Panama

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Gender equality

Women in Panama are not giving the same treatment as men. Women are struggling for health care, education and employment. In 2014, Santiago says, almost 68 percent of Panamanian men had jobs, while only 42 percent of women were employed. Part of this can be attributed to the persistent culture of women being perceived as housewives. In addition, women are globally paid less than men, in most countries they earn on average only a 60 to 75 percent of men’s wages and gender inequalities in time use are still large and persistent in all countries as well.

The Economic Page

The “Panama Papers” are a big issue in Panama. The Panamanian Papers were leaked from Panama’s Mossack Fonseca by an anonymous source appear to show how the law firm with branches around the globe, helped heads of state, oligarchs and celebrities launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid paying taxes. The documents reference 12 current or former world leaders, as well as 128 other politicians and public officials. In April a statement was made from Mossack Fonseca law firm stating “Our industry is not particularly well understood by the public, and unfortunately this series of articles will only serve to deepen that confusion. The facts are these: while we may have been the victim of a data breach, nothing we've seen in this illegally obtained cache of documents suggests we've done anything illegal, and that's very much in keeping with the global reputation we've built over the past 40 years of doing business the right way, right here in Panama. Obviously, no one likes to have their property stolen, and we intend to do whatever we can to ensure the guilty parties are brought to justice. But in the meantime, our plan is to continue to serve our clients, stand behind our people, and support the local communities in which we have the privilege to work all over the world, just as we've done for nearly four decades." The Consequences of leaking these “papers” are:

- We are learning about potentially hundreds of thousands of offshore firms connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories essentially, the entire world. And even though hundreds of journalists in dozens of countries with the ICIJ have already spent months examining the documents, the Internet will make it possible for people to search for information that might affect their country specifically.

- We knew something significant was coming when a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin started trying to discredit a mysterious piece of journalism that had not yet made it into headlines. If the Panama Papers are true, it is easy to see why the Russian President would be worried. The papers reveal a trail of billions of dollars allegedly shuffled across shell companies and paper firms, ultimately connected right back to him.

- Corruption is a deadly poison that can cripples economies, sky rockets poverty and as it continues can claim lives. Not only are political leaders in some cases stealing money that belongs to their countries or the countries that they claim residency but they may be making policy choices based on how they can benefit themselves. They are depriving their nations of the right to good government and smart decision-making from their elected officials

Opinions Page

To sum things up, Panama may have a lot of work ahead of them but are moving on the right track. With the Panamanian papers floating around and finding out that the wealthy 1% is storing money in off shore bank accounts while the people of our country are in poverty or below the poverty line I think that we are making steps and efforts to head in the right direction. We have a long standing relationship with the United States for over 150 years. We did have some issues along the way. The United States and Panama had issues connected to the control, operation, and future of the canal were in constant battle due to the 1977 Panama Canal treaties. The negotiation of these treaties took several years and aroused domestic political controversies within both nations. Negotiations were finally concluded in August 1977 and a month later, the treaties were signed in Washington.

Fast forwarding to the present time, in 2012, Vice President Biden and President Martinelli discussed ways to strengthen U.S.-Panama economic teamwork in the suggested ideas of global trade and competitiveness. The Canal has seen over a million ships since the port first opened in 1914. In 2015, Panama reopened the Panama Canal which is my idea of a solution for Panama. The new opening of the canal is a great way to solve a few of Panamas problems. It may not solve all but it’s a start. Now that these Panama Papers are circulating I think that all the people implicated in the papers should be forced to pay taxes with interest on the money they been storing off shore to help the Panamanian people. The money can go to increasing trade between panama and other countries. With that more Jobs can be created and you’d be killing two birds with one stone. You can made significantly decrease poverty by creating more jobs at the canal zone or even create stores to sell your product in. Depending on the products being sold it could open the door for women who may be able to get equal rights and jobs for employment.

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Although the Panamanian papers were a big letdown on the part of Panama we need to continue the investigation and put the past behind us. Moving forward, Panama should no longer continue to keep those off shore accounts or at least tax the wealthy for using it and it’s not fair that the wealthy are getting wealthier and the poor are getting poorer. As a country we should be standing together and accepting the helping hand from the United States and renew our hope and confidence in the Panamanian people, leave the past behind us and build a better tomorrow.