Dear Editor,
I do not know Mr Randy Persaud (`The fact is Guyana has a growing middle class and no letter writers can erase that’ SN October 30, 2009) but I assume he is either an indomitable patriot with blinders on or a political sycophant afflicted with myopia. His recent assertion of the Guyana middle class enjoying a better quality of life than many Guyanese abroad continues its perilous course with his recent pronouncement that the Guyana middle class is growing and no writer can erase that fact. Mr. Persaud is yet to define the middle class in Guyana and its growth patterns for us and is yet to provide us with statistics to support his position.
There is no evidence of a growing middle class in Guyana. In fact, the evidence supports a growing upper class and a growing lower class. This upper class has burgeoned through a new class of noveau riche beneficiaries of crime such as smugglers, drug kingpins, money launderers and corrupt officials who facilitate these activities. A smaller percentage of this upper class of noveau riche is comprised of those who enjoy significant remittances. By increasing the wealth of its group, the upper crust redefines the economic boundaries of what comprises the middle class in Guyana. The more wealth that is generated at the top, which is easily accomplished from illegal activities with no taxes and mind-boggling profits, means that those who were formerly classified as middle class but see no corresponding rise in their wealth naturally sink into the lower class. The middle class members who participate in and benefit from the criminal and corrupt economy migrate out of the traditional definition of the middle class into the upper class. For example, a middle class lawyer who starts handling more drug cases with greater financial rewards is able to move out of the middle class into the upper class smoothly. This migration is seamless in a narco and criminal economy. On top of this, the middle class continues to leave Guyana in hordes whereas the upper class stays because of a favourable environment for profits resulting in the logical decimation of the middle and the growth of the top.
However, for argument sake let us assume there is a middle class in Guyana and that it is growing. The unanswered question is the rate of growth considering the impact of migration, the swelling of the upper class and the diminished remittances due to the worldwide recession. The other question is what is responsible for the growth of the middle class in Guyana as claimed by Mr. Persaud? The answer is the narco and criminal economy and its spinoff of money laundering and the rise of the criminal enterprise. The other significant reason for the preservation of the Guyana middle class is the flow of remittances, which must be significant enough to match inflation and the economic redrawing being imposed by the growing wealth of the upper class. In light of these factors, it is difficult to see how any middle class barely propped up largely by a drug economy and remittances is cause for celebration or proof of growth. Mr. Persaud must also know that the majority of those graduates who excelled at the CXC will end up being underutilized, underemployed and unemployed in Guyana and will leave our shores for better opportunities in developed nations. There is a greater possibility that if they remain in Guyana rather than migrate to a developed nation that more will end up dead, killed or kidnapped, while others may become drug kingpins, corrupt officials and money launderers. A really tragic reality for these shining lights of hope but, if Mr. Persaud is to be believed, they will join the growing middle class in Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Maxwell
