Revelation 6:5,6 NCV When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse, and its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard something that sounded like a voice coming from the middle of the four living creatures. The voice said, "A quart of wheat for a day's pay, and three quarts of barley for a day's pay, and do not
Jamaica is planning its second debt swap in three years in an attempt to reduce the staggering debt which is crippling the government.
The country’s debt is currently 140% of the nation’s gross domestic product. The ratio is one of the highest debt to GDP ratios in the world. The debt swap is being done in an attempt to appease demands of the International Monetary Fund.
“If this debt is not reduced,” Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller told the BBC, “Jamaica faces a dismal future.”
Over half of government spending – 55% – goes toward paying on the nation’s debt. Another 25% is dedicated to wages for government workers leaving only 20% for the rest of the nation’s needs including education and health care.
The debt move is expected to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio by 8.5% each year through 2020 although it will require bondholders to take a significant financial hit. Jamaica has been trying to obtain loans from the IMF since early 2012 but is being ordered to cut debt and government salaries before funds will be provided.
Falling tourism revenues from the worldwide recession is cited as a significant contributor to the income problems of the government.
