Dear Editor,
Europe’s demographers expect to be 20 million skilled workers short of a full workforce by 2030 and only 2 workers would be supporting each European retiree. To combat this, they’ve out-planned the US skilled worker migration programme, which takes far too long and whose quota has already been reached this year.
Who is the funeral for then? According to Caribbean Net News, over 80% of tertiary educated people in Guyana and Jamaica, and over 60% of skilled Trinidadians and Surinamese are already working in industrialized nations. Where are much of the rest going to go now when nothing changes at home? If a Guyanese can get a Blue Card in 3 months time and then send for the family after 6 months in Europe, it’s obvious what will happen.
I’d like to suggest chopping all corporate taxes to 17%, on par with Hong Kong and recent economic turnaround, Chile. Additionally, one should be able to register a business and hire employees after one trip to one office and have it all taken care of in one afternoon.
That may do for starters. Unless Guyana does something to attract unprecedented levels of business investment to spur the creation of rewarding jobs for young Guyanese, Guyana may remain forever, the land of many backwaters. People won’t stay in the country to cut cane or waste away as low-paid security guards…if they can get educated and leave.
Yours faithfully,
JC Bollers
