeks i was offered the job with a good salary - and believe me, i didnt know what to do, cause they kept calling me in LONDON....the thing i find about bahamians (generally): we dont want to learn the necessary languages and do the 'extra stuff' that give us an edge. law degrees (undergrad and postgrad) come a dime a dozen these days. its easy and doesnt take much. employers want to see that you are not only capable of the job, but that you are dedicated, that you are a team leader, that you take initiative - that is so important, especially when working for a private/international employer. i have reviewed cvs of my friends and family and i simply cannot believe how empty they are. im not saying mine is great, but at least there are things that make it different. and THAT is what will give you an edge in nepotism-land!

on this issue of nepotism...i agree its a problem in bahamas, but really what i am discovering first hand (even today)...having contacts is the only thing that matters! for example, i have been trying for months to get on the UN roster - and couldnt. on the w/end i met a guy who gave me THE contact person in germany. so i just sent her personal email (literally 5 minutes ago), and she has already emailed back and said she will put in my name in for a vacancy coming up in cairo! ha...i'm not even on the roster! go figure.
having said that, i have double 'bad luck', cause i dont come from a 'privileged' bahamian family at all. my parents struggled to put me and my sisters through university. when i was at uni, i did every extracurricular activity possible to set me aside from others. that paid off, cause when i finished law school, i applied to ONE law firm in nassau (i had never even done summer work there and knew noone) and within 2 weeks i was offered the job with a good salary - and believe me, i didnt know what to do, cause they kept calling me in LONDON....the thing i find about bahamians (generally): we dont want to learn the necessary languages and do the 'extra stuff' that give us an edge. law degrees (undergrad and postgrad) come a dime a dozen these days. its easy and doesnt take much. employers want to see that you are not only capable of the job, but that you are dedicated, that you are a team leader, that you take initiative - that is so important, especially when working for a private/international employer. i have reviewed cvs of my friends and family and i simply cannot believe how empty they are. im not saying mine is great, but at least there are things that make it different. and THAT is what will give you an edge in nepotism-land!

Making contacts IS the business world. Knowing the right people in the right places makes the difference. It is a shame they don't teach in school that a round of golf with the right people can be more valuable than anything. ( In my case it was fishing and hunting!):D

My brother has a degree in engineeringfrom FIU. He decided to return to the Bahamas. He teaches math at GHS.

what a waste of degree but male teachers are needed especially in the hard sciences!

I But the Bahamas is a great place, with so much work to be done. But think about it - the Bahamas is our home, it need us all. It will never change until keen minds make it happen.

its things like this that propels me to stay and make it better

I don't know how to elaborate more than that. He graduated in 2003 and tried finding jobs but when you're broke -- suddenly a job becomes a job. I tried to tell him that there were hundreds of jobs in the US at factories that would pay a healthy salary, if he didn't mind living in a rural area.
But hard-headedness...couldn't tell him anything..
He didn't want to live in a town with 30,000 people. No beach. No clubs. But making 100,000 a year -- you could fly to nassau every weekend if you wanted. I can't feel sorry for him. I got tired of sending him on interviews and he would turn them down because he didn't like the town. He wanted to do the right thing and go back to the bahamas and help his people.
Right. Now he's 30 years old living at home, hanging out with strippers and alcoholics. Pathetic.

he needs to move to California then. My friend has her engineering degree she graduated in 03 as well and she JUST got a job with Boeing making a little under 60K. You have to help yourself first. I had that same idealistic look to at helping my people, but i have to help myself first. Dont give up on him, pray for him and ask him if keeping company with strippings and drunks is his idea of helping Bahamians.
Man I feel sad for the dude and I dont even know him! He's throwing his life away. and that money it took for him to get that degree at FIU- it wasnt cheap unless he went on scholarship. But then I have to play devil's advocate to because you see how this "bedmaking economics" in the name of tourism development and foreign investment has us right?

He has to ask himself... How can I help the poor if im one of them... good god damn it im praying for him to get his sh!t togehter.
peace

There is something that happens here in the Bahamas that is almost, if not more, its equal - a winter sunrise over the sea! The sun rises, it could be blood red, pink, or yellow or orange. It lights up the sky with its colour. Talk about the "dawn coming up like thunder!"

yeah there is this aura and feeling about the Holiday experience in the Bahamas it so real. and its not as commercialized as in America...all its about is sale sale sale. I love the Bahamas!

Gad dang...
yall conchie joes have some real money dread...
lol
just kidding...but dang...Bahamians own big time hotels in England....

I resent that statement. You dont find that a little insecure in how you view your fellow Bahamians?

..and no where else is?
..and no where else is?
Then get to know them!
True with most old lawyers anywhere.
True again.
.
True again or they get voted out!
True, but most Bahamians, most people world wide are reluctant to leave a job with power and money.
They all have nephews?
Let me ask you a question. What if Pindling or many of the other Black leaders of the country gave into your attitude? I'll tell you what! The UBP would still be in power.

i like the positive spin! :bahamas:

Ask those who have already found it. Every business in the Bahamas was started by someone who saw a need, an opportunity and took advantage of it. Business is hard work! But hard work is rewarded by growth - be it modest, but it is growth. Not every business can make one a millionaire but they can make a comfortable living. Sure there are those that fail, but that happens. The question is, are Bahamians ready for the risk, the hard work, the set backs, and the hundred and one things that plague a business? Or are they looking for a free ride?
I have faith in the Bahamas and its people. I only wish they had the same confidence in themselves.

but we have to take the chance

Tiger Finlayson had done rather well. The Kellys, Pick up a phone book it is filled with names.
What is your criteria for success? GDP? Which was 3% (2004 est.) The US had 4.4% (2004 est.)
5.50 Prime Lending
10.2%.
Of what? Businesses, employees?
How so? Growth is dictated by the market and its need for the product, plus the wit and imagination and creativity of the business man. If government is an obstacle, find away around it. There is always a way.
If that is so, then more fool those with no economic force that vote them in. Perhaps you are not old enough to see it but the growth of this economy has been amazing. It could be again, if some folks would stop whining and use "the little gray cells!"

A caveat: some of those numbers can and are manipulated to show a more positve light on a dismal economy. dont believe the hype.