Most Belizeans living in the mighty USA (Belizeans/BelAms) are accomplished, having taken advantage of the myriad opportunities that exist in a country that has been the dominant economic and military force on the planet since the end of World War II. Their observations are valuable because they provide a firsthand view to add to what we read in newspapers and see on the television about the country which, when it sneezes, we kech cold.
Most Belizeans in the US, definitely the vocal ones, are sympathetic to the right of center Democratic Party. But there are Belizeans in the US who champion the values of the far-right Republican Party, and they aren’t shy about making known where they stand on the issues over there. Brother Neri Briceno, an “oil man” who is listed in his Linkedin profile as the Associate Director of Operations at Central Park Conservancy, is a frequent contributor to The Reporter, and host of Plus Television’s morning show when he is vacationing in Belize. He is from the latter group.
In a commentary about the recently concluded presidential election in the US published in The Reporter, titled, “The New Trump Era”, Mr. Briceno said: “The push for a welfare state also played a part in the Democrats’ loss. While the U.S. has long had safety nets, the idea of a government-dominated welfare system rubbed many people the wrong way. The Democrats’ focus on expanding the welfare state and making more people dependent on government handouts, did not sit well with the typical American voter, who still believes in the idea of the American Dream—working hard and getting ahead.”
The US economy is the largest on the planet, and the vast majority of its 300 million plus citizens enjoy a standard of living that is among the highest. The US is wealthy, with enough to take care of the needs of all, but because of extreme wealth disparity, and an insufficient safety net, there are pockets of severe poverty. It is estimated that over half a million unemployed or underemployed Americans live in makeshift abodes or on the sides of streets, and the high cost of healthcare bankrupts thousands each year. Describing a country that could turn its back on so many of its own as a welfare state seems imaginative.
The new US government promised to put the clamps on this “government-dominated welfare system”, and cut fat in government. Subsidies for healthcare, education, and food are to be reduced, and the two million plus individuals employed by the federal government are going to see their ranks severely diminished. Outlining what’s in store for the latter, a story by Jazmin Tolliver in Huff Post that discusses a new Cabinet appointee is titled, “Vivek Ramaswamy Pledges To ‘Delete’ Entire Government Agencies Alongside Elon Musk”, and the title of a story in Business Insider by Ayelet Sheffey and Madison Hoff is, “Musk’s DOGE [Dept. of Govt. Efficiency] wants to ‘delete’ entire government agencies.”
In the name of efficiency, the Americans are going to guillotine workers, when their country has more than enough to feed, clothe, house, and provide the best available healthcare for ALL its citizens. The Americans have the money to take very good care of all the country’s citizens, but doesn’t do so, because “people [being] dependent on government handouts [does] not sit well with the typical American voter …”
There are Belizeans on the far right who would call our country a welfare state because of the expanding NHI, the large number of public servants, school subsidies for children and youth from not-so-well-off families, and various pantries. They would throw a party if the government announced that it would gut the ranks of the public service in the name of efficiency, if, of course, it doesn’t directly impact them.
Indeed, it is accepted by many economists that government could run as well as it does now with several hundred fewer employees. And at this period in our existence, it does seem that there are jobs aplenty in the booming BPO industry for those who would be displaced. We must pray that growth in the call center industry doesn’t stagnate, because it provides a reasonable income for our young people until they can find or create the kinds of jobs that remunerate them better.
We live in a time of dramatic change, with negative things occurring in the natural world—extreme weather phenomena and species on land and in the sea facing extinction; and in the man-made world there are major technological advances, which, depending on how they are managed, could lead to great good or grave injury.
In respect to the man-made world, in years past there were more jobs that involved taming the forest for agricultural purposes than machete/axe gangs in the country could handle. That work is now being done by bulldozers and other heavy equipment. More and more sugarcane plantations are using mechanical harvesters. Quite likely, there will be mechanical harvesters in the citrus orchards when the industry recovers. Major sections of modern shrimp farms are almost completely automated. In the world of education there are made-for-television modules that can replace flesh-and-blood teachers in a number of areas.
People who heap scorn on the “welfare state”, scorn on people at the bottom of the ladder, will quickly change their tune when automation, artificial intelligence, replaces them in the workplace. Many a smug capitalist will be driven to their knees, begging for crumbs when the robots are unleashed, if “placement” isn’t found for them so they aren’t left out in the cold. Some of the most aggressive capitalists change their tune when LIFE happens to them—an illness that only the super expensive specialists can heal, a lawsuit against them that only the highest-priced lawyers can resolve, a decision by government or a new development that leaves their business high and dry, bankrupt and indebted to the gills.
These technological advances should make it easier for people to survive, not displace them. With the massive amount of wealth that the Americans have piled up through technological advances, much of it in the hands of a few individuals, they can afford to extract less from “vassal” states around the world. But that is wishful thinking. The American dream of greatness is to have more, and more, and more material wealth. There are Americans who have a heart for the less well-off. They are not the majority.
We have to take care of ourselves. If we call a bloated public work force, NHI, school subsidies, and various pantries, welfare, then we embrace the welfare state. Our economic system must be geared toward ensuring that the needs of everyone – the hardworking, the brilliant, those less gifted to function in the present system, even those who are called lazy – get taken care of. This is not a call for slacking off. People need jobs. The human being must have purpose; human beings must feel that they are making a contribution. The axe man found a job handling the chainsaw. Soon a robot will apply for his job. Government must help him find a new one.
The tools of production must be in the hands of those who are capable and ambitious. The resources of government must facilitate businesses, production. But the heroes and heroines in the marketplace can’t hoard all the wealth. Big machines, robots, and computers are doing the heavy lifting. If we secure these tools and our leaders appreciate that “welfare” is essential in a capitalist system, all of us will win.