Citizens do not need handouts

THE EDITOR: The old idiom “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” was first seen in print during the 18th century, when political writer Edmund Burke said “having looked to government for bread, on the first scarcity they will turn and bite the hand that fed them.” That phrase is believed to be hundreds of years old.

Today I want to approach that phrase differently. I want to suggest that if you do not want to be bitten, do not feed the masses. The people, if allowed and encouraged, would not only feed themselves but create enough to feed others in need. In TT and in many other countries, governments seem to think it is their responsibility to feed the population. The result is usually the same. At the first site of disruption from the norm they turn and bite the hand that fed them.

One can be led to believe that governments follow the path of feeding the masses for political mileage, popularity and, more importantly, votes. We have grown accustomed to lines of poor people seeking to access food cards, hampers and grants.

Both major political parties have kept token employment structures like the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), despite the fact that they only provide temporary assistance to a sector of society that needs and deserves much more.

The unfortunate reality is that TT is a country that emerged from an ugly history of slavery and indentureship that dehumanised people and took advantage of their labour in return for basics like food, clothing and shelter. Furthermore, one would think that an independent republic would see liberty of its citizens as a major focus of any government that has emerged from a structure of oppression.

That liberty will demand of government basics like the ease of doing government business, security, good healthcare, pertinent education, first class infrastructure that ensures a reliable water supply, good roads and access to safe housing plots.

Who would think that in a society like ours the Government and Opposition would be discussing their right to own luxury cars without paying the taxes that the ordinary citizen pays? Who would imagine that the two major political parties, with both having opportunities to manage the country, would fail in basics like reliable water distribution, repairing roadways, clearing waterways to prevent flooding and putting in place structures to allow citizens to pay for government services online?

Simple things like secured vehicle licence plates, structured approach to agriculture with food security as a priority, a modern approach to tourism and laws to discourage corruption, illegal firearms and abuse of citizens remain elusive.

Rather than seek to elevate and free our citizens to be their best there seems to be a concerted effort to continue the exploitation of the masses by feeding them from the leftovers of greed and exploitation. Those who lead that way subscribe to another idiom that says, “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Unless this feeding is sustainable, there is a possibility that the masses may one day bite the hand that fed them.

STEVE ALVAREZ

via e-mail