Back in the 1990s, when the financial sector collapsed, I was one of those Jamaicans totally against Government bailing out those thousands of Jamaicans who had lost their savings. Yes, I did not believe that Government had any responsibility to come to the rescue of people who chose the wrong banks, in which to invest their money. I still feel that way. If you're walking down the street and you get your pocket picked, it's not the fault of Government.

Now, every other Jamaican, including those who were not even born at the time, is being forced to pay for those people's mistakes. Government has been trying to recover money from the failed banks, but as most of us suspected then, the process was going to be long and ultimately, a failure. I would have loved to see the people responsible tucked away behind bars. But this is Jamaica, the only people who end up behind bars are poor people.

Unregulated financial entities

More than 10 years later, we have a situation where a many persons have gone and invested large sums of money in some unregulated financial entities, hoping to cash in handsomely on their investments. They even raised their voices against Government, which has been trying to get these entities regulated. The pressure has forced one of these entities to pull out while another has suspended payments to 'investors', saying it is reorganising.

My questions are: Should these entities fold? Do these people who have money tied up in them intend to have Government bail them out again?

To me, that would be like being repeatedly warned not to run across a busy street but doing so anyway, and when you get hit - if you live - expect the people who warned you to cover your medical expenses. I have nothing against taking some risks to get ahead in life, but having taken those risks and getting burned, don't expect the rest of Jamaica to come running to the rescue.

People have become desperate and that desperation has only made them foolish. Certainly, Government is to take some of the blame - and when I say Government I don't mean any particular one - because together, over the last 45 years, they have failed to create the kind of economic environment that leads to the development of a prosperous society.

There are so many Caribbean islands not blessed with our abundance of resources that are doing so much better, and it makes you wonder why we are not any better.

It comes down to a lack of creative leadership, which has led to rampant corruption and subsequently, the demise of the economy. Still, there are better ways to get ahead than to throw your money away to people who choose to use their 'creativity' to take advantage of people made gullible by the promise of a short cut to riches.

There are other ways to get ahead but we're too lazy to go find them, preferring for Government and virtually anyone else, to find the solutions to our problems. Many a poor society has, through their ingenuity, found ways to raise their countries up from the rubble. We should choose to do the same. We need to see ourselves as being empowered, not as being victims.