THE SECRETS BELIZE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, AS TOLD BY THE WASHINGTON TIMES, IN THE USA.

WHAT ARE THE SECRET POLICIES THE WASHINGTON TIMES OF THE USA, ARE REFERRING TO, THAT WOULD MAKE BELIZE A RICHER COUNTRY? The Washington Times in the USA did an article comparing the small country of Belize and the small country of the Cayman Islands economic success ( Cayman ) and the poor showing of Belize. Quoting a USA ECONOMIC ADVISOR in an earlier article on this BLOG, it was only stated that policy changes in the Cayman Islands 10 or 15 years ago, made Cayman Islands a per capita very rich country. Whereas the failure because of bad governance in Belize by the political parties and established setup, guaranteed they hinted, to keep Belize a poor place. The article criticized, but NEVER outlined the POLICY CHANGES, that had to occur in Belize, to make Belize RICHER per capita than the Cayman Islands. It´s easy to destroy and criticize, but building a nation is a tougher job. So, I wonder and many other citizens of Belize wonder, what are these mysterious policy changes that happened in the Cayman Islands, that were not done in Belize? Curious minds want to know? C´mon WASHINGTON Times, do an article on what was done in the Cayman Islands, that we should do in Belize. _____________________________________________ Recommended reading for Belizeans. WHY NATIONS FAIL ! by Daron Acesmoglie and James Robinson A summation of why nations like Belize fail! Ray, I'm still in the process of reading it. The gist of what I've read so far is that the differences are in the institutions, primarily political institutions. The authors differentiate between "inclusive" political institutions that foster widespread participation in politics, the economy, the benefits of natural resources, and other forms of civic life, and "extractive" political institutions that concentrate all those things in the hands of an elite. The elite being the party, or those connected to the party. ( e.g. Louis Young ) According to the author's research, "inclusive" nations prosper and "extractive" nations don't. That is an overly-simplified thumbnail, but my understanding from my reading so far. In the case of Belize, consider things like concessions, monopolies and near-monopolies, hurdles for entrepreneurs, expensive and restrictive telecommunications, and land-control issues. The authors do have some interesting and disturbing things to say about China's long-term prospects and trends in the US. Greg ____________________________________________________________________ p.s. I guess that would cover Belize alright? The pirate, SPOILS SYSTEM. In which our one party in charge politicians, exploit, business, steal businesses for themselves, or relatives from other people, the feeding at the tax trough, like a herd of pigs, gimmeee, gimmee, gimmee, gimmee. Endless taxes, laws and regulations, that are applied to non-insiders, vs ignored for the controlling party insiders. Patronage jobs, instead of by civil service blind application qualification tests for government jobs. Sounds about right!