REASON AND COMPROMISE!!!!!

Part of the art form in politics is the skillful use of reasoning and compromise. Most people reject dogma because it tends to frame the rationale for autocracy; “Reasoning” is the key word in persuasive logic and builds on the theory that it is an acceptable determination that politicians use facts and logic to persuade or influence people that their ideas will meet their needs. This make people feel at ease, but this is often done through fear and trickery as well. Compromise is an agreement in which you give up something in order to get something from another person or group. It is said that the American political philosophy is built on compromise and the Constitutional Convention of 1778 was able to frame the Constitution of The United States of America only because delegates with different ideas were able to reach the Great Compromise. There are three points you should particularly keep in mind about facts and logic. (1) Statements that appear to be factual may very well be true ---- but they may also be false. Where they are false, reason based on them can mislead you. (2) Alert readers and listeners can find out whether such statements are true by doing research (3) even when the factual- types statements are true you can still be misled if the logic is faulty. The real objective is influence, even while politicians try to influence other people they also work the art by accepting and utilizing part of someone else idea to achieve their goal, this too is known as compromise.

The British Government is executing a very skillful management of the budgetary process for Anguilla and its economic pursuit, There is no doubt that there is bias in the way they want to deal with this government, simply because they themselves have thrown up red flags and sound obscure warnings of which the British have taken notice. There is also strategy in all of this because the end result, when all have failed, it remains an absolute responsibility of the British Government to ensure the solvency of the island whether that is through their astute management and control or the alternative, a similar situation of Turks and Caicaos which would mandate them to inject the necessary financial means to correct the situation. The problem we have on the island is that our government does not understand the level of diplomatic reasoning the British is applying and therefore is not responding in like manner.

The question is; what is the United Kingdom’s interest? As I see it, they are bound by United Nation’s conventions and declaration to guarantee the rights and privileges of those Dependent Territories they still posses, so it is, and should be a very keen interest of the British government to ensure that the Government of Anguilla governs responsibly at its own expense primarily and not theirs, and therefore they are obligated under their own stresses to enforce those specific guidelines in precarious times as all of the world is experiencing, because certainly if Britain has to make the necessary input in our budgetary matters it would be at the expense of them managing the island directly, which is an option. Smart government is obviously being eluded here. The way our government is conducting itself from The Valley Anguilla in the North Eastern Caribbean is ridiculous. The cry that Britain wants our Paradise is pure nonsense, overstated, unnecessarily perpetuated, and ridiculously insinuated. Where is the evidence of this? If you want to convince a bank to refinance your personal situation you have to present them with a well drafted letter with fact and logic to influence their direction and not run to the police.

The letter of January 10th 2011 from The Minister for Overseas Territories, Mr. Henry Bellingham to Mr. Hubert Hughes (GoA) The Minister advised Mr. Hughes that he is convinced that the Government of Anguilla is not competent enough to prepare a balanced budget for the years 2013 and asked Mr. Hughes to step aside from the process and agree for him to pay two independent experts to draw up and implement a three year fiscal forecast and a three year cash-flow management plan to be publishes by the end of February 2011. The Minister actually despised the fact that the island does not have the ability to chart a fiscally sound course going forward. The Minister appears to be telling Mr. Hughes that he feels it is a deliberate attempt in their failure to reduce expenditure for the island because doing so affects the present salaries, wages and personal emoluments of the Ministers and civil servants and referenced to a report by Mark Watson that this is the real problem the country faces, which is a major share of the total expenditure of the island. He further mentioned that between 2007 and 2009 the wages and salaries of government increased by 23 million and called on the civil service to be rolled back to 2007 levels and introduce prudent cuts in the salaries.

Our Government has not responded with Reason and has not shown Compromised. They have not provides a rebuttal report on behalf of the country indicating their rationale, which they could have been assisted with if so requested by the vast resources of Caricom and or the OECS, and provide a counter argument. Instead; Mr. Hughes Asked; what is our choices, and he chose confrontation with the British by heading to West End and giving a speech for the open consideration of Independence from Britain. The last paragraph of the Minister’s letter states “I hope that the Government of Anguilla chooses cooperation over confrontation. I believe if Anguilla has a documented valid counter argument, it would be considered, that is part of the process to substantiate our case; the British argument is supported by report after report while our government has not represented the island well by providing a report of any kind while screaming aloud, the British is coming, the British is coming. Whereas, Hughes’s government is now viewed as obstructionists and part of the problem, The British has a legitimate claim and a fair argument. They did not ask to increase taxes, The British called for reformation of the tax code. Increasing taxes is our government’s simple alternative because they have refused to cut back on the legitimate areas that caused the increases in the first place. And failed miserably in what make politics the great science and art form of government, ‘the ability to reason and compromise.’

By: ejharrigansxm