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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

March 08, 2004
Why Haiti Is Not Going to Get Better...

This essay from Marginal Revolution talks about the problems of Haiti 
and comes up with a depressing final paragraphy ---

     So let's say I was the president of Haiti. I have to keep the 
leading families happy or at least on board. I have to stop the drug 
smugglers from killing me or mobilizing opposition. I have to acquiesce 
in the drug trade, recognizing that most of those around me are on the 
take. I have to deal with the warlords who rule the local neighborhoods. 
I have to keep the U.S. President happy or at least neutralize him. I 
have to keep the population from starving. I have no resources and no 
tax base. Most of my public servants live from corruption. My country 
has virtually no foreign investment or infrastructure. I don't even rule 
or physically control most of the country. In case of a revolt, I have 
only a few thousand policeman to draw upon. Get the picture? The bottom 
line: Don't expect things to get better.

Some countries seem like they can never get better. So far, history is 
against Haiti. It has always done poorly. Still, I can think of worse 
countries and worse political leadership. Paraguay comes to mind, as 
does Tuvalu.

As one writer pointed out, during the Haitian coup more than 60 people 
were killed in a month as the rebels took over the major cities in 
Haiti. During an average month, Jamacia suffers from 90+ murders and 
Jamacia has 1/2 the population of Haiti. So, while Haiti is a terrible 
place to live and has a terrible history of bad political leadership, it 
could be worse. Not much comfort I'm sure.
Posted by rakhiir at 07:05 AM

Haiti's Economic Woes

Haiti has more troubles than most people can imagine. This article from 
U.S.A. Today spells out the litany of troubles.

   * Rural Haitians live amid barren mountains and valleys that have 
been stripped of life. The hunt for trees to burn into charcoal for 
cooking fuel has left the once-lush country with forest coverage of less 
than 1%. Without mango, gayoc and eucalyptus trees, most of the island's 
fertile topsoil has washed into canals, silted up streams and lakes or 
cascaded into the ocean.

   * Haiti has long been the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. 
Its per capita GDP is 40% lower than that of Nicaragua, the hemisphere's 
next-poorest country.

   * Haiti's urban slums teem with garbage, sewage and people. Parts of 
Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil slum are so crowded residents must sleep in 
shifts. Even before the latest violence, unemployment ranged from 60% to 
70%. Minimum wage for those with jobs was $1.50 a day.

This is what CaribPundit had to say ---

     Looking at the presidential palace in Haiti, so huge and white, I 
can't help but wonder, why is it that dirt poor nations are run by 
individuals who can live comfortably in such magnificence while their 
constituents live in hovels? Does the disparity not strike the 
supporters or the presidents, especially those who spout the populist 
message? Whores, is what those leaders are. On second thought, whore is 
too good a term. Pimps. These leaders turn tricks with their people's 
poverty, and they get huge loans and monetary gifts which they squander, 
like Aristide who blew $125 million of Haiti's $500 million annual 
budget on independence celebrations in 2003. He built museums and such 
instead of building a national waterways so Haitians could have a safe 
supply of water. While the people cheered Aristide, their children were 
sickening from drinking human waste-tainted water.



Nostradamus Rule
All legends are 100% accurate. All rumors are entirely factual. All 
prophecies will come true, and not just someday but almost immediately.