Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Obama-Nation

Obama Barak is the 44th President of the United States of America.

Frankly, I don't care. I'm not American. I don't live in America. I do not want to live in America. I keep my relations with America, and Americans, to a minimum. Trust me when I say that I have my reasons.... though the country is glorified, the common denizen is so ignorant, unemployment and poverty is rampant, and universal health care is non existant.

Despite my apathy and though I may vehmently deny it, Obama's current position affects me. *sigh* I don't see race. I don't see gender. But racism, sexism, and discrimination are alive and kicking. Though I don't want to acknowledge these "isms", they affect me everyday. They affect all of us.

My father called me this morning, and in a very excited voice asked me, "Are you celebrating? We won!"
"I don't care," I replied, "Why should I? I'm not American. The only thing I marginally care about will be his foreign policy."
After a pause he replied, "It's good that you don't see the world by color. But this is revolutionary. Thirty years ago this wouldn't have happened. The racism was so bad. I'm happy that you don't know what it's like."

I really never understood the wave of Obama-Nation that has flooded the world. To tell the truth, I would have preferred Hilary as a democratic candidate. I think she would have made a good President, she had the right qualifications, and she really wanted it.

Notwithstanding, do you think Obama's election win will affect Belize and Belizeans? Does it matter? For goodness sake, he never knew his father, and his white mother and grandparents raised him in Hawaii. I think Obama is like me, he doesn't see the world with race-tinted glasses. So why is his race, his black skin, so much like my own, so important to everyone?

For this blog, I want your opinion... What do you think, Belize? Try and inform my ignorant ass about Obama-Nation.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Where have all the good businessmen gone?

Everybody is doing the hustle. It is becoming harder and harder to find a business doing an honest trade in Belize. When I say honest, I mean from top to bottom, from under invoicing at customs, to selling goods that are not defective or expired, to not paying the proper taxes.

Let me first begin by saying, there are business people out there running THOROUGHLY legit operations. I am one of them. But being in the circles, I can tell you the vast majority are running rackets at some level.

The struggling businesses are the legit businesses. Those whose owners are driving fancy rides or are jetting off to ski in Aspen, or building gigantic seaside mansions are operating, at the very least, on the shady side of law and profiting handsomingly doing so.

I can list example after example of containers coming in for stores that are declared as going to a church, or of stores selling refurbished goods as new, or fry chicken shops declaring $915 in sales for the month. I have seen them all with my own eyes. You report the offense and nothing gets done.

In fact, I once reported a company I do business with for GST infractions. You know what happened..somehow I got audited the next month! Needless to say I lost the company's business as well. In the end the legit business got hurt. 

Our system and our social structure does not reward honesty. We look up to the folks driving range rovers who we know haven't worked a honest day in their lives. Our politicians (BOTH parties, lest I get accused of being political :^) are at the very least complacent in enforcement. I believe that it has actually become socially acceptable to be crook.

In days gone by I used to hear folks complain about Mexico and how it was mordida this and crooked that. Well boys and girls...right now we are worse.

It is time to clean this up and you can start by setting the example in your own daily lives. Buy from those who are clean, support those who are struggling and punish those who flaunt the laws.

Lets support higher standards in our lives.