Go Lean Commentary
The Greater Miami Metropolitan Area has provided refuge to many of the Caribbean Diaspora.
Thank you Miami.
But make no mistake: Miami has benefited as well.
This fact is based on a proven economic principle that growth in population means growth in the economy. In parallel, declines in populations could lead to declines in economic growth. This point was vividly depicted in this previous blog commentary: Having Less Babies is Bad for the Economy; with this quoted reference:
We tend to think economic growth comes from working harder and smarter. But economists attribute up to a third of it to more people joining the workforce each year than leaving it. The result is more producing, earning and spending. – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/07/birth-rate-economy_n_5281597.html
According to the below article (Appendix and VIDEOS below), the Miami Metropolitan Area has benefited greatly from the infusion of Caribbean refugees into its population. The benefits to the metropolitan area have been economic, cultural and also in governing leadership. This brings to the fore a compelling mission of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, to elevate Caribbean society so as to encourage the repatriation of the Diaspora back to their homelands.
Title: South Florida Caribbean’s – November 2006
The Caribbean Island Nations, has an overall population of over 40 million.
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In the US, they number over 25 million (Strategy Research Corporation). The Caribbean population in the U.S. Diaspora has grown by over 6.4 million in the last decade.SOUTH FLORIDA CARIBBEANS – November 2006
• An estimated 400,000 Caribbean nationals live in South Florida.• More than 92,000 Jamaicans live in BrowardCounty and more than 32,000 Jamaicans live in Miami-Dade.
• Haitians make up the second-largest ethnic group in Miami-DadeCounty —109,817 — after Cubans, and are second to Jamaicans in Broward with 88,121.
North Miami, Dade County, Florida according to the 2000 census, has a population of 60,036 and is home to 18,656 Haitians, the most of any city in the county.
As at May 4, 2007 there are 10 Haitian elected officials now serving in the Florida Legislature and Miami-Dade municipalities. Another Haitian politician, North Miami Beach Councilman John Patrick Julien, won the primary but faces a runoff May 15, 2007 with developer Gary Goldman.
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• Broward County added more new black residents (92,378) than any other county between 2000 and 2005, while Miami-Dade County added about 10,528, The surge is driven by Caribbeans.
• Broward’s black population grew 22 percent from 2000 to 2005; 34 percent among Caribbeans.
• Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties are home to about one-fifth of the 785,771 Jamaicans living in the United States.
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Just as we argue that Cubans go to Miami and Mexicans to Texas for geographic and cultural blending in, we can make the same argument for West Indians in South Florida. It’s a natural habitat.”
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SOURCE: U.S. Census
Editors note: The above figures are very conservative
Caribbean Business Community (North America) Inc. (Retrieved 10-10-2014) –
http://www.caribbeanbusinesscommunity.com/newsletters/caribbeans_abroad.html
The book Go Lean…Caribbean champions the causes of retaining Caribbean citizens in the Caribbean, and inviting the Diaspora back to their homelands. These intentions were pronounced early in the book with these statements in the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 13):
xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.
xx. Whereas the results of our decades of migration created a vibrant Diaspora in foreign lands, the Federation must organize interactions with this population into structured markets. Thus allowing foreign consumption of domestic products, services and media, which is a positive trade impact. These economic activities must not be exploited by others’ profiteering but rather harnessed by Federation resources for efficient repatriations.
Looking at this quest from the point-of-view of Miami introduces a paradox: Miami’s success versus Caribbean failure.
According to Miami’s history, the metropolitan area has benefited, population-wise, with every Failed-State episode in the Caribbean. This is describing a win-lose scenario, where the Caribbean losses resulted in Miami’s gains. The following list describes the Caribbean countries that experienced near-Failed-State status, detailed in the Go Lean book, that effected change (growth) in Miami:
Cuba (Page 236)
Dominican Republic (Pages 237, 306)
Haiti (Page 238)
Jamaica (Page 239)
Trinidad (Page 240)
US Territories – Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands (Page 244)
British Caribbean Territories (Page 245)
Dutch Caribbean Territories (Page 246)
French Caribbean Territories (Page 247)
With Miami’s location at the bottom of the Florida peninsula, it protrudes into the tropics – 50 miles West from the Bahamas and 90 miles North from Cuba. For the local community, this Caribbean proximity was perceived as a disadvantage, a misfortune, but the Caribbean infusion instead has proven to be an asset, a win for Miami. As many Caribbean member-states flirted with failure, Miami succeeded, despite being on the frontlines and having to absorb many incoming refugees.
But now, change has now come to the Caribbean … as detailed in the Go Lean book.
The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to bring positive change. The CU‘s prime directives are identified with the following 3 statements:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.
Will these changes reverse the patterns of success for Miami? Will more for Caribbean member-states mean less for Miami? Will Cuba’s return to democracy cause a crash for the Cuban-American investments in Miami? Will a stabilization of Haiti finally shift the successes of Haitian-Americans back to their homeland? Will an end of Caribbean Sclerosis (economic dysfunction) finally mean the English-speaking Caribbean will abandon Miami as their destination of hopes-and-dreams (see Appendix and VIDEOS below)? Will a successful execution of the Go Lean roadmap reverse the patterns of success for Miami? These ill-fated scenarios do not have to be the conclusion. The Go Lean roadmap for an elevated Caribbean, can be a win-win for Miami and the Caribbean.
The Go Lean book defines “luck” as the intersection of preparation and opportunity (Page 3). With the execution of the Go Lean roadmap, the change that comes to the Caribbean, and accompanying success should not mean failure for Miami. No, Miami can get “lucky” … purposely, with these impending changes. With Miami’s physical location it can continue to facilitate a lot of trade and logistics for the Latin America and Caribbean region.
The Go Lean roadmap calls for elevating the Caribbean’s GDP from $378 Billion (2010) to $800 Billion. The Miami community can benefit from this regional growth, with some shrewd strategies on their part. (The Go Lean roadmap includes shrewd strategies for elevating the Caribbean, not Miami).
Caribbean stakeholders are hereby urged to lean-in to the community ethos, shrewd strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to finally re-boot Caribbean society; as detailed in the book Go Lean…Caribbean, sampled here:
| Assessment – Anecdote – Caribbean Single Market & Economy | Page 15 |
| Assessment – Anecdote – Dutch Caribbean – Integration & Secessions | Page 16 |
| Assessment – Anecdote – French Caribbean – Organization & Discord | Page 17 |
| Assessment – Anecdote – Puerto Rico – The Greece of the Caribbean | Page 18 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices & Incentives | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Minority Equalization | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Lean Operations | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Return on Investments | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Arounds | Page 33 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations | Page 34 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategic – Vision – Integrating Region in to a Single Market | Page 45 |
| Strategic – Agents of Change – Globalization | Page 57 |
| Tactical – $800 Billion Economy – How and When | Page 67 |
| Tactical – Separation of Powers – State Department – Culture Administration | Page 81 |
| Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change | Page 101 |
| Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up | Page 102 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives | Page 117 |
| Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate | Page 118 |
| Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization | Page 119 |
| Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Cuba/Haiti | Page 127 |
| Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better | Page 131 |
| Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices | Page 134 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora | Page 217 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage | Page 218 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve the Arts | Page 230 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Promote Music | Page 231 |
This commentary previously featured subjects related to the Caribbean Diaspora in the Greater Miami Metropolitan Area. The following is a sample:
Today, Miami is a better place to live, work and play … due in many ways to the contributions of the Caribbean Diaspora. The Cuban, Dominican and Afro-Caribbean (Haitian, Jamaican, Bahamian) communities dominate the culture of South Florida, resulting in a distinctive character that has made Miami unique as a travel/tourist destination; see VIDEOS below that vividly describe the positive input of the Caribbean culture on Miami:
Video Title: The Miami Sound Machine – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZkjeJKBI0M:
This is now a new day for the Caribbean; with the empowerments identified, qualified and proposed in the Go Lean book, the region will also be a better place to live, work and play. We urge all to lean-in to this roadmap, those residing in the region and the Diaspora, especially those in Miami.
The Caribbean and Miami. This can be a win-win!
Video Title: Miami-Broward Carnival – https://youtu.be/aT4hU85-lOk:
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
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APPENDIX – Miami Demographic Analysis – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_metropolitan_area
Demographics
| Miami Metropolitan Area Historical population | |||
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 4,955 | — | |
| 1910 | 17,510 | 253.4% | |
| 1920 | 66,542 | 280.0% | |
| 1930 | 214,830 | 222.8% | |
| 1940 | 387,522 | 80.4% | |
| 1950 | 693,705 | 79.0% | |
| 1960 | 1,497,099 | 115.8% | |
| 1970 | 2,236,645 | 49.4% | |
| 1980 | 3,220,844 | 44.0% | |
| 1990 | 4,056,100 | 25.9% | |
| 2000 | 5,007,564 | 23.5% | |
| 2010 | 5,564,635 | 11.1% | |
Ethnicity:
The racial makeup of population of the Miami Area [5,334,685] as of 2010 [43]:
- White: 70.3% [3,914,239]
- White Non-Hispanic: 34.8% [1,937,939]
- White Hispanic: 35.2% [1,976,300]
- Black or African American (many from the Caribbean): 21% [1,075,174]
- Native American: 0.3% [16,108]
- Asian: 2.3% [125,564]; (0.7% Indian, 0.5% Chinese, 0.3% Filipino, 0.2% Vietnamese, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Japanese, 0.4% Other Asian)
- Pacific Islander: 0.0% [2,356]
- Other races: 3.5% [197,183]
- Two or more races: 2.5% [140,000]
- Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.6% [2,312,929] of the population
The city proper is home to less than one-thirteenth of the population of South Florida. Miami is the 42nd most populous city in the United States. [But] the Miami Metropolitan Area, which includes Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, had a combined population of more than 5.5 million people, ranked seventh largest in the United States,[44] and is the largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States. As of 2008, the United Nations estimates that the Miami Urban Agglomeration is the 44th-largest in the world.[45]
The 2010 US Census file for “Hispanic or Latino Origin” reports[46] that: 34.4% of the population had Cuban origin, 8.7% South American ( 3.2% Colombian), 7.2% Nicaraguan, 5.8% Honduran, and 2.4% Dominican origin. In 2004, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reported that Miami had the highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any major city worldwide (59%), followed by Toronto (50%).
As of 2010, there were 183,994 households of which 14.0% were vacant.[47] As of 2000, 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 18.7% have a female head of household with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.25. The age distribution was 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
In 2009, the median income for a household in the city was $29,812, and the median income for a family was $33,814. The per capita income for the city was $19,846. About 21.7% of families and 26.3% of the population were below the poverty line.
In 1960, non-Hispanic whites represented 80% of Miami-Dade county’s population.[48] In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Miami’s population as 45.3% Hispanic, 32.9% non-Hispanic White, and 22.7% Black.[49] Miami’s explosive population growth has been driven by internal migration from other parts of the country, primarily up until the 1980s, as well as by immigration, primarily from the 1960s to the 1990s. Today, immigration to Miami has slowed significantly and Miami’s growth today is attributed greatly to its fast urbanization and high-rise construction, which has increased its inner city neighborhood population densities, such as in Downtown, Brickell, and Edgewater, where one area in Downtown alone saw a 2,069% increase in population in the 2010 Census. Miami is regarded as more of a multicultural mosaic, than it is a melting pot, with residents still maintaining much of, or some of their cultural traits. The overall culture of Miami is heavily influenced by its large population of Hispanics and blacks mainly from the Caribbean islands.
Source References:
43. American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau and Housing Narrative Profile: 2005. Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
44. “Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009” (XLS). 2009 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 19, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
45. “Table A.12. Population of urban agglomerations with 750,000 inhabitants or more in 2005, by country, 1950–2015” (PDF). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 Revision. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
46. “Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2010 more information 2010 Census Summary File 1”. American FactFinder. US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
47. American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. “Miami city, Florida – Census 2010:Florida – USATODAY.com –”. USA Today. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
48. “Demographic Profile, Miami-Dade County, Florida 1960–2000 ” (PDF). Miamidade.gov.
49. “Florida – Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990”. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 21, 2012.