PSOJ

In recent times I have been hearing persons suggesting that Dollarization should be a strategy to deal with the instability Jamaica is now experiencing in its foreign currency market.

But what do we know about dollarization? We know for certain that it is the epitome of fixed exchange rate regimes. The less rigid versions are for instance:

Here's more documented proof that intelligent and tougher policing can cut crime in a reasonable time frame regardless of the underlying social factors not changing.

'São Paulo homicide drop shows that effective measures can be taken to reduce lethal crime without waiting to solve underlying socioeconomic problems.'

The tragic assassination of JUTC Chairman Douglas Chambers is yet another name to add to the 700+ homicide victims so far this year. This brutal murder must mark the decisive moment for this nation when every citizen regardless of their background, politics or religion will take a stand and say no to the monsters of murder and corruption. The alternative is to allow our country to sink further into the abyss of crime and disorder.  (As this is written, in comes news that Shalmon Scott, chairman of JUTC’s affiliated company Montego Bay Metro Service, has been shot five times but is thankfully alive.)

Murders in America fell by a half between 1990 and 2000. Some attribute this to a strong economy, changing demographics, zero tolerance, ‘broken window’ policies, New York style ‘innovative’ policing strategies, gun control laws, and increased capital punishment.

Is the case of Jamaica's recently high rate of inflation due mainly to the changes being observed in its monetary aggregates?

It is Milton Friedman, awarded the Noble Prize in Economics in 1976, who told us that Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, Is this True or False?