Frank Watson: Life is Good – Don’t Mess it Up

It has been a long, hard winter. I feel the cold and snow in my aching joints, so my wife and I try to take a couple weeks in February to go somewhere warm. We had never been to Jamaica, so we booked nine nights in a five star all inclusive resort. Good choice! We were treated like visiting royalty. Lots of sun, sand, and pampering for about half of what it cost last year in Hawaii.

I found it interesting that I had to provide our return flight information at the desk when we checked in to the resort. I asked why and was told that they were required by law to confirm that we had reservations to depart at the end of our vacation. The clerk also shared that they were responsible to make sure that we didn’t overstay our tourist visa. I asked if they had a problem with undocumented immigrants and was told that they had a few cases of boat people from Haiti, but they were sent back and had had no problem since. Interesting.

We wanted to see a bit of actual Jamaica outside of the resort, so we hired a guide and spent one day touring the east end of the island. I didn’t see any homeless camps or street beggars. Nor did I smell poverty as I have in some other third world countries. The minimum wage is “suggested”, not mandatory, at $1.38 per hour. A good wage for a full time worker is around $100 per week. With gas over $4.00 a gallon, they are poor by our standards, but the people I met seemed relatively happy.

After nine days of pampering, it was time to come home to where minimum wage is on a par with the Jamaican economic elite. We are the most affluent nation that has ever existed on this planet. When I experience the contrast between what we have and what is in other countries, I realize that we are indeed fortunate, but our economic advantage is not a birthright. We can lose our national life style if we try. The most obvious danger to our economy is our growing debt. If we continue on our present course, we will bankrupt ourselves. It is a real and present danger. Not so obvious is that we are moving away from the political system that has made us successful for the past 230 years.

Our system is designed to be a federal, constitutional democracy. As such, we are ruled by law. When states defy federal drug laws, our system is threatened. When cities openly defy federal immigration laws, our system is threatened. When judges rule on emotion rather than law, our system is threatened. When peaceful protests morph into open civil disorder, our system is threatened. It is easy to put our heads in the sand and ignore these threats, but it will eventually prove fatal. To confront these challenges, as the current administration is beginning to do, is necessary but painful.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long time resident of eastern Washington.)