Rick Lowe
Mr. Phil Galanis is concerned that there will be no business opportunities available for Bahamians in the economy as the government loosens restrictions on foreigners entering businesses like non-ethnic restaurants and entertainment facilities.
He asks rhetorically, "What's left for us" in his recent Nassau Guardian opinion piece.
A chartered accountant by trade, Mr. Galanis must know that economic growth is not a zero sum game where foreign investors come in and Bahamians leave. Unless of course he's suggesting that we're not smart enough to compete?
Maybe he thinks Bahamian's will prefer to frequent the foreign businesses instead of our home grown enterprises, but his protestations that The Bahamas economy is for Bahamians can only be designed to stoke the flames of xenophobia.
In the final, an economy grows and wealth is created by businesses competing with each other, not unlike Mr. Galanis competes against other people in the accounting profession.
If the consumer is better off at the end of the day, an open economy is a good thing. Mercantilism is as bad today as it was in the 16th century.
In other words, there's lots left for us.
