Devon Dick in his article of Thursday, December 3, responding to Richard Byles' views, has hit the nail on the head in most instances. When, however, he refers to paper chasers making more money than activities that produce a real product he misses an essential point.

The Jamaican economy was always a 'buy-and-sell economy' going all the way back to our forebears and the modern dry goods/haberdashery mentality of the 1930s and 1940s until now. This is a systemic problem which clouds our gaze and restricts exploration of real product production.

Robert Lightbourne introduced us to import substitution as one way of initiating a modern economy, after our agricultural evolution. What has happened to that mindset today?

Paper chasing is a facile way of reaping financial gains on one's outlay, especially government paper. Hence, as we are basically a copycat society, we follow the leader. Our descent into paper has nothing to do with an absence of outlets for our products, or no possibilities. We have followed the prescription of Wall Street into the same avenues of Olint, etc.

I am, etc.,

MIDDLETON WILSON

wilsonmiddleton@aol.com

Miami, Florida