Jamaica’s Unnatural Disaster  Written by Jake Johnston   
Tuesday, 13 November 2012 16:20  When Hurricane Sandy ripped
through the Caribbean it caused massive damage to the island-
nation of Jamaica, but it’s not the reason Jamaica’s economic
prospects are so poor right now. A large share of the
responsibility for that lies with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), which has been squeezing the country since 2010. The
damages caused by Sandy provide just the latest example of the
negative effects of the severe austerity policies pushed by the
IMF and backed by the Jamaican government. Early estimates are
that Sandy has caused over $60 million in damages (some 2
percent of non-interest government expenditure), yet there may
be limited action the government can take without cutting
important spending elsewhere. That’s because the Jamaican
government is trying to reestablish a lending agreement with the
IMF, and the lender is demanding an extremely tight fiscal
policy. Last week, Finance Minister Dr. Peter Phill