As the debate intensifies concerning the adjustments Bahamians will be obliged to make as a result of this nation's involvement with the Free Trade of The America's Agreement, there is emerging an almost palpable sense of anxiety, dread and foreboding.
On one end of the debate are any number of lawyers, businessmen and other community activists who suggest that this agreement will wreck The Bahamas. Their omnibus conclusion is that The Bahamas stands to lose much if it breaks with its accustomed way of doing things, inclusive of how government is funded. Additionally, fearing that some form of income tax is all but inevitable, these critics claim that such a move would be disastrous.
On the other end of that debate spectrum are other more muted voices which suggest that the move toward a new way of doing things, economically, socially and culturally, will be of net benefit to The Bahamas.
One interesting dimension of the current discussion involves – albeit impliedly – the thorny issue of labour migration, whether documented or not. Many Bahamians harbour a visceral fear that this country can be overrun by hordes of impoverished Haitians and other refugees. There is the ever ready refrain that this pool of labour is bad news for Bahamians. The concern here is that if the labour force is allowed to grow, the price of labour will be driven down by market forces. This appears to be a part of the more atmospheric fear Bahamians express when they try to figure out whether this country should forge closer links with its sister nations in the Caribbean. Again the gut reaction that countries to the south can only be a drain on The Bahamas. This time around, the fear seems to be grounded in the minds of elite workers and certain professionals.
What is remarkable about these instances and examples of Bahamian paranoia about pending changes is that both professional and blue collar workers appear united in their fear of foreigners.
Again, what is remarkable about this coincidence of opinion across the class spectrum in The Bahamas is that this fear of foreigners does not extend to the foreign investor realm. The conclusion here seems to be "the more the merrier and coming up is the red carpet."
We believe that these positions are all equally false. There is really no credible evidence to support the thesis that The Bahamas is being over run by foreigners, poor or rich. And, too, the Free Trade Area of Americas Agreement will not – as A. Leonard Archer has recently attested – open any floodgates. People throughout the Americas should take note of what the United States does. As the leading nation in the Americas with the largest economy and the greatest capacity to absorb labour on the move, the United States does not promise anyone anywhere unfettered access. So Bahamians need have no fear that they will somehow be inundated by strangers on the move.
Our suspicion is that Bahamians are fearful not of foreigners but of competition. Having grown comfortable in a place where the living is easy, many Bahamians fear that any change in the status quo will be to their detriment. Whether reference is made to people holding down blue collar or white collar jobs, fairly average workers in The Bahamas currently snag high amounts of money for their sometimes meager efforts.
What is important to note in this regard is that many of these people routinely complain about high prices for the imported goods and services they can consume. If we are correct in this assessment of the matter it probably explains the prevailing sense of dread Bahamians experience when they stop to imagine that they might not be able to cope in a world where only the highly qualified and the highly productive would get the highest rewards.
Again, if we are correct in this view about this matter, Bahamians would be well-advised to begin to adjust themselves for the inevitability of change. In a world where jobs can migrate from one country to another and where productivity and performance are inextricably linked to information and expertise, Bahamians who wish to succeed should welcome this nation's deeper involvement in the world.
Editorial, The Bahama Journal
