WeblogBahamas.com

Still nothing from the Auditor General on the release of his reports

Rick Lowe

Since March 2009 I've been checking the Auditor General's page on the Bahamas Government web site to see if he has released any of the reports. And guess what? You guessed it. Nothing to date.

See the page for the reports here...

As long as the political class makes a mockery of accountability and transparency what do they expect society to do?

Lessons in Freedom: What Reality has Society?

Tibor R. Machan

The question of how real is society can arise whenever people make reference to "obligations that citizens have to society," obligations in the name of which individual liberties are said to need restriction. (Other ways of putting the ideas is "obligatory service to the common good, public interest, etc.") Especially the liberty to own, trade, exchange, hoard, save, and so forth. The claim is that this kind of liberty may not be "absolute" because of those enforceable social obligations or responsibilities everyone has. (Especially anyone who has united with others to form a business corporation--the CSR or corporate social responsibility ruse, is what I humbly consider it.)

Why is The Bahamas tax system 'maxed out' and what to do about it?

Joan Thompson

The problem is not complicated.

Governments are too big and too involved in areas of life in which they ought not to be involved. There seem to be no limits, and the public in its ignorance keeps asking for more.

Why is government building a straw market? When we fully understand why, then we have the answer for why the Bahamian government grows and why it will continue to steal some of the fruits of our labour the percentage of which will continue to increase.

PLP and college loans

Sidney Sweeting, DDS

A recent editorial in the Tribune took issue with the former Prime Minister, Mr. Perry Christie, about his negative comments about the FNM after the recent by election in Elizabeth Estates. It was pointed out that the history of the PLP re intimidation of the voters, vote buying,etc leaves the public thinking that either he has a short memory or he thinks that we do.

He also recently criticized the FNM for not continuing the college loan program that his party started. It was reported in the Punch on Thursday that very few of those loans have been honored and that hundreds of thousands of dollars are outstanding. The most disgusting part of the report is that in most cases loans were paid to the students for four years up front.

That must surely be a first in the history of college loans. Did it never occur to anyone on the committee to assure that the student had a decent grade point average before he or she would be given the funds for the following year(s)?

This was the same Government that introduced the National Health Plan. A sickening thought.

Lessons in Freedom: Big Lie Theory Flourishes

Tibor R. Machan

"American economic policy--and it pains me to even refer to such a thing, since a government isn't supposed to mess with its citizen's economic (any more than their religious) lives, not to mention make policy for them all--has been protectionist in nearly every age."

The theory of the big (but good) lie goes back to a certain reading of Plato's most famous dialogue, the Republic.  There are more or less crude versions of it but the gist of the theory is that for reasons for state--that is, so as to secure the chance of the ruler to rule smoothly--telling lies can be justified and may even be necessary.  Indeed, the big lie could well have been the very idea of the perfect political system itself that Socrates sketched in that dialogue, one that really amounts to a utopia, an impossible blueprint for a human community and its basic principles.  Some have concluded from this that Plato (Socrates) never meant to advocate what the dialogue depicts as the perfect regime but merely presented it as a kind of model, the way that the gorgeous women on the covers of Vogue or other fashion magazines function, just reminders of what to pay attention to as women dress up.

Peter Wolf - Song of the week - March 8, 2010 - Growin' Pain

Rick Lowe

If you don't know who Peter Wolf is, think the J. Geils Band. He was their charismatic lead singer.

I came across his 2002 CD Sleepless by mistake recently and I quite enjoy it.

Visit his web site here... and buy one of his many CD's. He has a new CD coming out in April as well.

Hope you enjoy, Growin' Pain below.

Bahamas Government lack of fiscal prudence'

Rick Lowe

The Tribune Business ran this interview... from a couple weeks back on Friday morning. I know it's difficult reading what I have to say about the governments fiscal imprudence so read on.

Bahamas Social Security (NIB) raises the payroll tax

Rick Lowe

Well the business community now knows that June 1 is the implementation date for an increase in the payroll tax. See this Tribune story...

It's an increase of 1%, split between employer and employee raising the total tax to 9.8% of income - 5.9% for the employer and 3.9% for the employee.

This is to provide funds for a permanent unemployment scheme. When the Government set out to help those persons most affected by the economic downturn in late 2008, it was a temporary programme. Now it's permanent.

Is The Bahamas Tax Structure Maxed Out?

Rick Lowe

The Tribune Business carried this lead story on Thursday.

The suggestion that we need more tax dollars to pay for an ever expanding government is analogous to looking the wrong way when crossing the street.

Seems to me the first step should be to see where the government can reduce spending and balance the budget.

Somehow the government approach is to take more from the citizen in taxes, not reduce its burden on the population.

Instead of finding ways to reign in spending the objective is to implement a new tax system (Value Added Tax) so revenue can be boosted.

I can see the politicians buying, sorry, counting the votes now.

Lessons in Freedom: AGW Science and due process

Tibor R. Machan

"...pro-AGW scientists need to realize that they don't run the show and cannot expect to lord it over the rest of us merely because they have a strong suspicion about AGW..."

A powerful and vital aspect of the fully free society would be that only those burdens may be imposed on citizens that they have been convincingly shown, via due process of law, to deserve. This is roughly how the criminal law works. This is why the prosecution carries the onus of proof and not the defense--all the defense (the skeptic!) needs to do is point out serious holes in the case being mounted by the prosecution and the jury will acquit.