Rick Rick Rick!
Here we go again....
You will not get an apology from me
I am not expecting or requiring an apology either from you or anybody, unless of course you had malicious intent, but I doubt that.
People with real malicious intent are taken care of by Robert and company!
You mention China, which has nothing to do with the DR unless you are advocating that form of government here, as doing well. I ask you if living in an oppressed country, regardless of its economic standings, is what you want for the people of the DR?
I mentioned China in order to show that communism mixed with capitalism is working for them, for the time being. That does not mean its working in other countries.
As for oppression, no, I would be horrified if the Dominican Republic falls into another oppressive regime.
Then you mention Russia, which has nothing to do with the DR, it is democratic now, and say they are doing so so.
They are doing "so so"! The only thing that is keeping Russia alive is oil.
Russian's woes are not due to democracy, but due to the legacy of communism!
What form of government do you want HERE IN THE DR?
Democratic government where we get to chose our good presidents and vote off the bad ones!
I believe we just did a wonderful job recently!
You then follow with the indication that regardless of what the DR government, Leonel's group, does has no true effect on the DR ecomony. Say what?
Virgen de la altagracia, que cosa mas grande!
Listen to me and listen very well (or should I say read:ermm: )
The economy is booming, regardless who likes it or not, the economy is booming.
Whatever Leonel does is not important
AS LONG AS THE ECONOMY CONTINUES TO BOOM.
If Leonel does something that starts to affect the economy negatively, then obviously, we can't support such thing, but so far the economy is booming!
Whatever Leonel has been doing has been for the benefit of the economy of the country and that has been demonstrated by the current state of the national economy. I don't think would were able to say that during the 2000-2004 time period!
Do you think the "people" would be economically better off if the corruption were to be reduced and maybe eliminated?
Yes, people would be better off with less corruption.
Why? Because money being siphon off to corrupt practices would then be available to fund other more important things, such as public education, public health, or even pay off this annoying debt.
However, why is there corruption?
Corruption exist because of weak democratic institutions. There are weak democratic institutions because of disregard for order and laws. There is a disregard for order and laws because of a lack of economic opportunity. There is a lack of economic opportunity because the economy is not big enough to support every man, woman, and child living in this land.
How can we change all of that? Through economic growth.
Economic growth leads to greater economic opportunities, which leads to greater regard for order and laws, which leads to strengthening of democratic institutions, which leads to less corruption. The cicle goes on and on and on, for the benefit of all.
But notice, it all started with increase affluence created by economic growth!
How can we get economic growth on a per capita basis? Several ways.
A. Lower the population via lower birth rates, controlling immigration, and encouraging emigration.
B. Increase the size of the economy via economic growth.
C. A combination of the two.
With out a middle class, there is no democracy and without economic growth there is not middle class.
First we must learn to stand up, before we can walk!
Do you think the "people", and I hope you are talking about All the people here in the DR and not just the rich ones, would be better off socially and economically if a BETTER form of democracy were in place here in the DR?
The thing is this and this is why I often respond the way I do when people complain about the current system!
The current form of democracy we have here is based on the same principles democracies around the world are based! The problem is that the democratic institutions are weak, which leads to much of the inefficiencies in government that we see today.
What is needed for a successful economic and democratic nation? The following:
1. Property rights
2. Scientific rationalism
3. Capital markets
4. Transportation and communication
Property rights are better than ever in this country, but there is still more work to be done.
Scientific rationalism is stronger than ever, but again, there is more work to be done. However, the introduction of CAFTA will actually help in this arena, because among the many requirements need for the agreement is the observance and respectability of international intellectual property rights and the sorts and all of this goes right down this path.
Capital markets has been proven of being capable of existing in this country, given the proper management skills of government officials and the Central Bank. Dominican entrepreneurs today have access to sufficient capital to pursue their entrepreneurial activities, thanks to the good management of the current administration. We saw what happened during Hipolito's rule, who ever want hard currency had to grow it in their back yard because of the severe scarcity! Capital markets need good management in order to flourish and the current people in power know how to do this well. You don't get 7% economic growth rate by simply wishing, it takes proper and good work to get those high numbers and such acheivement is a testament to how competent a governing administration is to its obligations as a government entity and the people over whom it has authority over.
Transportation is well developed, particularly when it comes to interconnectivity between the most productive areas of the country (ie. Santo Domingo, Cibao Valley, North Coast, and Eastern Coasts). All those areas are connected by good primary roads, a well developed trucking system, international airports connecting them directly to the rest of the world, and accessible infrastructure where the infrastructure is crucial for economic sustainability.
Communications is one sector where the DR is number one in the Latin American world. It does not gets any better than this, case closed!
As you can see, we have the basis need for success in this country. The problem is that they are still in their infancy, weak to a certain extent, and are in need of improvement. These improvements will come as the country's middle class continues to develope and grow. The middle class will grow with economic opportunity. Economic opportunity will emerge as economic growth remains favorable. Economic growth remains favorable as long as the authorities maintain sound economic policies in place. and all of this leads to stronger democratic institutions which leads to less corruption, etc etc etc.
You CANNOT have a thriving democracy without fortalizing the basics firsts! Look at Haiti, to not go too far, the Americans built roads, schools, hospitals, aqueducts, electricity, sanitation, the full mambo jambo during their occupation in the beginning of the 1900s. Did that helped Haiti become a successful democracy? No!
Why did that failed? Because no attention was given to the basics, property rights, scientific rationalism, capital markets, and transportation and communication! Without this, democracy is doomed before it even starts!
I will finish with this:
No one in this world knows exactly why some countries are rich and others poor. If some one truly knew the answer, the entire world would have been developed by now! However, we do know what worked in one country and what failed in another. We also have realized that cookie cutter applications of anything will not work everywhere and will not give the same results as it did in its best example! For this reason, we must work to understand the perfect mix to suit each country's reality in order to acheive the most optimum level of development such society deserves to achieve! Cookie cutters don't work! Intelligent reasoning, understanding, and applications does work! Let's start from there!
-NAL
