OPINION: Panama’s subsidies addiction

La Prensa June 28

THE AMOUNT of subsidies disbursed by the State in 2016 was $1.376 billion Which represents a reduction of $244 million compared to 2015. This decrease was not the result of some structural change in the Government's public policies, but was mainly the  product of the reduction of energy costs. With what Panama spends on subsidies annually, you can build a new Metro line or, put another way, in a five-year period it exceeds the estimated cost of the Panama Canal expansion project.  When it is considered electorally, a subsidy is contemplated for every human need. However, what most people need is good jobs, quality public services and an efficient social institution. In very few years, we have become a society addicted to subsidies and we accept as  normal the long lines of older adults, victims and vulnerable families waiting for payments from the State. This is not the way to develop human potential, but to  enslave it.