Reckless spending in face of poverty
THE EDITOR: For a small petroleum rich country with a population of just over one million and an annual budget of in excess of $30 billion, it is alarming to note the quantity of persons who are forced to exist below the poverty line devoid of even the basic necessities such as food and shelter and in sub human conditions. It is disturbing and heartrending to see TV reports of families with small children, many of whom do not know where their next cup of tea is coming from, having their humble shelters built of discarded material demolished and the few meagre possessions that they have cast out into the rain. This is even more disturbing when we are informed that the present residence of the Prime Minister which is in excellent condition and worth several million dollars is to be demolished, in order to make room for a multi-million edifice with sufficient room the entertain. Something has to be terribly wrong with the equitable distribution of the God given wealth of this country for such conditions to exist on such a large scale, especially when our present government professes to be such a caring and sharing one. Of course with the gross inefficiency, misguided priorities and reckless spending of the public’s funds in all sorts of unnecessary and worthless ventures, there must be little left to do what urgently needs to be done. There is an old prophecy that comes to mind and it goes like this, "To him that has to him shall be given and to him that has not shall be taken away even the little that he has." I know that there are persons in our midst who are very generous and caring and who give freely of their time and resources to the poor, the needy and the dispossessed, but it is sad to say that they are in the vast minority. MARTIN KAVANAGH La Romaine
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"Reckless spending in face of poverty"