Now that the finance minister has outlined how the Government intends to finance the Budget for the coming year, many of us are wondering what impact the measures will have on our standard of living.

Perhaps the question is being asked too late. Many people who are worried that their standard of living may decline were already living above their means.

In many foreign cities, parking is so expensive that motorists are basically forced to take public transport on weekdays. In Jamaica, we have long traffic lines weekday mornings and evenings with cars having only one driver and no passengers. Then the cars are parked all day, taking up valuable real estate. In many big cities, people from all echelons of society take the public-transport. A good public- transport system would solve our peak-period traffic frus-tration and fuel-price woes.

Other restrictions

I understand that in places like Bermuda, the government restricts the number of cars that are imported. Is it too late for Jamaica?

We have no population policy, generally speaking, and persons with 10 children pay little or no taxes, yet they want free education and free health service. Many of us who work and pay taxes have few or none, so why should some persons be free to have 'out their lot' if the prudent taxpayers have to bear the consequences in those situations? How about a policy in which persons who have more than two children be required to pay more taxes. Tough times require tough decisions, democracy is good but a little dictatorship would not hurt for the common good.

The Government over time can easily reduce its expen-diture, some ideas come to mind;

1. Reduce the number of chauffeurs provided to drive certain level of staff.

2. Provide motor-vehicle upkeep rather than providing a motor vehicle. I am sure they were already driving a car prior to taking up the position, so keep that vehicle or if they need a new one, buy it from their own resources.

3. Cut back on the long list of perks; if you want to be a government official, then live with the salary that the Government can afford to pay, or don't take the job at all.

4. Reduce overlapping, e.g. at present a simple subdivision requires the National Works Agency, National Environ-ment and Planning Agency, parish councils and Ministry of Agriculture to review the application. A single department being abreast of all the requirement should suffice.

5. Ensure that more departments become executive agencies.

6. Reduce the allowances paid to tertiary institutions and force these institutions to focus more on quality of teaching rather than extravagant amenities that are a drain on their resources.

7. Collect more revenue through the judicial system, e.g. a litigant losing at trial should be required to pay a fee for court time and wasted court resources if he was advised at mediation that his case was weak and that proceeding to trial would was not a wise option,

8. Police officers who, through malice or recklessness, cause the attorney general to pay out hefty fees for damages to victims and their families should have those fees debited over time from their salaries, have their pensions reduced or sufficient assets seized from them to repay the hard-earned money of taxpayers.

The Government needs to wake up and stop going for the easy way out or simply resorting to increasing taxes to finance the Budget. The time has come for the Government to do more than just raise taxes and explore other options.

I am, etc.,

GARFIELD WHYTE

PO Box 5527

Kingston 6