Errol Miller

When it comes to the Government bailout of the Insurance industry, I must confess that I am caught in two minds. I have bought life insurance all my working life. Following the formula recommended by the industry, I have taken out life insurance with premiums to the tune of approximately ten percent of salary. When it became clear that whole-life and endowment policies were of limited value I started to buy equity related insurance. Continue reading →

Errol Miller

Recently there has been a great amount of outcry from exporters about the losses they have incurred as a result of the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar. Interestingly no one heard anything from them when the dollar was devalued. They engaged in quiet enjoyment of the windfalls from massive devaluation over the last five years but have been boisterous in their public wailing over the shortfalls resulting from a modest revaluation of the dollar. Continue reading →

Errol Miller

There are some economists who maintain that fast foods are quite good indicators of the major economic trends in many countries. They have coined the term “Bergonomics” to describe and define this emerging brand of economics. In thinking about this matter it came to me that “Pattynomics” would really be the Jamaican version since hamburgers cannot yet rival the patty as a fast food in Jamaica. Although given our increasing tendency to copy and import everything from aboard, including rock stones, the patty could well be replaced by the hamburger in the foreseeable future. Continue reading →