The Editor, Sir:

Please allow me to make an important point that seems to be taken out of the equation in all our political and economic fora whenever the topic of crime in Jamaica is mentioned.

I lived in the city of Philadelphia for the past 15 years and I have seen the steady erosion of neighbourhoods over those years to what it has come to be known, 'Killadelphia'. The city of Brotherly Love is now heading neck and neck in murder with Cali, Colombia!

Like Jamaica, the city has lost its brightest people, and opportunity for those left behind is dwindling at a rapid clip. Some of the houses in certain parts of the city would make the old 'shanty town' we use to have in Jamaica look like Buckingham Palace!

Why is this so in the richest country on earth? I'll give you an example. I work for a corporation that has approximately 70,000 employees, who make an average of $2,000 a month. Last year, the third in command of the company made over $28,000,000 in salary, stocks, and bonuses.

Whopping retirement farewell sum

The outgoing CEO of Home Depot, a hardware giant in the United States, got over $200,000,000 in retirement farewell for a company that is losing money. He also stands to get more in retirement than when he was CEO.

The Bush administration has spent over $85,000,000,000 on a 'miswar' in Iraq. One exocet missile fired from a fighter jet or an Apache helicopter cost a million dollars, not to mention a laser-guided bomb that can take out an entire neighbourhood.

Now, some may ask, what does this have to do with Jamaica? If we really give it some thought, it means a lot. It goes to show that politicians and those who control the wealth of the world have us the 'sufferas' at their mercy. Jamaica faces an almost insurmountable uphill task by the 'little man' to survive.

The coupling effect of those who have more drenching the poor and that of the so-called developed world, has left us in total helplessness and disparity. Hence, the violence in poor neighbourhoods in the world should not surprise anyone.

Can Bruce Golding and Portia Simpson commit to making everyone happy? If you take their word for it, then there is another word other than myopic to describe you. Jamaica at present has over US$2,000,000,000 in the NIE, with a population of two million. Wouldn't it be nice if Bruce or Portia let us put our hands on that cash? Inequity is our problem.

I am, etc.,

LLOYD SCOTT

jamdown_17655@msn.com

4906 Chester Ave

Philadelphia, PA

Via Go-Jamaica