I'm still trying to find this "21st century" Bahamas that I keep hearing about.

Cheapus they just come out and say that Bahamians are second class citizens who need to ride the back of the bus in this country.

Nah, the only summer that power never went off on Abaco was 2020 and that was because there was no electricity to shut off in the first place. This has been a problem ever since I was a young boy, not a new occurrence by any means. Abaco would have been far better off as an independent nation but people let words have too much power over them and got scared of being called names. Today, we are suffering for it.

A certain demographic is responsible for the vast majority of gun violence in the United States, which by coincidence is the same demographic responsible for virtually all of the gun violence here. Funny how nations like Switzerland don't have a problem with gun violence despite widespread proliferation of firearms. The real problem is low impulse control + high time preference + below average IQ + access to a deadly weapon (knives, guns, whatever). Magically getting rid of every single firearm in this country wouldn't reduce the murder rate a single bit.

The truth is that we are ruled by a mafia who think of the Bahamian people as nothing more than slaves that they can juice to fund their extravagant lifestyles and onerous pensions. They know that nothing is ever going to happen to them, and that every 5 years Bahamians will be twerking their booty on stage for some fried chicken and rum talking about PHellP/FNM is the only thing they want. What is the worst that is going to happen to them: get voted out in 5 years, no big deal, just wait another 5 to get put back in. Nothing in this country makes sense until you realize that successive governments have intentionally destroyed the education system to create a populace of dumb and ignorant voters to give their banana republic regimes a sense of legitimacy.

If the source of the banging noises detected was truly the sub, it seems that an electrical failure would be the most likely explanation for what happened. If not, the hull probably crumbled under the pressure. Either way, the crew is most likely dead no matter the cause. Sad story, but evidence suggests that the CEO of this company did not take the risks associated with the voyage seriously.

What are supposed to be proud of? A power grid that hangs on by threads? Blatant corruption in government? Our out of control crime rate? Walloping national debt that is going to destroy the lives of the young Bahamians? Voting for the red shitty government or the yellow shitty government every five years? I don't know how people keep drinking this kool aid. I get trying to be optimistic but at some point we have to take an objective look at the situation of this nation as well.

I still hold that independence was a giant mistake because the British would have at least dissolved our governments and forced reforms the way that they did in Turks a while back. Now, the foxes are in charge of the henhouse and nobody is going to help us; you can either get in on the racket yourself or get out of the country.

I would be inclined to agree with your friend and would add that NIB is doomed to collapse simply due to the demographic situation of this country. The only way it could ever be theoretically retained in the long term is through exorbitant rate increases to be shouldered by the young working class Bahamians, a cut in payments, and the raising of the collection age. We have a TFR below replacement rate, with a large number of young Bahamians leaving the country if they have the opportunity, it is simply impossible to maintain this program no matter what bandaid solution you try IMO. This is not a problem unique to this country, virtually all developed nations are in a similar boat.

To echo other commenters here, Carnival is not a part of Bahamian culture and should have never been brought here in the first place. Junkanoo is authentically Bahamian, and that is what should be supported instead.

Maybe we should start investing 50% of politician's and civil servant's salaries into NIB.