We need a bankruptcy act, so that people can be freed from all debt every 7 years just like in the USA. To do that, you have to have no assets and near zero income. It is a tough standard to meet. You can't just "claim" be poor and destitute, you actually have to be.

This would help raise up our brothers and sisters out of poverty and also send a message to predatory banks and lenders to stop taking advantage of the poor. Don't give loans to people who can't pay and then haul them to court.

Of course, so many bankers and lawyers and MPs are cut from the same cloth and benefit from the status quo, that this would never happen. The poor can still be targeted by placing cars in the mall and putting balloons on them. Also, the rich love to propagate the myth that it is better to buy a home than to rent. Oh yeah. Sure it is - LOL. Anything to get you into debt so you become a puppet on their strings.

The IMF is singing their standard song here. The motive seems to be to discourage wealthy persons from coming to live and work in the Bahamas, by taking away any tax savings they may realize.

Income tax is a non-starter here. The main reason is we have so many who do not report and/or under-report their incomes. We have a whole mass of people who pay no NIB whatsoever. The beauty of VAT is that those suckers have to pay as well. The downside is, yes, the poor pay disproportionately.

Perhaps if we remove that $60,000 real estate ceiling, and remove the NIB pay ceiling, and increase the % paid by persons making above some amount of money to NIB, and also increase the NIB % overall (but not as much as for the high earners) - then we can reduce VAT to 10% and remove from it all of the exemptions. There is no reason that certain items should be VAT free. Food, medicine, everything should incur VAT. The flat rates of "VAT" on gas and diesel should also be removed and replaced with the regular 10% VAT. Also a minimum rate of gasoline and diesel prices should be established (such as $4.00/gallon (perhaps) and anytime they dip below that, the difference should be collected as tax - so that government gets a windfall of income.

The truly sad story here though, is that people will plan and scheme to the best of their ability not to pay taxes as long as they have no idea where this money is going. Accountability is key, and that is sorely missing in this country. Money just seems to disappear. Whatever happened to that plan to have ZNS television display public information items from midnight to 6am? Oh, yeah, the "Keep the People Ignorant" policy probably got in the way of that.

I just did the quick once shake, Tal.

"“We had a full turnout, more than we anticipated,” Mr Huyler said. “We were supposed to start at 12ish. However, at quarter to five this morning we had lines to the street on Thompson Boulevard wrapping around and I think the police made the call (for us to start) so we could get the people off the street. We had to reroute everything in here so we could get them off the street.”"

As is the normal in the Bahamas - a government cover-up in action. WHY get the people off the street? Were they afraid news helicopters from Miami news stations would show up? Probably. Don't want potential tourists to think they might be visiting Ethiopia.

We are a poor 4th world nation. It does no good to hide that fact. You can only solve a problem when you admit you have. Check out any 12 step program like AA.

Also, I wonder if the volunteers in these NGOs are still paying the $300 work permit. You think any more people coming to help us if they have to pay $300 for the privilege? Now the power lines have to be paid for in Abaco by us, when a company from Calif was coming to fix them for free. Wow. No word to describe that kind of thinking.

Save out of what money? These people have no food man. Your points are accurate, just not well timed. You also talking about the majority in the country working minimum wage jobs. By the time you buy some corned beef and grits, pay your bus fare, by laundry soap and put quarters in the laundry machines, what you think you got left? Companies know people ain't got no choice so they don't mind paying minimum wage job. You either accept minimum or accept zero. A certain former well known company at the FPO Harbour used to be a high ranking well paying source of good jobs. Now they pay with butt kick, and a weekly changing day of work schedule so that you can't even hold down a second job - cause you cant tell your second boss that you are free on Wednesdays (for example).
Those who think we have been freed from slavery really need a wake up call. Yet, every year on July 10th I see dancing in the streets. The slaves seem to be very happy.

You really think any police officer wants his/her picture on Facebook, seen ticketing a starving person seeking food?

In some cases it is silly loyalty - yes - but in MANY cases it is loyalty because you need a job or need to keep your job. Lots of people get/keep jobs due to the "kindness" of their MP. People also see the number on their voting ballots and so are not stupid and know that their votes can be tracked to see who they voted for. Nobody who has a job from the "graces" of one Party is going to risk standing in a food line by voting for another Party.

You words are truly brought to life by the most recent story of Douglas Ngumi who "stayed alive" for six years experiencing our land of paradise.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/nov…

I also disagree with Mr. Evans, but I cherish his freedom to express his views. Only if we allow all persons to speak, and we are open to considering their ideas might we someday (probably by accident) stumble upon a solution to the terrible tragedy which is the human condition.

Bahamians and Americans live in a nice little bubble, protected from what goes on all around the world. I could tell you stories of things that happen in South America, and in the eastern counties (far east) that would likely make you vomit right where you stand. However, they are not suitable to be mentioned in this format. The US media certainly does an excellent job of turning a blind eye to them.

Consider for example how the entire issue of COVID on the African continent and how it is being dealt with over there (they have a VERY low fatality rate and low case count), is not at all covered in the US media. Close living quarter, lack of clean water for hand washing? Why is Africa not really suffering from COVID-19? I encourage you to do some research on that. I would mention it here, but I would not want to suffer the consequences of mentioning the name of the medicine they use. The very mention of it, brings forth a great wrath.

Free speech is a valuable thing, and the lack of it (such as in the latter case) can even lead to death. I wish the best to Mr. Evans and hope that free speech continues with us into the future. I also hope that he will someday consider that some of the wording in the Bible may have been mistranslated and perhaps our Father in Heaven is not one who burns his own children in eternal fire. If we truly believe that, then why don't we legalize it here on Earth? If someone's children misbehave can they pour gas on them and set them on fire? Why not? I've heard it's a Godly practice.

It is true fact he has stated, that plea bargains are quite common all over the world. He has made the argument for them, which is that fewer cases have to come to trial. The argument against it (perhaps endorsed by The_Oracle above (i'm guessing)) is that some people guilty of serious crimes, only get charged with lesser crimes. This allows people to commit serious crimes and if they can afford a good lawyer who has the ability to gum up the system with tons of paperwork, then the judge may allow them to plea to a lesser charge. One must note here too, that in some cases the defendant may even get off with the higher charge and pay no penalty at all (except money to his lawyers). The plea bargain system ensures that they at least pay some penalty in the interest of justice.

However, there is another side to the issue. That is that someone who is completely innocent and cannot afford a good lawyer to defend them, may feel hopeless and thus plea to a lesser charge - since they believe they are going to jail anyway. If they are going to jail, then they may as well go for a shorter time. In this manner, many innocent people are "found guilty" of crimes they did not commit - the recent case of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is a case in point. The media loves to mention that he "pleased guilty" to a couple of charges. Of course he did, and so would you if faced with the alternative that the prosecutors offered him (ie. putting his son in jail also for no reason). So basically he was offered the choice of going to jail, or that he and his son both go to jail.

Finally, there is the issue that IF there is so much crime that we don't have the resources to process it properly in our system of justice - is the answer that we should change our system of justice? That's what plea bargaining does. It changes the entire system. People can no longer "reasonably" obtain a fair trial. They are given a "suggestion" that doing so might not work out so well for them.

IF there is so much crime, should not the answer to it be that we address the source of this crime? Why are people committing crimes? What options do these people have rather than to commit crimes? Do they have access to food and water? How were they raised? Who were their parents? What kind of schools did they attend? What kind of nutrition did they have a child? I'm not saying that we turn into a bunch of apologists and take the view that anyone who commits a crime must have been abused and neglected and therefore they have a rock solid excuse for their behaviour. However, it is normal to weigh both sides of any issue and not turn a blind eye to one. Will the Christian Council allow us to address these issues openly and completely? Or will they continue their call for abstinence only, and that the father is the head of the household (doesn't work too well in a country where majority of kids don't have fathers - LOL).