Orville Taylor

She is well 'suited', in predictable dress and stereotyped as having worn the same hairstyle since she came to prominence. This is a 'country bumpkin' who came from the wilderness. In fact, as a politician, she represents the wildest community in the country; a place where you must keep your windows closed at night so that the wild animals she no longer tries to protect and cannot control, don't enter your house and devour you. If you are smart, you would not be caught outside later than 6:00 in the evening. She is not worried though, because she is armed and knows how to fire a gun. Never mind her professed Christianity, she is a gun-hawk who does not back down from a challenge, and she owns guns.

Even if it is fisticuffs, she is athletic and a very 'tough' woman. Despite the relatively small number of persons living in her constituency, there never seems to be enough light and it is possible to have long periods of darkness for months. As for the water supply, you don't have to go far to see gallons of it running unchecked and unmetred.

Focus has been on her lack of international experience, her incapacity to handle sophisticated issues and the fact that she was chosen over more knowledgeable persons in her party for this top job. On the few occasions that she willingly spoke to the press, she was unimpressive and every time she opened her mouth, we shuddered as to what she was about to say.

many are fretting

Inasmuch as she has been in representative politics for more than two decades, she cut her teeth in municipal elections and had a small constituency. Despite her being in the House for some time, she was suddenly thrust into the second-most important job in the country and many are fretting.

All the major leaders of the world were at the General Assembly of the United Nations last week. Up to a few weeks ago, she seemed to have no chance of making it to the seat of power, although she was only one step away. We ask, "Oh my God! Is she capable? Suppose she does win in the general elections, what will happen to us all?"

I don't know who you might have thought that I was speaking about, but my worry is about American Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.

Bet you that parochial readers, who mistakenly overrate Jamaica's stupid little petty contest within a tiny political party, thought of someone else. Your knowledge is poor, sah! The problem is that we have got so caught up in the minuscule distribution of just over 4,000 delegates that we have ignored the world. And it continues to spin without us and is about to fall apart. Just about now, the only Jamaican that America is preoccupied with is Usain Bolt; No P, old or young!

Palin is in a contest along with presidential candidate John McCain, who is trying to stave off the articulate and bright, young buck, Barack Obama. As the finals approach, they have taken one eye off the race because a hell of a hawk is near. This hawk, though smaller than the eagle, can clip its wing and bring it to its feet.

Two weeks ago, it was revealed that financial giant Lehman Brothers crashed due to an extremely tight credit market, resulting from it purchasing bad debts of major American institutions. Clearly not instructed by rules of financial prudence, the 'layman'-type expertise and lack of tight controlling legislation and regulation by government allowed the principals of this entity to overextend it. In June 2008, just two months before the collapse, senior executives paid hefty bonuses to themselves. This includes a shameless US$20 million for the chief executive officer. Obviously, they 'executed' because they essentially killed the company and with it, the financial hopes of millions of Americans and other citizens across the world.

financial crisis

This is a financial crisis of no mean order. Absence of regulatory action of government facilitated the sheer dishonesty of financial executives. The crash came and then there is a clamouring to prevent large numbers of innocent savers and investors from losing their life savings. At present, the debate is whether the American government, with its philosophy of 'free market' and non-intervention of the State, ought to bail out these 'wayward capitalists'. Given that the nature of capitalism includes the rise and fall of businesses, why not allow the demise to take place? Even before the election in November, both Obama and McCain have to walk this thin line as both recognise that the fall cannot be allowed to continue.

If it happens though, billions would be lost, setting off a financial crisis unknown in modern history. With the exception of perhaps two institutions, all financial entities in Jamaica have some amount of economic dealing with Lehman. It could bring our economy to a standstill, rapidly making us worse than Haiti and many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are today.

Interestingly, about a decade and a half ago, something similar happened here. We are still trying to figure out who is to be blamed, but we know that the Bank of Jamaica and Ministry of Finance had not been vigilant enough: sort of like the unregulated financial institutions today. Thousands of Jamaicans were 'Finsacked'. Just as America cares little about our schoolyard contest, it ignored our lessons of the 1990s.

However, we cannot do the same. We all better get it together quickly. The Jamaican motto, 'Out of Many One', has no P. Our 'people' are at their end. Chicken merry ...

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at UWI, Mona. Feedback may be sent to orville.taylor@uwimona.edu.jm or columns@gleanerjm.com.