By Abdulillah
"It's the economy, Stupid!" This was the phrase used by many in the US during the elections cycle that brought Bill Clinton to the White House in 1992, when the US was experiencing a recession. It should be the phrase we are using for the turmoil being experienced in the Middle East and Jordan.
Yes I am laying almost all that ails our region at the feet of inept policies by previous and present governments that enabled little or slow growth in GDP and worse little or no growth in innovation of new products and slow privatization of public companies. Couple this with pervasive subsidies, corruption, elitism and strong man politics; we get a region devoid of sound economies and public policy.
We in Jordan have economic experts and columnists regularly writing about our inability to wean ourselves off of subsidies that have caused high debt to GDP growth, our lack of patience in privatization, our intransigence of accepting policies that will attract new investors and investment, and poor communication by government officials, that we get what we have today; an elected body of government officials paralyzed by fear of making hard decisions. They cannot explain to the public why these policies are necessary, backing their decisions with sound economic theory and timetables for reform and recovery. It’s no wonder we get the reactions we do from the public.
Trust me folks, give a man or a woman a job and security with a vibrant economy, it would not matter to anyone who is running the country as long as these dynamic policies do not change. Couple this with freedom of expression and elections of public officials such that the public’s voice can be heard, and any country will flourish.
Unfortunately; we in the Middle East have little patience and worse a fear of public officials to make timely changes. We need a strong man to push us around, or an army to take control, even to the point that we would rather give up our own liberties by abolishing our constitutions meant to codify rules for public rule and liberties. We seem to be in love with dictators and armies to rule over us.
They appear to be strong and in charge. They provide us with a sense of security. We just cannot believe that we can rule ourselves. Why is this the case?
I believe it is because we have been inculcated over a long period of time to not trust ourselves to do the right thing. Kind of like being in prison for a long time, where we are given the clothes to wear, the food to eat and security behind bars, that when we are set free or our overseers abandon us, we either go on rampages and binges, or are immobilized by fear of the unknown outside that we never leave our cells.
However; while behind the security of bars we are quick to point out to all that will listen to us of the lack of freedom, the inept overseers who rule over us, and the corruption that comes with the elites that hover around these circles of power.
This self-defeating thinking needs to stop. We must take control of our emotions and learn to work collectively, or we might as well let the strong but weak-minded muscle devour the weak, while the smartest of us run for the hills in fear and horror away from our responsibilities to our homelands.
If you do not believe this, just look at what is happening to our neighbors in Syria and again Egypt, and for that matter all the states that once had strong dictators. Some were gotten rid of and replaced by elected officials and these are again deposed and replaced with the old regimes, while others have entrenched themselves and are fighting back. Still others are immobilized with fear of incompetence that they cannot communicate effectively to the public that elected them what they mean by reform or how they will push their agendas for economic recovery.
So what can we do in our beloved Jordan? Well for starts we need to get our elected officials to up to work. We seem to still not be able to get a quorum under the dome. As I have stated before, time to throw the book at them and start docking their pay for services not rendered to the public. And if this does not work, they are censured for a period of time and or removed from office and special elections in their district run again for a new face that is willing to work.
Second, we the people need to know through good communication in the public media of what the government economic policies are, and the timetables that they have set for themselves and the country to accomplish these goals. They must sell this to the public allowing for a short period for study and reflection on these policies by the public and non-government institutions.
Third, the government must stop the hemorrhaging of public funds by cutting all nonessential spending until we are out of debt. This includes all subsidies outside of wheat for bread consumption.
Fourth, we must boost our bond ratings and consumer and investor confidence. Falling to lower ratings is not acceptable such as what happened recently when Moody’s downgraded our countries bond rating.
Fifth, we must get out of the cycle of dependence on foreign aid. Our leaders must confront us with real and transparent numbers and budgets monthly or quarterly, and in turn we and they must learn to cut back on our expenditures when necessary.
Sixth, we need to believe we can dig out of this mess, and not feed on each other like cannibals or retreat from adversity when faced with this reality. We cannot continue to stick our heads in the sand and pretend all is well when it is not.
Lastly, we must cling to the positives and believe in each other, because we have so many good things happening even in the midst of this adversity. People in neighboring countries and the outside can see it, trust me they like what they see, but like good investors are waiting to see that we follow up on what we say and do not fall backwards.
My fellow citizens must believe that we have a place in history in a region filled with turmoil, such that a country without vast natural resources or extreme wealth will soon be the beacon of light, strength and peace to all.
May God Bless Jordan and its People
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