Think Piece

UWI
Foun1101
CARIBBEAN CIVILISATION

Student Name:     Brittney Ramdeen
ID Number: 812001208    
Faculty: Social Sciences
Degree Prog.: Psychology
Date: 22/09/12          
                                                      The Gleaner- Beyond The Euphoria
I certify that this is my own work and by attaching this cover sheet certify further that there are no instances of plagiarism contained herein. I submit to any penalty that the Faculty deems appropriate for any instance of plagiarism discovered in this work howsoever caused…
Signed: Brittney Ramdeen

The article “Beyond the Euphoria” talks about Jamaica’s financial state and where the economy currently stands, as well as how it affects the nation in terms of social development.   The article shows that the nation, though celebrating fifty years of independence and gaining success in the twenty twelve London Olympics, is economically and socially stagnant and needs to take measures to improve its situation before their democracy is challenged.   It talks about how the government needs to take steps to make this situation better and in doing so, engage the people of Jamaica to help in the process. The article does reflect the state of Jamaica with respect to its financial situation and dysfunctional political culture, leading to its the high levels of crime, poor educational outcome and high unemployment, as well as the need to involve the nation’s help in fixing this.
Jamaica's economy faces many challenges to growth due to high crime and corruption, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 120%.    The article shows how most of Jamaica’s problems stem from its economy being stagnant for the past forty years.   Nearly 50% of the government spending is allocated debt servicing and only limited resources are available for infrastructure and social development.   Also, the way Jamaica’s wealth is distributed; it only leaves space for either extremely wealthy...