Hello everyone. I am writing the very first blog today. I started the blog because I have an unique assignment on a class called Sociology of the Globalization and I can do whatever I want to do creative for my assignment so I decided to start this blog. Also you know it is so fun to write whatever I think about current human right and globalization issues that both are my favorite topic to talk.
So today I would like to talk about the Jamaican economy and their relationship with IMF and World Bank which is a topic I was shocked and shaking my head after I watched a documentary called Life and Debt.
After their independent from British on 1962, Jamaica, a country where they have to figure out their own way to build the state asked money for IMF and World Bank and currently suffering for the debt that they cannot pay off but just increasing their debt from IMF and World Bank.
According to the CIA World Fact Book, they have $11.55 billion of gross external debt by the end of 2009 and people are suffering their way to find how to pay off this burden. Why? because every time Jamaican government ask IMF and World Bank for money to use for the country, they have always requested to remove tariff off from Jamaica and make it possible to import cheap agricultural and ranch products from North America and Europe. Under the circumstances of 14.8 % of people who live in below poverty line and also 14.5% of unemployment rate in the nation, people tend to buy cheaper products from outside of the country but the expensive fresh products from local to help their local economy. Small local farmers cannot beat the price of potato which is from Idaho potato farmers who make their products using massive machines in their vast extend of land. So as milk ranch farmers too. They cannot sell their milk anymore but have to drain fresh milk away because no body buy their local milk but cheap powder milk imported from North America and Europe.
Those facts bring more debt in the state endlessly and because of their economical situation people tend to go for the cheaper products that they can afford, local business are shutting down and the state's economy decreases. This depressive cycle are rolling without the end.
Does IMF and World Bank are really helping the economy of Third World? This is a crucial question. It seems like wealthy people from rich countries just talking and decide what they want to do to help their country's economy and bring the world where they want to bring to gain their own profit.
Poor countries are hopeless and just sinking into the hell of debt?
