That is all well and good Tal, and I agree with Obamacare. But guess what.....This is The Bahamas, NOT the USA. Of course, in theory, it would be fantastic if everyone in The Bahamas had "free" health insurance. Except for the fact that it's not free. It has to payed by you and me in one shape or form. Not only that, the government (especially this government) breaks everything it touches. It cannot be trusted with properly appropriating it's finances. And as with everything, the costs in the end will far exceed the costs expected at the outset.

The Health Industry in the Bahamas is already a damn mess. We are wasting tons of money that if properly and effectively spent could actually improve the quality of the care we receive. The government should be working on fixing that first. Let me ask you this... What's the use of being fully covered if you go into the hospital but don't receive quality care??

Also, from your comments you seem to care way more about the profits that the insurance companies are making than you do about the effect this NHI plan will have on the economy and the health industry as a whole (not just the insurance side of it). This warped logic is typical of the PLP.

Where is Tal Russell Lol. Come on Tal, let's here what you have to say about the NHI proposals. I'm interested.

And to think that some people believe they are going to get "free health insurance". Nothing is free. The private sector will have to pay for it in the form of higher business costs, and they are simply going to pass on the costs to others in the form of higher priced goods, lower wages, employee lay-offs etc. Thus, in reality, the whole country pays for it. Well guess what, we can't afford it. Businesses can't afford it, and general public can't afford it.

If I thought we could afford it, I would say so. I don't have some inherent prejudice against universal health care. I've lived in a European country where everyone has access to universal healthcare, and I thought it worked pretty well. But the Bahamas is different. The government (i.e the tax payer) is already paying an astronomical amount of money for health care compared to other countries in the region, yet the quality of the health care in The Bahamas does not reflect the cost. Everything is relative. If the tax payer pays more, the tax payers should expect more. In the Bahamas, however, we seem to settle for paying more and more while receiving less and less. This government has a proven track record of being manifestly inept at controlling the country's finances and achieving "bang for buck." I think we should get our present healthcare service in line (a difficult task in itself) before we start bringing in big plans to reform the industry. I think we should consider that perhaps we cannot afford the proposed NHI proposals right now. Wouldn't that make more sense?

Unfortunately, the PLP doesn't try to appease those calling for sensible decisions. They'd rather try to fool the masses into voting them in next election. Being re-elected is all those gangsters care about. Nothing else.

Just another way for the PLP to collect more taxes without actually providing quality service in return, all the while fooling poor Bahamians into believing that the PLP has done them a service. It's a total scam. I don't have a problem with higher taxes, as long as I see a return for my money (better education, infrastructure, healthcare, standard of living etc). But who in their right mind believes that we are going to get these things in return for more taxes? Take VAT for example - What do I see with VAT? All I see is a higher costs of living and more burdens on doing business. Let's not forget that one of the primary purposes of VAT, according to the PLP, was to essentially replace our trade-prohibitive tax system ( high import duty) in order to conform with the free trade policies of the World Trade Organisation. What did the Government do? They introduced VAT, but they did nothing to reduce import taxes!!! And to add insult to injury, we now pay VAT on import tax!! wtf!?! We are getting double taxed!!

The Bahamas is one of the most expensive countries in the world to live and to do business. You want to make it a better place for Bahamians? How about trying to lower the cost of living and the cost of doing business? How about a tax system that incentivises entrepreneurship and promotes competition? OR, if you do increase taxes how about you provide quality service for Bahamians, and stop lining your own pockets with the millions of dollars collected? Nah, we're just going to borrow and borrow, tax and tax, and hope that shit figures itself out. I predict a big recession coming our way. Many Bahamian businesses simply cannot afford to carry on like this, and the ones that can afford it are just going to pass the costs on to the consumers (you and me) thus making it even more expensive for the poor man to put clothes on his back. All the while corruption goes unabated, the B-dollar is on the verge of being devalued, our international credit rating is one level above "junk status", crime has become accepted as the norm, the environment is getting raped, and young Bahamians are receiving a piss poor education. It's going to be an interesting ride. This NHI scam could be the tipping point for our economy.

Please inform me which of the other leaders, or potential leaders, fit that description? Don't mind her politically unpolished and somewhat bullish persona - she is an educated and determined woman. I'm not saying she is without flaws, but I would rather see her lead the party than Minnis any day.

Just out of curiosity...why is George Smith's name continually in the papers?

He wont get any votes.

I'm kind of glad he's attending the climate change talks. Would be a little embarrassing if the Bahamas did not attend. One should remember that the international climate change regime (UNCCC, Kyoto Protocol etc) is based on 1 vote per country system. So even though the Bahamas has a tiny economy and very, very little impact on global carbon emissions, we still have a voice in the talks. I hope Perry shows a willingness to commit to the global effort to reduce carbon and promote renewable energy. I'm sure he will - at least while on the international arena. However, when he gets back home I doubt anything will change. BEC or the sooon to be "BPL" will carry on business as usual - putting the country in further debt and wasting the tax payers money while Bahamians continue to struggle to afford electricity. Sounds about right.

I usually agree with you Economist, but unfortunately, most of this would NOT be saved if we had a FOI act. At least not the FOI act that is currently being proposed. FOI acts are riddle with "exemptions". All you have to do is read the Act to realise that the actual information that citizens can request to obtain renders the act teeth-less. For instance, the Act explicitly exempts "records affecting security, defence or international relations"; "records relating to law enforcement"; "records affecting the national economy"; and "records relating to commercial interests".....Basically, the government does not have to give substantive information relating to policy decisions in these areas. This almost certainly includes policies relating to immigration, and importantly, how and why the government spends our tax dollars the way they do! Now, that being said, you can still request information on certain administrative and procedural issues such as the salaries of public offices, how many employees are employed by a government body, or how much money a government body spends on tea and coffee a year and things of that nature. But to get solid information on the most important questions relating to the economy and the country? The substantive questions that people want answers for?....Not going to happen with any FOI Act, I can guarantee you that.

Loretta for PM