Good point, duppyVAT. If not, then the kids will just keep reinfecting the school community over and over again. Once again, this only highlights the poverty that some of our people are living in. This is not complicated -- to prevent scabies, one only need to practice reasonable hygiene, washing clothes, bathing and grooming. What are the parents doing about this? What is our Social Services doing about this? Perhaps the students who do not having running water at home could be allowed to come to school early and use the bathrooms to bathe themselves.

I am one Bahamian who does NOT support Fred Mitchell's idiotic (and inhumane) policy of requiring foreign children to have permits to go to school. ALL children have the right to attend school as per the United Nations convention on children's rights -- of which the Bahamas is a signatory. The world is watching us, and so far we are proving we are nothing more than a 3rd world banana republic and a laughing stock.

As a consumer, I'd much rather see the VAT exclusive price on the shelf, then see the VAT added at the register. Then I can see the true price of the item without VAT added. If the VAT rate goes up again, I can still see the original pre-VAT price on the shelf.

Nonsense as usual with these people -- they are always saying how everyone misunderstood what they really said. .

Pure and simple, the PLP promised 10,000 jobs. They have not delivered. As usual.

Actually, you are the moron.

When money does not buy what it used to, the currency has been devalued (ie, does not buy what it used to) When the items in the grocery store are priced higher, but our incomes are not raised accordingly, that is inflation.

Take away all the jitney franchises and make them one public transportation company. Hire drivers that will follow the rules or be shown the door. No union nonsense, and no racing to pick up riders. One ticket for every route or bus and even a monthly pass or whatnot that is good on ALL jitney buses. Make it a professional operation with established routes and only pick up at designated bus stops. Where are the police when this nonsense occurs.

No one is arguing that we don't have a serious illegal immigrant problem and there needs to be solutions that enable people to be treated with dignity and respect. They are human beings.

That said, preventing children from receiving an education is fundamentally wrong, and this is what we will be doing if a permit is instituted for non-Bahamian students. What family is going to be able to afford $125 for a permit other than maybe US Embassy staff children and children of foreign bankers?

Institute a registration program if you wish, but for no fee. The children born in the Bahamas, even to illegal parents have the right to apply for Bahamian ciitizenship once they reach the age of 18. Discrimination is a very dangerous road to go down -- the Haitians and Jamaicans today - who will we pick on tomorrow?

Congrats for accomplishing your goal -- a lot of hard work, sweat and spirit went into getting there and no doubt made it all worthwhile in the end! Thanks for the inspiration and may you continue to enjoy success! (Sign up for Ride for Hope now -- you're ready!!)

Personally, I'd love to see the "mandatory gratuity" (a real ocymoron for real morons) done away with. Let the union nrgotiate proper wages for the workers so that tips are not figured into the equation, and basing them on a higher government-mandated minimum wage.

Let employees EARN their tips instead of them being mandatory handouts. This way, there is more motivation to provide good service. And having lost our prime spot in being #1 in tourism -- largely because of high costs and lousy service, we can't afford not to improve in this regard. Doing away with "mandatory gratuities" would be a good start.

I happily tip for good service, and tip the waitstaff/housekeeper/etc. directly as I never know if they actually see the 15% gratuity. Many whom I've asked either say "no" or give an awkward shrug. Let tipping be a reward for good sevice, not something for nothing.

Unions do little for their members as it is, and often make employers less inclined to work with them because of the entrenched "what's in it for me" entitlement attitude that comes with it. If the union was really wanting to protect their workers, they'd be howling to government to raise the miniumum wage to a livable standard instead of posturing and whining. .

So if the contractor was required to have insurance on the structure as per his contract, and the building was not yet completed, then how could Minister Gray state he didn't know if the insurance had expired? Isn't that the requirement of the contract?

How much will this folly cost us, the Bahamian taxpayers? Over budget, over time, and still not completed after how many millions of dollars -- which no one can agree to how many millorns? Oh, that's right, PGC has probably agreed to give the Chinese the project, along with many thousands of acres of our Bahamaland to save us from ourselves. SMT. Business as usual.