The countdown is on to the September 7th elections and with talks of “lesser evils” , premature pull outs and Debate avoidance we have lost some key points in this election debacle.
Firstly, if you are in any way unsure of your ability to vote please check here: www.ebctt.com. If you aren’t registered, then leave this article alone and head to your Registration Area Office right now!

Next it’s really important to begin sifting through what is white noise and what is factual. A lot of money has been spent to keep us distracted from the real issues. We are too busy waiting for the next Sunshine bomb to ask the pertinent questions. As such, I’ve compiled a quick list of things we should all be paying attention to:

• The National Budget: With elections being held a mere month from budget month, you would think there would be some kind of plan in place to hit the ground running. As it stands, with no due parliamentary process, there is no account for the spending being done by the current government in the interim months. If we do see another 5 years of UNC rule, what things are in place to ensure a successful budget? If we go into a PNM government what have they been doing to ensure they have a clear grasp on the country’s financial standing before executing any plans?
• Unemployment: Anyone who is friends with a recent graduate knows how hard it is to find a job in any field that doesn’t require sandwich artistry or any use of a hair net. While we completely respect our hard workers in Customer Service, ’tis a bit discouraging to spend 3 – 5 years working on a Bachelor’s degree to have your only option be in the Fast Food or night life arena. We need our next government to stop lying too us and start working to create genuine jobs in various fields.
• War on Crime: Drugs and illegal arms are rampant on our little island. Pair that with a number of disappearances and we definitely need a serious plan for border control.
• Immigration: globalization is great but the legal movement of immigrants in and out of this country is one of the key stones to addressing a number of larger issues. We need to crack down on persons living and working illegally and pair it with realistic solutions to afford them proper integration. This is a plus for everyone as a lot of illegal immigrants are being taken advantage of by employers and family members in some cases.

This list is just my initial thoughts on what needs to be dealt with in the coming five years. Head to Facebook, Twitter or the comments below to share what you think should really be discussed on the campaign trails.