KINGSTON, Jamaica - IT IS the considered position of this newspaper that much of the public discussion about Jamaica's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is misdirected, of limited value, and does little to advance an understanding of the issues facing the island's economy and how to make things better. Essentially, what we have engaged in is keeping time on when, or when not, the agreement may be signed, without a deep exploration of the consequences, if any, of failure to meet the deadline. So, there is an a priori assumption that the proposed agreement is good. But the sound bites and intense certitude of the declarations offer little clarity of why this is so and how Jamaica should proceed