We know Marvin Dames is compromised or damaged goods. So he must bow to the masters who are allowing him to walk on eggshells. So after Dames have beheaded all his comrades or fellow officers, or made them to walk the plank, the masa’s will say ‘ no draw forth your sword and fall upon it, you idiot. What made you think you were more worthy or that your fate would be any different?’

So what about the small Bahamians will shares also be available to them.. Maybe a way to get back some of the outrageous monies paid to BPL

Do you realize that the national debt was still climbing before Dorian, even though government is charging two sets of taxes on all imports? As a part of tax reform, the government was supposed to replace stamp tax and customs duties with the VAT. But instead, they decided to not only keep both taxes, but also increase the VAT, so now Bahamians are paying 50% combined taxes on goods before they even leave the ports and the cost of living is through the roof. The economy is stagnant and with Dorian (or maybe even before, government was collecting fewer taxes. And since the national debt is climbing, they may seek to increase VAT again and kill the economy dead.

Many would argue that the minimum wage needs to be increased and some would even say there has been no real increases to keep up with the cost of living. But research shows that in the 1980’s a sales clerk was working 6 days a week, 10 hours a week and barely making $60 a week or $1.00 an hour. This wage improved to $70-$- 80-$90- $110 a week and hours were cut form 60 in some cases to 55 and in other cases to 48. Then in the 1990’s. Government set the minimum wage at $150 and also reduced the work week from 60 hours a week to 48 hours with a further reduction to 40 hours in 1-2 years. Then in 2016 (or was it 2015, the minimum wage was increased by 60% to $210. For a 40 hour week. So in essence a worker is basically earning 3.5 times what his/her counterpart earned in the 1980’s and working 1/3 less the hours. But some people still that there has been no movement in the minimum wage or that iit is not a living wage and still too low. And yes, of course, most commodities have also increased in price including bread, milk, electricity, gasoline and milk. But the biggest drivers of the high cost of living in the country is taxes and electricity. And despite taxes being 50 percent of what most people earn, the National Debt is steadily climbing by almost $1Billion a year. This means that , short of a miracle, taxes will more likely increase than decrease in the future. As for electricity, the potential to reduce the cost drastically is there. And if electricity falls, so will the cost of almost everything else. So maybe it’s just Ine to stop beating on ‘dis minimum wage too low’ saga and seek other alternatives to better and affordable living.

This 12% VAT knocked the breeze out of many a sail and many businesses are holding on by a thin thread. And the hurricane made things worse for some and better for some. But the fact is that commerce in the Bahamas is ever-evolving and it is becoming more and more difficult to sustain a business or make a profit.

So if the government is making plans to bury unclaimed bodies found after the hurricane, shouldn’t these bodies be added to the official death toll. And will dna samples be kept if family or friends come along later in search of loved ones. What is the official number of missing persons as of today?

Tribalism? whose tribalism? Yours maybe? Can you disprove the productivity of the current government outdoes that of the previous one? The people in Abaco says the government is more responsive and catering to the illegals. Is this part of their tribe as well? Obviously you have a subliminal message in your use of the word tribalism. And since white folks aren't know to come from tribes, it must be tainted with racism.

The probability of a young man being murdered in this country is greater than in most cities in Florida and most parts of the United States. And the probability of being shot by police has almost doubled since 2017. What is going on? The police budget has increased significantly under the FNM administration. And there has been considerable investment in new technology. A majority of the top brass of the police force has been removed and mandatorily retired. But now the murder rate has climbed back to what it was pre FNM and Marvin Dames and Anthony Ferguson. And the trust and confidence level in the police is at its lowest level, probably than it's been in at least a decade. At least. And this because of the regular conflicting reports of incidents by the police and from eyewitnesses. So what has to change now. What has to be done differently? or does Hubert Minnis, Marvin Dames and Anthony Ferguson see the current and increasing levels of murder and the number of police-involved shootings in the country as acceptable, or, at least not reduceable. On a recent talk show, a social worker said they are seeing an increasing number of young men showing up at the distribution centers seeking help. Some just want a warm meal, some want a change of clothing and others have nowhere to stay or are in search of a job. So is this an indication that many of the young men are in crisis and have been ignored by the country. Has the country over a series of administrations failed the young men, detaching them and their plight from the rest of society, casting them out and ignoring their pleas (somewhat silent) for help? So is it now time for the country to invest in the young men and bring them back into the fold. And prevent them from killing one another and getting in conflicts with the police? The social worker says,

> "some want a warm meal, some ask for a
> change of clothing, others have no
> where to live and some are searching
> for jobs"

Basic human needs ..help them!

You would think the PLP would use a different approach to rise out of the ashes, so to speak. You would expect more vigor, new ideas and a higher level of politics. And Kendal Major is right, he would have handled the situation differently. Every speaker would've. Some may have ignored the situation completely or even dealt with the news reporter in private. And Haslon Moultrie, either because of his style or his personal attributes, has been a very embattled speaker. But to call the FNM administration,

> deeply tribal,” “mediocre” and
> “unproductive”

This government has no choice but to be productive. They have been facing challenge after challenge since coming to office. Two major hurricanes in the same number of years. And that is while trying to pull the country out of a deep, deep financial crisis, and deal with the immigration problem and mass unemployment and crime (yes the murder count is climbing back and seemingly not being defeated, which is disappointing.

But ask the man on the street..Are they ready to return the country back to the hands of the PLP?

Hopefully it will be all solar like the one in Haiti and less prone to flooding. The Minnis government is trying.