Mr Jow,
        If I may, I want to give another perspective to this remark: "in
regard to the fisheries plants and such, why waste money on industries which
will most likely produce inferior goods which will not be bought by anyone in
their right mind?"

      The fundamental difference between developed economies and developing
economies, is that whereby in developed economies wealth is created but
disproportinately distributed, in developing economies wealth is not created
but disproportionately accumulated. In develop economies where wealth is
created, but disproportionately distributed, jobs are created which in turn
provide a minimum standard of living for people. Even where the economy
cannot create maximum employment, structures have been erected that can take
care of the social dislocation that may arise, thus ensuring social stability
and stastisfying need.

       In developing economies where wealth is not created but
disproportinately accumulated, the economy cannot create jobs and thus cannot
provide a minimum standard of living for people. Since the economy cannot
create jobs, it thus cannot create the structures or adquately that can take
care of the social dislocations that may arise as a result. If an economy
cannot create jobs, neither can it address the social dislocations that may
arise as a result, then the stage is set for the conditions that can create
misery, and the depravity of the human condition that can boil down to our
bases animal instincts.

      The question thus arises, how is wealth created?  I believe wealth is
socially created, but others can have their take on this. For instance, if a
government should contract a loan and instead of utilizing that loan to build
a plant that produces a light scale industrial activity, which employs
people, who in turn pays taxes, which increases the revenue of the government
to proivde more social services and address other development needs, but
instead the government decides to use that loan to increase its fleet of
cars, buying more expensive ones, or for the loan to just disappear in
foreign private accounts, you will agree with me that an economy cannot be
developed in this manner.

      Creating jobs is fundamental to any economic equation. It could be
created by individuals or it could be created by government. It could be
created within a market-oriented, capital-based private entity as
predominantly a function of the private sector, operating in a completely
free market environment. It could also be created by government by promoting
the kind of light scale industrial activity like a fisheries plant etc.

     I don't think we can expect to develop our economies, if we have to rely
on loans, loans, loans, some of which we use to service our debts, provide
social services or even pay our workers. We can only develop our economies,
by developing the productive bases of our economies, and that is producing
and producing and producing. And this means more plants, fisheries etc etc.
Most of the countries that have edged from the developing economy club have
followed this path. A case in point is Taiwan, which I once wrote a research
paper on.

    "The successful trend of economic development in Taiwan started in the
late fifties and sixties. The government, in order to develop an
export-oriented economy, pursued an economy policy reform that attempts to
make fundamental changes in the commerce, industry and tax codes that govern
commercial, industrial and business activity in the country. The economic
policy reforms fundamentally change the character of the economy, and
transformed it into a market oriented, capital-based private entity which
strongly emphasized the creation and distribution of weath as predominantly a
function of the private sector. The government restricted its role in the
economy, and embarked on national programs necessary for public safety and
public welfare, like defense, transportation, social services and public
works. All other sectors in the economy became privatized.

    The goal of industrialization for Taiwan has been to build a
capital-intensive, export-oriented base economy. To achieve these objectives
the government utilized its abundant labor force, and engaged them in small
scale labor intensive, import-substituting economic activities that required
less capital and skilled manpower. The pattern of development of the economy,
thus, moved into the import substitution phase.

     Since import-substitution requires some degree of protection to shield
infant industries form international competition, the government in order to
accelerate and strengthen the process of industrialization, impose lincensing
on imports, and devise a protective trariff system to discourage the
importation of foreign goods, thus reducing the impact of foreign competition
on the economy. The government also set up an exchange control mechanism in
order to arrest the flight of foreign exchange from the country. It ensures
that import-substituting industries have prior access to foreign exchange
reserves and earnings, and give preferential credit allocations to those
companies and industries that engaged in the productive sectors of the
economy. These industries produce chemicals, fertilizers and pertoleum
products. The government also give subsidies to these industries to enhance
their productivity and output." These are some of the things that I wrote in
that paper for a development economic class.

    May be, Mr Jow, the fisheries plant is not a bad idea after all. The
government has to give it all its support. This is my humble reaction to that
small portion of your post. Sincere regards.

     Rene

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