The Editor, Sir:

In response to the article 'Hustling, the ultimate job', it seems that there is a constant negative around Jamaican people trying to make money in this very difficult economic climate. I don't think 'herding' people into vending areas is always the solution. Vending areas mean rents and JPS bills often unaffordable with vendors' small, or non-existent daily incomes.

As a sole trader myself, often finding at the end of the financial year that any profit has been swallowed up by my landlord, JPS and the NWC, I sympathise entirely with many street vendors trying to make a living without huge overheads which are forcing many of us sole traders out of business.

In other countries, licensed street vendors are given priority in areas where their displays add to the ambience of street life. The Jamaican government should be supporting their initiatives to feed and clothe their families instead of running them off the streets. What are they supposed to do then, turn to a life of crime or starve?

I am, etc.,

Maxine Stein

maxinestein60@yahoo.com