Dear Editor,

I want to tell you a story about a particular situation that conveys a reality that we as Jamaicans choose not to confront. This story could be true, but true or not, it does represent what is happening to Jamaica and has happened in the past.

I had to go abroad for business and I asked my “brother” (my daughter’s “uncle”) to take care of my daughter while I was away. I left $1 million in my account and gave him access to withdraw what he needed to take care of my daughter while I was gone.

So as expected, my daughter’s “uncle” took care of her by paying her school fees and giving her the best. A taxi came for her at home and carried her to and from school, and her lunch and dinner were of the finest foods. She went to parties and of course she asked for a new dress every time she would attend a function. My “brother” was really taking good care of my daughter, giving her all the best things in life.

In three months I came back. Seeing my daughter again was good, and she kept telling me how “‘Uncle’ took really good care of me.” I was proud of my “brother” for doing such a good job.

Now my daughter left my brother’s home and came back to live with me. And of course the mail had piled up in my absence. One letter in particular was from the bank telling me that I had an overdraft and they wanted my immediate attention to clear up this discrepancy. I couldn’t understand because I had left $1 million and no way could that be used up in three months. I figure I should have at least $700,000 to $800,000 left, for my monthly bills were small and lunch money and taxi fare for my daughter should not have amounted to much, and a lot of clothes hadn’t been bought for parties.

After meeting the bank manager, I was shocked to learn that my “brother” had spent all my money and because of my good relations with the bank the manager granted him an overdraft. In addition to my troubles, my daughter is now resenting me because I have to give her patty and juice for lunch and she has to wear the clothes that she has and do without any new ones. It broke my heart the other day when I overheard her saying that she would rather go back and live with her “uncle” because she was living better then. She had no idea that her “uncle” had no money of his own and he had been using my money trying to live beyond his means.

Now this story should enlighten all those who are disillusioned into believing that the PNP’s time was better. They ran the country on loans, not production, and if you had given them a few more years, Jamaica would have been completely “Haitianised”.

Since their borrow-and-spend policy with a high interest rate was never going to be sustainable, the question should be asked: “Was the government running a “Ponzi scheme”, as we were not producing our way out of debt but rather recycling loans and basically borrowing from ” Peter to pay Paul”?

In order to fix this country for growth, all the economic indicators have to be pointed in the right direction – lower interest rates, lower crime rates, increased agriculture and a stable dollar which we now have under the JLP.

As the advertisement says, “Be careful where you put your money”.

I advise fellow Jamaicans to be careful where they put their vote.

John Mills

Johnmills22@hotmail.com