Dear Editor,

Regardless of what questions appear on the January 28 poll on gaming in The Bahamas, one of the critical foundations to this issue is this – trust.

If you are in favor of legalising gaming for Bahamians through web shops and a national lottery (and I have previously stated my opinion that the national lottery will never materialise anyway because that is not a part of “the plan”), and you favor this based on the belief that since it is happening anyway, we might as well regulate it – fine.

The problem though is this – do you trust the current administration to regulate a multi-million dollar gaming industry? Do you trust them to do with the money what they say they will do? Do you trust them to protect the interests of the nation in this regard over protecting the interests of the numbers men? Settle yourself down and ask yourself these questions honestly, and honestly – without getting worked up over politics – answer these questions in your heart and mind, because these are very important questions if you are a responsible voter in The Bahamas.

If the answers to these questions in your heart of hearts is ‘no’ – then a ‘yes’ vote on your part would wind up betraying your foundational desire to have the industry properly regulated to protect the interests of The Bahamas, especially with respect to related matters such as the threat of money laundering through the industry, etc.

Sometime ago Perry Christie, now Prime Minister of The Bahamas, made a public statement saying that he would encourage the investor, but would always protect Bahamian assets. This statement is profound. But it's deep rooted in the very fabric of Bahamian psyche.

There are two kinds of assets, one tangible and the other intangible. Most countries have an abundance of tangible assets such as gold, oil, uranium. The Bahamas has none of these. These assets are usually exported outside of the country's borders.

The Bahamas has a unique asset, beauty. This, oddly enough, is one of the two assets in the world that can be sold and kept to be sold again. It is usually consumed within the country's borders.

This is why devaluation of a currency works for one and not the other. But this will be explained and examined at some other time.

The beauty of our beaches is one of our most valuable assets. Cable Beach is the jewel of New Providence. It is this island's most beautiful beach, and its most valuable asset. We must protect it.

Dear Editor,

As I begin let me immediately put the lie to the statement issued by the government and the progressive liberal party about the downgrade of the Bahamas’’ sovereign credit rating by Moody’s. The “it’s all Ingraham’s fault” nonsense is not going to cut it this time. If the handling of the economy between 2007-2012 was so poor, our sovereign credit would have been downgraded at any time during those 5 years – it was not. Now it has been – and here is why:

As was warned when the Bahamas’’ economic outlook was downgraded from stable to negative following the passage of the government’s 2012/2013 budget which included a half billion dollars in borrowing – the country’s credit rating has now been downgraded by Moody’s.

When a country’s credit rating is downgraded, the results can include higher interest rates for home mortgages, credit cards, car loans and other loans to consumers and businesses. It can also include the country being seen by foreign investors as a riskier place to do business.

If the government maintains that too much borrowing took place under the previous administration (and yes, considerable borrowing did take place), how then did it imagine that borrowing another half billion more dollars would get us out of the hole? Is that how you get out of a hole, by continuing to dig – this time not with a shovel but with an over-sized drill?