A fair, not welfare society

ID: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

DAVID MULLINGS

Sunday, January 15, 2012

I wish I could take credit for the title of my column today but all credit goes to Lee Kuan Yew, as it is the title of chapter 7 of his book From Third World To First.

If all humans were equal in their abilities then we all would be able to run as fast as Usain Bolt, but clearly since no one has ever run faster than Usain in the history of the world, we are not equal in abilities. In the same way, we are not equal in the opportunities we get.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, is famous for saying that if he had been born in Bangladesh or 200 years earlier he would not be where he is today. He recognises that he had nothing to do with when and where he was born.

Unfortunately, when and where you are born puts you at an advantage or disadvantage, even inside a country. Lee Kuan Yew recognised that early on in Singapore and sought to even out the extreme results in a fair way. However, unlike many other countries that ended up with a welfare system, he focused on creating a system where each citizen was helped to fish rather than just given a fish. He wanted to create a sense of ownership in the country and its future by encouraging self-reliance and minimising waste.

While Jamaica often looks to the USA for ideas to implement, the last things we would want to copy are Social Security, Medicare and the welfare system. Even Europe and Britain have had to deal with issues arising from a welfare state where handouts have become a way of life for too many people. Lee Kuan Yew says: "People lost the drive to achieve because they paid too much in taxes". The Jamaican PAYE workers can relate to that.

Tax reform and pension reform are critical to Jamaica's future. Even the present healthcare system needs reform to reduce waste and ensure that as costs increase we are not digging a hole that will ruin the budget.

Lee Kuan Yew also relates the story of when medical services in Singapore were totally free: "When doctors prescribed free antibiotics, patients took their tablets or capsules for two days, did not feel better, and threw away the balance. They then consulted private doctors, paid for their antibiotics, completed the course, and recovered."

How much of this is happening in Jamaica? Singapore addressed the issue by instituting a small charge. They did the same thing with hospital charges, requiring payment of two per cent of the bill. These simple things helped reduced waste and ensured that people valued the service more. It also helped to keep costs from ballooning which would then affect the budget.

The National Housing Trust is one of the most successful stories anywhere in the world, but a concerted effort must now be made to address lower-cost housing that is affordable for the average Jamaican. People who own their home take greater care of it than those who rent. People who have been contributing to NHT for years, seeing that come out of their pay each month, but not able to afford a house because the NHT is building expensive houses, naturally get upset. That is not a fair society.

Singapore created something similar before us called the Housing and Development Board. Their success over the decades at increasing home ownership for the masses is astounding. In 1970, home ownership was around 30 per cent, and in 2009 it was about 88.8 per cent! This was entirely because of the programmes put in place by the Government and meticulously monitored to ensure minimal waste and corruption.

They also specifically set out to create low-cost housing for the workers of the country. As they built schemes further away from the central area they also set aside land for factories to be built so that people who lived further out would have jobs nearby, instead of long commutes. This also created jobs for women who were staying at home while the children went to school, thus increasing household income.

Simple decisions by politicians with the future of Singapore as their primary concern led to a better society and growth that Jamaica has only dreamt of. Singapore was not rich when it made these decisions and implemented them. It was at the same level of Jamaica and we have always had more resources than them.

Singapore is often a comparison for Jamaica because it gained independence around the same time from the British, was in the same income range per person and has a small population. Singapore, of course, is no Jamaica, especially because of the Asian background of most of the population (different values) and proximity to China, but we can still learn from them, especially where we already have some similar programmes.

As we prepare for the next 50 years, our politicians must study the development of many countries, especially those similar to Jamaica, and seek to implement the policies that will lead to a fair, and not a welfare society. We must reform any current policies that do the same.

It's the difference between a hand-up and a hand-out.

David Mullings was the first Future Leaders representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/davidmullings and Facebook at facebook.com/InteractiveDialogue

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A fair, not welfare society