This article, "Haiti Starts Over Again" gives one hope that one day the desperately poor island nation of Haiti may one day rise out of the quagmire that is now seems hopelessly stuck in. I like the Caribbean region. My wife and I often travel down to the islands for vacation. The people are friendly and the environment is laid back. We have never been to Haiti - and why would we or anyone go there. It may have beautiful beaches and scenery but it is a hellhole. Crime is rampant and the people are below poor. Forever, it seems, the island has been ruled over by one despot after another. The last one, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was tossed over in 2004. It has been 5 years and there has been little change, but now maybe there is some hope. The new Prime Minister, Michèle Pierre-Louis, was in New York raising money for her island nation. Haiti needs billions of dollars of support. But, with such an unstable government and no guarantees that the funds get to where they are needed it is hard for the island to raise funds. The country needs real investment in the form of jobs and infrastructure. Being an island in the Caribbean it would seem a natural place for the tourism industry to grab hold and take root. Given what I have said above right now this is highly unlikely.
Haiti highlights nicely some of the schizophrenic positions the left takes. When Aristide was tossed over the left screamed bloody murder that a duly elected government was being overthrown by rightist dictators. It didn't seem to matter to the left that Aristide was running the country like bully and was raping and pillaging its finances. What mattered to the left was that Aristride was a socialist and democratically elected - though there are some doubts. The same position applies in Venezuela, where "democratically" elected thug Hugo Chavez rides roughshod over every aspect of the country and so far having done nothing to help the plight of the general population. It is true, that if you are a member of his family or a good friend, then things for you are much better.
The left would have the US continue to pour millions of dollars into Haiti in the form of handouts, forgetting the Chinese proverb that the best way to feed a man is to teach him how to feed himself. Haiti needs our help, but the best way is not to just give it more cash, but to help it build its infrastructure and employ its population. Big hotels and construction companies could build resorts and roads using US government grants and loans, which could be repaid with profits gained from a booming tourist industry. But before this can happen Haiti needs to be stabilized. One way to do that is to occupy the country and stomped down on rogue elements. Haiti deserves a chance and a strong US policy in the region - not the current socialist policy that Obama is pushing. Haiti, like all poor islands in the region need less socialism and more capitalism.
Haiti highlights nicely some of the schizophrenic positions the left takes. When Aristide was tossed over the left screamed bloody murder that a duly elected government was being overthrown by rightist dictators. It didn't seem to matter to the left that Aristide was running the country like bully and was raping and pillaging its finances. What mattered to the left was that Aristride was a socialist and democratically elected - though there are some doubts. The same position applies in Venezuela, where "democratically" elected thug Hugo Chavez rides roughshod over every aspect of the country and so far having done nothing to help the plight of the general population. It is true, that if you are a member of his family or a good friend, then things for you are much better.
The left would have the US continue to pour millions of dollars into Haiti in the form of handouts, forgetting the Chinese proverb that the best way to feed a man is to teach him how to feed himself. Haiti needs our help, but the best way is not to just give it more cash, but to help it build its infrastructure and employ its population. Big hotels and construction companies could build resorts and roads using US government grants and loans, which could be repaid with profits gained from a booming tourist industry. But before this can happen Haiti needs to be stabilized. One way to do that is to occupy the country and stomped down on rogue elements. Haiti deserves a chance and a strong US policy in the region - not the current socialist policy that Obama is pushing. Haiti, like all poor islands in the region need less socialism and more capitalism.
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