Caribbean political analyst Peter Wickham noted, however, that in a situation where the PNP is leading by a statistically insignificant five percentage points, a long campaign could come back to haunt Miller. “By calling an early election, by setting the date seven weeks away, she has effectively surrendered one of the most effective tools in the arsenal of the Westminster PM,” he continued, referring to the fact that the British system, which many Caribbean countries have adopted, allows the prime minister alone to name the date for a general election.
Source: The BostonBanner
Many people agree that the next general election in Barbados will be hotly contested for a number of reasons. We have a fourth term government which has been embroiled in one controversy after the next. There is Prime Minister Owen Arthur whose popularity has been on the decline in recent years; this drop in Arthur’s popularity is not good news for the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Many of the BLP candidates owe a deep debt of gratitude to Arthur for their elevation to the Lower House and on becoming vested after 10 years to qualify for a government pension.
Many political pundits agree that there is always a tiredness which will visit fourth term governments.
Recently, Peter Wickham, political scientist and the brains behind CADRES, has been under severe public scrutiny because of his controversial comments. Let BU add that we commend Peter for not being timid, like some of his colleagues, about making his views known. However, we do agree with those who have formed the impression that Peter’s perspectives often appear to have a DLP bias. Having said that, we have to congratulate Peter on the accuracy of his polls to date. We were particularly proud of the comment which we have quoted above which turned out to be true about the outcome of the recent Jamaican election. As far as we can recollect, his polls have always been on the bulls-eye with the exception of the St. Lucia poll which we are prepared to accept was done at a time which would have made it difficult to accurately predict the outcome. Even if BU accept CADRES got it wrong, one out of several is not a bad record.
What does the future hold for the DLP and BLP?
Tomorrow (14 October 2007) the CADRES POLL will be published by the Nation Newspaper, its sponsor. There will be a discussion on Voice of Barbados (VOB) Sunday call-in morning program on the hot issues which pervade the political scene in Barbados. Tomorrow may well prove to be the ‘tipping point’ which determines the party to take the upper hand in the minds of electorate of Barbados. On this point, we have always had a concern about the influence which a poll can have on a voting population on the eve of any election. We have time for the view that a poll which is strategically crafted can greatly influence public opinion. We want to make this point because of our earlier observation that Peter has espoused strong anti-government rhetoric when he has had occasion to host several call-in programs in recent years. His obvious disgust with Clyde Mascoll has been a topic thoroughly discussed in Barbados.
BU household will be at church
Unfortunately, the BU household will be at church tomorrow at the time the VOB call-in program will be broadcasting. We will have to rely on feedback to ascertain what transpired. We get the feeling that the Democratic Labour Party has been slowly creating momentum, and they have gathered some steam with the breaking of the Hardwood story. We think that they should be doing the same concerning the mismanagement of the flyover project. We have published previous stories about the political savvy of Prime Minister Owen Arthur. There is a saying that one should not be in close proximity to a wounded tiger. We sense that the Prime Minister and his cohorts have engaged in defensive maneuvers for too long. With the election constitutionally due in less than a year they MUST go on the offensive in the near future.
Previous BU Stories
Prime Minister Arthur The Master Of Spin~Does Anyone Feel Dizzy?
The DLP still has someways to go before they get alot of people votes I know. Thompson has to deliver on something big, he does keep promising and then he does fibs.
Be careful with Peter wickham Prophecies. Bear in mind that he and Bill Johnson prophecied that Kenny Anthony would win the St. Lucia elections. We all know how that turned out. Take what these pollsters say with a grain of salt.
At this juncture it is all about timing , strategy and the final push !
Onward with your duty………TEAM DLP !
Let us see how many BLP supporters join in this discussion. BU and BFP have been accused of using the blogosphere to pursue a propaganda campaign against the government. BU challenges the BLP supporters to declare their hand by joining the debate or SHUT-UP.
David, I have been reluctant to comment on your blog when you deal with political issues since the room for serious discussion becomes quickly eroded by comments such as the one above. I wonder why you chose not to delete it.
Incidentally, VOB usually repeats it “Brass Tacks” discussion in its late night programming, so if you are willing to forego your night’s sleep you won’t have to rely on the contributors to your blog to be informed about what went on.
Linchh~you should not hesitate to contribute, simply ignore non-substantive comments. Certainly you can appreciate that we are not glued to our computers 24/7, you just need to trust us that we will clean it up as soon as practicable. We borrowed the word practicable from the Prime Minister because he seems to have patented it 🙂
Wow this is disturbing news for the government. The fact that the DLP has held its position and marginally improve is significant given the point that they have not made any serious attempt to launch a campaign on the significant issues of the day. Also noteworthy is the speed at which Mascoll has catapulted up the reigns of leadership in the BLP. What does this say about the others? Remember the poll is dealing with perceptions which according to Richie Haynes are very real.
I donot know why Peter wickham does his polls and then allow Roxanne Gibbs -( a known BLP lackey – and close friend of those in the hierachy – ) to write the lead article for his polls.
Remember she was the one who told us last year that there was a BLP surge after the last poll when the evidence should ‘no such surge’.
Note how she packs this article with all sort of positive fluff for Owen,when to my mind the biggest item there is – ‘the large number of voters who want a change of government.’
To me that best reflects the mood of the country – and should be the thing that worries the incumbent.
On polling day people who want change are usually propelled by the momentum,the emotions of the day – that they must do something – and will go and vote not necessarily for a party – but against the incumbent.
I don’t know about this poll,because what I have been hearing as people speak when they gather together, and what I hear on the radio programmes,and what i have seen at 2 public meetings and heard from those who visited – is that the DLP has been attracting large crowds,one of them who attended the meetings, happen to be a family whose members were strong BLP voters but are now turned off.
I don’t know how helpful all of this polling is except for the pollsters pocket (good for you peter),since Jamaica showed us how right up to about 2 weeks before elections Portia Simpson had a generous lead against Bruce Golding – which vanished the closer they got to elections.
As a matter of fact before elections everyone (meaning of course the majority) was going with Portia.
No one was more popular among the masses than Sister Portia – and note she didnot have the tremendous baggage of corruption alleged to her as Owen does – yet she didnot make it over the hurdle.
Like it or not Roxanne ‘BLp mouthpiece’ Gibbs – the winds of change are blowing through the caribbean – and right now owen is sitting on shifting sand.
A promise they say is a comfort to a fool – at least that is what the BLP crooks taught us over the past 15 years – so if according to the spin Roxanne Gibbs put out there – the BLP politicians think that the people are promising them ‘4 love in wunnah backside’ as their operatives keep posting on these internet sites – then hold onto your promises my friend.
See you at the polls,and after that – see you at Dodds prison in St Phillip.
I’ll get back to my praying for a real newspaper and radio and t.v. stations – and some real journalists ’bout here.
I gone.
The simple fact that there is a %.5 % swing away from the BLP is really all I needed to hear because within this 5.5 % swing a number of seats that are held by the blp will turn some such Noeless Blarney Lynch will exit, ones like Rommel Marshall, the city, Kerrie can’t find my wife Simmons, do nothing Wood, Malik with Teeth, Dale Marshall, many of those pompus arrogant clowns are now looking towards retirement.
I am not kidding about Kerrie Simmons his wife went missing on him and he has not been the same since then he is inflicted with a once thought extinct sickness but recently it appears to have made a return to the island called smallcocks, sorry that was meant to be smallpocks.
I was once an ardent fan of Roxanne Gibbs’ editor’s diary. She always knew how to make your day.
However,on writing political analysis and offering her interpretation on such matters is really out of her reach.
It is clear to see from the above article that she was spinning and doing a very poor job at that. The least she could have done was to ask Harrhoyte to do a special piece.
What dead heat is she talking about? Is this the BEST that she can offer us? What about the increasing “won’t say” or “don’t know”? Are they not worth considering?
What if these two categories are split, let’s say, 40% each way and the remaining 20% not caring if the cat had puppies last night, couldn’t that be taken as something to consider?
Roxanne is a well known blp lackey so we should not expect anything of worth from her.
No wonder I hold off from buying the nation newspaper. It stinks. Good for only wrapping fish and shining glass windows.
Lord, speak to Owen Arffa heart and impress upon ‘e the urgent need to call elecshuns.
Australia is going to the polls in late November and it is still possible fuh we to get one in early December. Wha’ yuh tink, Owen? Can we look forward to a’ early Xmas gift muh brudder?
BTW, if the country is doing so well and the people want the bees again as the spinners are indicating, then why are we subjected to such poor treatment for our elected officials ? Why are they not open to us in sharing vital information so that we can better offer out support to the RULING party?
( Why do we always use the term “rule” if we are living in a democracy? What is wrong with the word “govern”? Oh. I get it. Sorry, dictators rule. This is what happens when one goes to bed after 3am and gets uo b4 miday. The ability to reason is left somewhere near the liquor bottle).
Above post was mine.
Correction:….then why are we subjected to such poor treatment FROM our……..
CLOSE CALL!
In 1986 the Nation newspaper carried a similar headline to today’s. It said back then “Too close to call”. And we all know what happened at the next election.
History has a way of repeating itself because we learn nothing from history.
Keep it up, Nationnews. Perhaps this time around we may only be left wid lonely Owen.
if you vote out the blp who are we going to vote in thats the problem here no viable alternative
sensible man // Oct 14th 2007 at 9:35 am
if you vote out the blp who are we going to vote in thats the problem here no viable alternative
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And you call yourself sensible?
How do you mean who we gine vote in?
Yhat is like a spouse being battered and bruised and that spouse saying the he/she can’t leave. Utter rubbish too early this morning. Seems like you too were drinking late last night.
Forget the partisan stuff, for me (in the undecided camp) there are only two factually interesting elements here. The first is that the general population are increasingly dissafected with the BLP. This is no surprise. The second is that the DLP in general and Thompson in particular have not been able to harness this dissafection. The facts speak for themselves. The swing away from the BLP is larger than the swing to the DLP, Thompson’s approval rating is poor and many think that nothing will change under a DLP government. The Dems have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this election in a landslide but they have to show more guts and more leadership from Thompson before they can demonstrate that they are not just more of the same. Then, and only then, will they get my vote.
Well said James
That is the next election in a nutshell:
“The swing away from the BLP is larger than the swing to the DLP”
The election turn out will be pivotal in the result!
Low turn out – BLP win!
High turn out – DLP have a chance.
Come on DLP – raise your game!
Looks like we will have to vote for BAPE…
David
You see that first post by anonymous before the wishing in vain ones – that’s BFPE obviously testing the site to see if you are in and moderating,then they proceed to use wishing in vain alias – typical,typical.
Those posts above tell me they are concerned about this new poll – see not a peep.
“Those posts above tell me they are concerned about this new poll – see not a peep.”
Gee…. you really are DESPERATE.
Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
james like YUM we agree with your assessment. However as we have alluded to in previous articles and comments things are starting to heat-up in Barbados. It appears that David will lead with the left i.e. the Hardwoods story. Based on the impact he will decide when to end it with the right. The problem for Thompson is that he has a very agile opponent who will not remain flat footed.
David, I agree but can’t hep but think that in order to wrong foot Arthur, Thompson is going to have to do much better than his current performance with Hardwood. It’s not the issue, (although there are a vast range of other abuses that are larger and would probably have played better – many covered by BU) , it’s the way that he has dealt with it. Arthur is a consummate politician and Thompson has got to do better than this. Style is as important as substance when it comes to winning elections and without a much superior, more focused message government will not change. And goodness knows it needs to. Time to get serious.
All said and done for a government seeking a 4th term the BLP showing is better than commendable. It just goes to show that the blogs have been clogged with the anti BLP element… apparently all of the small number.
WIV its time you start to behave yourself your nasty comments which have become a part of your character show the type of gutter politricks you will play.
Again James you hit the nail on the head!
The DLP are just not getting their people in the papers or on the telly. Every day the we see Billie Miller, Dale, Owen….. all smart in their suits, but we rarely see the DLP hopefulls!
A good example of the image problems of the DLP was the Sunday Sun front cover when DT first asked questions about Hardwood INC. Pictured is an unflattering picture of David Thompson eating pudding and souse – he looks unkept and overly casual in his demeanor! On the same page there is a smaller picture of O$A relaxing over a game of cards in New York – smartly dressed and business like!
DLP must be aware that it is not just what you say but how you say it AND image is SO important in this increasingly visual age!
Who is their campaign management or PR company?
Whoever it is needs a boot up their backside – pronto!
More importantly, there are rumours of a chemical bomb going off at Coconut Court hotel in Christ Church. I haven’t been able to get it confirmed but Living in Barbados has a comment on it: http://livinginbarbados.blogspot.com/
The citizens have not received their just rewards for their input taxes. The citizen has seen unjust rewards taken wrongly.
A citizen may hope that rulers may somehow decide to stop what they are doing and return to the just ways of the earlier days. This citizen might well vote for this if convinced it were true.
On the other hand the 5.5% swing vote seems to have decided that it is better to give another; to let it grow into the job if necessary. If it does not work out then in 5 years do again. After all votes are counted, most civil servants will still remain after the election no matter who wins.
Can Barbados afford to descend to corruption? Are 5.5% of Barbados not saying: “No, we do not like what is happening?”
Now hear this. 5.5% of Barbados says, “You are doing wrong, we do not want dishonesty, as we are an honest law-abiding society!”
We are a progressive, developing society, but we are largely morally intact in the middle and at bottom. This is what Barbados is hungering for in the next election: not the flyover, but the flyover at the cost effective, honest, justified price.
Not what our leaders did or do, but what we did together. It is all about our money, our investment; not their plans or their actions. The people want to know how these things occur and to have the stake in it, to see the good coming out of their NIS, PAYE and taxes like the VAT that have raised prices so steeply. The people deserve it, they have paid a high price.
And the people are not getting the acountability. 5.5% will go to more….until and unless our leaders start to act with accountability and integrity.
It is so very simple. Why argue who, when it is a case of what? Who cares if it is a DLP or a BLP, we want one with HONESTY.
When have you last seen 10,000 people at a political meeting in Barbados ?
If you wanted to see a crowd of that size you ought to have been at Deacons Farm this evening, I attended and beyond any shadow of doubt this was the largest gathering at any political meeting that I have ever attended and am referring to as far back as 1960’s, it was huge.
The speakers were of a very high standard but in my mind the three that stood out were Dr Estwick, Chris and David Thompson who was at his eloquent best, they dealt with matters as clincially as could be done but it was left to Mr Thompson to deliver the most telling blows to Mascoll.
He addressed the myth that Murrell had built 500 homes in Grenada after the effects of Ivan it was proven that Murrell spent the total sum of 3 weeks in Grenada and built nothing, the video presentations was a new and fascinating addition to the meeting and they were very well delivered, the letters showing Murrell in poccession of all the lease contracts and where he paid $ 25,000.0 to Simpson and Conso and where he onward lease them to HHL at $ 54,000.00 and evidence that they were in arrears to the lenders, also to there was hard evidence that these guyanese workers are working but do not have legal status, he also showed letters showing where the union worte Murrell in connection with his molestation of the 3 memnbers of staff, and his attempt to fire one for not obliging him in his nastiness,He also addressed the issue of the ongoing work on a commercial building being carried out byHHL members of staff but not collecting and payments for this work the building happens to belong to Mascolls wife (hence Mascoll’s comments that he and his wife would be holding a press conference tommorow)
The meeting was a top class presentation of a very high class.
From the sidelines it certainly appears that there is gross mismanagement and corruption involved in this adventure in closing Mr Thompson clearly stated that he was giving Arthur 30 days to address this issue or he will be moving a no confidence motion against Mascoll my only comment would be he really ought to put the motion for Arthur as well.
My congrats to the leader of the Opposition and his team for delivering the facts pertaining to HARDWOOD HOLDINGS they did it in a most professional manner and in a very clinical manner.
wishing in vain
I agree with you, I was also at the meeting and it was a tremendous crowd, it was well prepared and David Thompson clearly laid before us the issues with Hardwood housing Inc. I am truly happy that finally the opposition in this country are starting to show some bite, I urge them to continue.
To other on this blog who comments on Mr. Thompson’s casual dress my question to you is this SO WHAT? Errol Barrow was also known for his casual dressing that did not make him any less of a politician. We in this country need to start dealing with issues and leave the unimportant things were they belong. Finally I am tired of hearing persons comment of the failure of the BLP but in the same breath lament about there being no alternative. TheDLP has a relatively new set of candidates alot of them untried, how can the lot of you create negatives about these people without even giving them a try. That amazes me. You have a government were it is accepted needs changing, yet as some of you claim there is no viable alternative, so your solution is what, continue to vote in the Government you are dissatisfied with. Don’t vote even though you know that by doing that there is a good chance the government will retain power . Or exercise your constitutional right and vote these people out. If after all is said and done and we vote this government into office for a fourth term given all we know about their rampant corruption then I say we deserve all that happens to us and our children from that point onwards. Enuff Said
Bajejun very good comments I say that those that make such statements are more than likely hardcore blp supporters that do not want accept change.
This is a very common stance heard often, my response to this is usually what did we know about the abilities of the blp when they took office?
Arthur must be now saying what a mistake I have made to have included Mascoll in the cabinet of his, is this his cry now or has he set up the dumb one to be the fall guy for his corruption?
My feelings are that Owing knows that his corruption is being exposed and he is very happy to have Mascoll near to hand to be the bullet fodder for his party.
Mr Mascoll’s response to Opposition Leader’s letter published Advocate 11 October 2007.
‘7. The Chairman of the company (Hardwood Housing Factory Inc) has already responded to the allegation of the company being given access to considerable areas of land.
What better track-record could the company want than someone who supervised the building of 500 houses in six months in Grenada in the aftermath of Hurrican Ivan’.
So did he build 500 houses in Grenada or not?
Remember, according to Mr Murrell (9 July 2007 – Nation’ ‘ the company HAD acquired several acres of land in Christ Church and St. Peter’.
Yes, yes, 10,000 people is all very impressive but we already know from the polls that a big turnout for a meeting doesn’t necessarily translate into winning an election. Thompson still has a leadership and style problem. And it’s nothing about his clothes. Hardwood is a good start and I’m more than happy that he’s actually attacking at last but he’s got to do better, and consistently, or that 5.5% swing will remain undecided and his leadership score will remain poor. Stop spinning and start acting.
james // Oct 15th 2007 at 7:07 am
Yes, yes, 10,000 people is all very impressive but we already know from the polls that a big turnout for a meeting doesn’t necessarily translate into winning an election. Thompson still has a leadership and style problem. And it’s nothing about his clothes. Hardwood is a good start and I’m more than happy that he’s actually attacking at last but he’s got to do better, and consistently, or that 5.5% swing will remain undecided and his leadership score will remain poor. Stop spinning and start acting.
******************************************
Is this the “original” James? Your style of writing seems a bit strange. A bit wishy-washy. Yhat’s not like you. However, I do agree that large crowds at meetings don’t reflect anything on election day. Keep in mind that these gatherings have about a 70/30 split if not 60/40. The higher number representing those favouring the party holding the meeting.
The large attendance may be an indication of things to come. We may never know at this stage.
“The Teflon Don”?
After three terms, increasing public fatigue, and numerous missteps, Owen “the teflon don” Arthur still commands a 52% approval rating. How is this possible? Public fatigue got Sir Grantley and Barrow the boot (although he can not overcome their historical personages due to time and space, the PM has already vaulted himself into the holy trinity, sorry Tom) . Simply put, there is no alternative. David “two seat” Thompson is still unable to break 30%, and is languishing with a 29% approval rating. With elections imminent, his task seems insurmountable. Who exactly is going vote for a man for whom they have such a low opinion? Even more troubling and embarrassing for the DLP is the fact that only 26% of the electorate believes they are ready for prime time. The DLP needs a drastic makeover, but time has run out, so it looks like another glorious innings for the teflon don.
It will be interesting to read Albert Branford’s perspective of the latest poll. Albert needs to reassess his role as a political correspondent and to determine if he wants to be a political correspondent or a partisan political commentator. Of late his commitment to BLP and Mascoll’s position has seriously compromised his credibility.
What role is he expected to play and what influence does he give as he writes for the daily with the widest circulation?
David there is a school of thought that Albert Branford and Malik with teeth Mascoll are one and the same !!!!!
It is said a miss is as good as a mile.
My take on this election is, that if it is lost by the DLP they have no one but themselves to blame. Victory is within their grasp but they are not seizing the moment with meaningful action.
The issue or important point is not whether Arthur is more regarded as a better leader than Thompson. But rather what Thompson can and intends to do to show the people of Barbados that he will do whatever it takes and at whatever cost to right the many wrongs Arthur has perpetrated against the “invisible” people during his ten years of reign. Obviously it is not corruption, teefing etc that is important to the people but “cost” of living which comes as no surprise to me!
It is said that the Barbadian people almost en masse says the one single and most important thing they are concerned about, is the high cost of living in Barbados. Visitors complain about the same thing and many never return because of it. That I suggest say the concerns of locals are more than valid!
Were I Thompson this would be the most important focus of my campaign and to do it in a way that convinces ALL Barbadians that they deserve lower cost of living come hell or highwater. The billions of dollars flowing into Barbados and the wealthy choosing it as their home, can well afford to support this intiative with some type of tax. They are not going to move to another country if such a tax was imposed. But the foreigner is not the only one who should be asked to pay. They are thousands of wealthy Barbadians and businesses who should step up to the plate or made to do it with taxes.
If the Government discontinues VAT as an example it has to be replaced by an alternative tax. because to not do that would be whistling in the wind. The Government also has to reduce spending, cut fat in their ranks and manage the peoples money more competently than is being done now. The over run on contracts and the poor value for money being received by mainly incompetent foreign contractors is unacceptable. These are all important issues that must be addressed by the DLP. Yet they are mute claiming no election has yet been called. I say it suggests in-deciviseness and that the DLP do not have solutions.
Here is a working population that is not even protected from inflation with a reasonable “minimum” wage. Who do you think is benefitting from this injustice by hiring and exploiting workers? Here is another area that by bringing in a realistic minimum wage you can relieve the high cost of living. The impoverished who are existing on frivolous social benefits MUST be addressed too.
The thing I do not understand is this. How can an “Opposition” reading the recent polls and opinions that suggest they are neck and neck with Arthurs BLP continue to remain silent about their solution/s that the majority are complaining about. And when seeing that the same people not happy with Arthurs regime is not convinced that the DLP is the answer to their problems?
Therefore it is time that Thompson come out of the closet and address the concerns of the masses even if it means making the privileged living the good life pay for it. It is not the privileged complaining it is the “invisible” people. The two and three generation Barbadian that deserves a fair shake and a share of the Bajan prosperity. Too many people in Barbados more than we know are going to bed hungry and this is unacceptable in any Nation as rich as Barbados.
That is my view and I think David Thompson is getting bad advice. Given a chance I think David will do the job but he will not have the Prime Miniters job GIVEN to him unless he offers solutions to realistic concerns the masses are asking for.
The wealthy are not going to give up voluntarily any of the perks they are enjoying and which the BLP gave to them on a silver platter. And while we are at it let us not forget most of the Nations from which the wealthy in Barbados come from are among the highest taxed in the world but THEY ALSO enjoy some of the highest standards of living!
So last thursday the front right tyre on the white sedan had a big whole in it, I go to the gas station, nowadays some of them have these sophisticated digital pumps, so i put more air in the tyre…
Screen tell me exactly how much was in it and i think i put 30psi (2bar there abouts) can’t remember.
Gone long about my business, pass thru de drive thru (it not next door to that gas station)
Waiting in the line some kind motorist on entering the place as i was exiting indicated that the front right needed more air so…..
i went back to the gas station, buy some duct tape, cover de hole up and put some more air it…
smiling to myself i figure i got the thing fix now…..
What we need is more taxes!!!!!!!
Just like the air in the tyre, and if there is thiefing just put a flimsy patch on it…
As the for this small Barbados economy don’t fix the tyre, get a new one on hire purchase…
Other idiotic scenarios to illustrate my point.
Person has new coreduo/athlon x2 computer 2gb ram and about 25 programs running in the background and riddled with spyware or worst Vista……
Insert Epiphany Here: “I need more memory”
Person/patient severed leg, blood everywhere…..stop bleeding, nah waste of time
“order some blood, don’t worry about the type either”
YES I can be sarcastic.
Makaveli, Sarcasm notwithstanding which is no big deal.
Could you give us your solutions for solving the problems of the high cost of living in Barbados?
Obviously you do not agree that taxes on the wealthy and businesses is the answer along with addressing Government spending and waste.
Let us hear how you would address bringing down the high cost of living and making it easier for Barbadians to own a home and a piece of the rock.
Everybody’s opinion and suggestions are important so let us hear how you would go about solving the problem!
They are a lot of factors involved and it is not entirely the fault of the Barbados Government. Let me be more specific, the Government for all its fiscal promiscuity is not solely responsible for the inflation, but it is the duty of the Government (one with a social conscience) to minimize the effects of inflation, on the population’s standard of living.
Let us be as honest as we can here, I’ll play no politics, and i’ll try not to get to fancy with econo-theory. After all you can’t eat, drink or sleep
in economic theory.
Basics of Barbados Economy.
Major sources of foreign exchange: Tourism, Real Estate, Remittances (USA,UK,Canada), Sugar, Offshore Banking etc., Money Laundering, Prostitution and Drugs….left out a few but you get the idea.
Major output of exchange: Imported Food and Petroleum. Inputs in the construction industry.
Sources of income for Government. Taxation on all of the above (direct), income tax, duties etc. Various businesses running the gambit from scraping by to turning profit, e.g formerly Hilton was a 51-49 profit sharing arrangement not sure what it is these days. Loans i.e borrowing money.
Major Ouput/costs to Government:
Education, Healthcare, Sanitation, Transport, Long, long list of capital works projects, employing thousands of puplic workers.
Okay so that’s a basic backdrop, any recent budget should have all the numbers except the laundering/prostitution,drug numbers… nudge, nudge, wink, wink 🙂
COST OF LIVING
Why is it increasing?
We use fiat currency, it’s not tied to any substance of value like gold or silver or oil or even wood…its just paper and more recently numbers in a computer system. Worse yet its pegged to the U.S Dollar which was great under Bretton Woods when US (as well as others) currency was tied to gold but Nixon broke out
of it in 71, by that time Fort Knox had almost no gold left…moving along the Fed reserve in a series of
boom and bust cycles flooded the economy with money, and then when things got to hot and reckless raised interest rates, bank audits etc. Notable dollar devaluations 1973,1980-82, 1987-91, 2002-2007.
Note they seem to be increasing in severity and duration often during major wars. US government defense spending is insanely high. The current devaluation has been 40-50% against major currencies (excluding yuan and yen)…The Chinese, and Japanese try to maintain their exchange rates to keep their products competitive on the U.S market. Almost 2 trillion total U.S dollars are stored by China and Japan.
Okay trying not to dwell on that to much its really fascinating but would take much to long to explain/discuss.
The point is we undergo dollar devaluation whenever the U.S does.
Oil
So when oil goes from $30 to $84 US dollars its licks in our backsides. If you look at oil prices in Euros you’ll see the increase isn’t as much as it appears.
Food
Food and oil prices are linked as 21st century crop yields are reliant on industrialized, mechanized agriculture (think fertilizers, irrigation, pesticides, herbicides, harvesters etc. Most foods are processed and packaged industrially. Tranport and storage (more oil)
If oil goes up food follows.
Interests Rates and Money Supply.
Ideally you should have a little more money available to buy goods in an economy than the value of the goods available. Disciplined monetary policy must increase money supply to match the economic growth…real increase in goods and services. But politics is always involved, and we get all sorts of bubbles e.g housing, stocks, tulips…there is always speculation and when the speculators have a ready supply of credit…..watch out bubble then bust is likely to happen. When the amount of money in circulation far exceeds the goods available prices almost always go up.
Fiscal Policy (crowding out effect)
Government borrows money on local market by way of bonds/debentures, to finance expenditure. Like Cricket world cup, or flyovers or any of a number of projects…interest rates go up in the short term (8.25%) as demand for money increases, private sector/industrial investment decreases because of lower return but may increase in the long term if Goverment spending expands the market for the private sector….sorry to much economics, long story short
Deficit spending and borrowing money can expand economy if you are not at full employment, in a recession, depression etc. If economy is near full employment real(rare) or theoretical( u.s calls 4% unemployment full employment, think Canada says 7% unemployment is full) and the money wasted/ excessively spent on consumer goods (e.g limited use items, disposable) as oppose to capital goods (durable, used in production) then you hurt real economic growth.
Exchange Rates and Loans from Foreign Sources.
So you’re pegged to the U.S dollar and you borrow money from hmm… let’s say a French source, (fictional example) 100 million euros when a euro is 124 cents US and the interest rate is 4% sweet , and lets say you don’t have to make any repayments for first 3 years. That was 2004, Now 2007 euro is 141cents…and most of your foreign exchange in dollars time to start paying back…..tings rough indeed.
So you need more FOREIGN EXCHANGE.
If tourism from Canada, U.K and Europe increases due to a more competitive tourist product then things ain’t so bad. You gotta get that exchange to make repayments…oh and lets not forget importing the food to feed the tourists…oh and don’t forget, now the locals have tourist taste so you need to import some of that shtt for them also….you are going to be very unpopular if you don’t presidente.
Trying not get to carried away, will post some SOLUTIONS LATER.
P.S Higher taxes is not a bad idea, it shouldn’t be first option and should be used with skill to reward/punish and stimulate.
Gotta run for now, misses telling me i need a break from the comp.
Some Solutions to cost of living problem.
As far as government waste mentioned before cut the fat, but gradually… also increase efficiency, don’t just buy new equipment upgrade the staff as well, let gov spending reflect an uplifting value system, pay for training.
Increase use of IT both machines and people, all of goverment should be fully networked with 99% uptime by now…don’t forget maintainence.
Implement preventative maintenance programs where there none, improve ones in place. Should a bus be left in the yard at you know where for lack of one or two parts….until it is eventually cannibalized to supply parts for other buses? That’s more wasted tax dollars… It ain’t free its OUR money.
Same for QEH and Education…reward excellence and punish corruption.
More coordination with road works cuz a recently paved road shouldn’t be dug up in 3 months to deal with a water main.
Gov has to pay for characters at uwi on year 7 of a 3year degree….We the tax payers shouldn’t be paying 30 000 on a student and getting 7Fs and 3 Ds in return.
I could go on and on, cut the WASTAGE then we can stop borrowing so much damn money.
On the issue of VAT first year they collected more than they had projected….VAT brings a nice supply of money…of course its money that we the people could have spent on other things…if the goverment is going to take our money in taxation they need to spend it better than we can….we need to hold them accountable.
Use of referrendum not for things like republic, but major corruption. MPs and ministers should be removal by review then referrendum.
The basket of VAT free goods needs to be enlarged. As for that imported shtt we need to
raise taxes on that. I’ve been all over the world never once saw cou-cou, fish cakes, souse or black pudding on a menu. You in Barbados so you eating what we eat you wanna eat like home then pay a premium. What good is getting $1 foreign exchange to spend 85cents
to import the supplies.
Recognise that part of the problem is the COST OF HIGH LIVING.
Brainwashing consumerism promoting SH1TE on TV from north america has got to go….why do we have to show their commercials??? BET yes you to, yuh gotta go.
Dollar situation
More sophisticated forex trading, diversification of foreign reserves, pegging to basket of currencies. Tempered investment in precious metals might not be such a bad idea. Barring a tech revolution U.S glory days are long over.
Land and Housing situation. (one of or sorry-est state-of-affairs)
” Land should be used for its greatest economic value” to quote our PM
Sir, I know that you know the economics tall and ting; and malik wid teet know a good piece himself. But “socio” need to go in that statement somewhere kinda like this… “socio-economic value”.
Low income housing must be subsidized, what you lose there you make back on savings in healthcare and getting more from the education dollar….it’s called social cost benefit….late prime minister adams was trying to wrap his head around the concept but he expired before it was seriously implemented.
Resist the temptation to fluff up low income housing with ornamental wastage…money saved might build an extra unit or two.
Bim is small intimate society so avoid putting too much pressure on style and appearance at low income housing level cuz you only going to push up cost and spending in the middle….it gets more ridiculous as you go up 5bedrooms and 3 bathrooms for a family of 4….sillyness.
Land cost.
1. Deal with speculation after 5years and you aint do anything with the land…then you paying more land tax for keeping it out of circulation, the longer you hold the more you pay. Don’t complain, people who holding pushing up the value/cost of land so they could afford to pay the tax. Review at 10, 15years etc.
2.A person should not have to wait until they die for their children to get land, Barbadians should be able to convey land to their children with out getting they eye juk out wid tax.
3. Alien landholders act , call it what you want but their is only so much land to go around, what ever happened to 50 or 99year leases? As for currency, does anyone really think that a foreigner is going to sell a million dollar property that he/she bought with us or euros to a bajan who can only pay with Barbados dollars???? Not going to happen. With a few exceptions if you are foreigner you have to LEASE. As for purchasing by people with foreign exchange they should have to convert to Barbados dollars, Barbados dollars only should by Barbados land.
I have a few more i could talk about on land…water zones is a big one. i’ll deal with later.
Short history, Bim was one big sugar plantation with a system of production that was almost PURE CAPITALISM. Thanks to slavery.
Bim market is small. and controlled by an oligopoly….methods of control include kill off the small man, stiffle competition, reduce supply and charged as much as they want.
Bajans with a large percentage of sheeple among us will continue to pay the high prices… They didn’t like to hear it before but CUT and CONSERVE…be frugal the prices will have to budge.
Its like all the goods in Bim behave as if they inelastic…which is fancy economic speak for a situation where even though the price going up the demand not going down. I swear for a moment Chefette was a giffin good i.e the more expensive it got the more people was buying it. I just tell myself i was confuse with cause and effect and that the line at the drive thru was longer so prices went up.
Legislation needs to have bite to deal with price gouging and we need anti-trust laws no one company should control 80% of any market.
I don’t care if you BLP, DLP or PEP you suppose to serve US, WE , Barbadians. Yuh play de ass then licks like peas, yuh run out of ideas yuh gotta go, corruption like rot spreads..so if you going that way we going to have to prune or amputate you before we all rot.
You got my vote to be the next Minister of Finance and added to that portfolio you will be given the Chief Factotum of Bim.
Most of what you say have some basis in fact but think about this.
Every country in the world has suffered and will continue to suffer/experience inflationary trends as in oil that almost overnight pushed gas prices in many parts of North America up by 25-30%. Canada is now facing export troubles because of their rising dollar against the USA. Many of the perceived problems are turning out to be just that “perceived”. People all over the world love talking technical BS that never manifests itself. These folk are usually known as “Professional” students of their many sciences. But are regarded by mainstream society as preachers of doom and gloom and a goodly amount of BS included!
In North America like in Barbados a fairly high level of costs on consumer products are impacted by freight, taxes, duties etc. And increasing raw material costs. North America is not exempt from these pressures as some Barbadians living in a vacum seem to think. Products coming from the Coast, California etc is travelling distances comparable to from North America to Bim.
In addition I am told that North American overhead costs has to be higher than the overhead in Barbados.
Labour is paid at higher rates and a minimum wage is in effect. But on top of this there are myriad other costs like, Workers Comp, Health and safety, taxes, more modern equipment in stores, maintenance costs, bigger inventories, taxes, building costs , all kinds of Labour laws, food inspections etc. I realize that here in Bim we have many similar costs but not at the same level or costs.
I can attest and to be truthful I do not see prices in most fields in North America going out of sight of wages like they are in Barbados, I realize competition plays a big role in this but it is not the only factor.
Prices do go up but they seem to be so insignificant that people do not regard them as unreasonable or as price gouging. All sorts of competitive policies are adopted by businesses relating to most consumer products, houses etc. People can still buy cars with almost every option on them for $15 -$30 thousand many that come all the way from Japan. You can buy cars on time and pay not one red cent of interest over 4 or 5 years.
The same is true with food. When you look at what people are earning, food costs, buying a home, heating it, paying for water etc is within the average persons grasp. In North America most outdoors people own cottages, boats, personalized watercraft and a host of other toys in addition. That is the point.
In North America and England they have their economic challenges like every where else but it is not driving people to complain that they cannot afford to eat properly, buy a house or a car etc.
The people in Barbados make too many damn excuses for the state of affairs there and those making them are the ones drawing big dollar bills and living like king pins. How many middleclass and wealthy black and white Bajans including Foreigners are complaining about the cost of living? And how many are they compared to those complaining. You cannot run a country like that my friend. And here is another thing.
What impact do you think Commission Agencies that are outdated in todays economy is having on food and other costs in Barbados? Think about it. By the time a product gets to market it is loaded to the hilt with hidden costs keeping the ones not complaining fat and happy.
Barbados is a relatively simple economy compared to other more complex economies in other parts of the world and they need to stop talking BS and face the facts. In Barbados no one can even find out the facts about things like Hardwood, what caused serious over runs on Government contracts, were they put out to bid or bugger all so how to hell can you get to the bottom of food and other costs and what is impacting them? And this has nothing to do with politics it is a situation that effects the lifestyle and well being of ALL Barbadians and they should have a right to know!
I am not in favor of the great Commisiong suggestion of price controls because that is not necessary. And honest people in the business world of Barbados bloody well know they have been ripping off the people for decases. And that is a fact. They should first be given the opportunity of self regulating their greed!
One of the reasons why Barbadians are fooled so easily is that the businesses there are as protected as Gocernment from scrutiny and there arer no watch dog agencies in place to expose what is going on as they are in other Nations.
But having said that you are still my choice as Finance Minister and the Chief Factotum of Bim but what scares me is, that some of your policies are so extreme it might cause you to lose these portfolios suddenly and too quickly when I find you floating in the careenage face down!
You got my vote to be the next Minister of Finance and added to that portfolio you will be given the Chief Factotum of Bim.
Most of what you say have some basis in fact but think about this.
Every country in the world has suffered and will continue to suffer/experience inflationary trends as in oil that almost overnight pushed gas prices in many parts of North America up by 25-30%. Canada is now facing export troubles because of their rising dollar against the USA. Many of the perceived problems are turning out to be just that “perceived”. People all over the world love talking technical BS that never manifests itself. These folk are usually known as “Professional” students of their many sciences. But are regarded by mainstream society as preachers of doom and gloom and a goodly amount of BS included!
In North America like in Barbados a fairly high level of costs on consumer products are impacted by freight, taxes, duties etc. And increasing raw material costs. North America is not exempt from these pressures as some Barbadians living in a vacum seem to think. Products coming from the Coast, California etc is travelling distances comparable to from North America to Bim.
In addition I am told that North American overhead costs has to be higher than the overhead in Barbados.
Labour is paid at higher rates and a minimum wage is in effect. But on top of this there are myriad other costs like, Workers Comp, Health and safety, taxes, more modern equipment in stores, maintenance costs, bigger inventories, taxes, building costs , all kinds of Labour laws, food inspections etc. I realize that here in Bim we have many similar costs but not at the same level or costs.
I can attest and to be truthful I do not see prices in most fields in North America going out of sight of wages like they are in Barbados, I realize competition plays a big role in this but it is not the only factor.
Prices do go up but they seem to be so insignificant that people do not regard them as unreasonable or as price gouging. All sorts of competitive policies are adopted by businesses relating to most consumer products, houses etc. People can still buy cars with almost every option on them for $15 -$30 thousand many that come all the way from Japan. You can buy cars on time and pay not one red cent of interest over 4 or 5 years.
The same is true with food. When you look at what people are earning, food costs, buying a home, heating it, paying for water etc is within the average persons grasp. In North America most outdoors people own cottages, boats, personalized watercraft and a host of other toys in addition. That is the point.
In North America and England they have their economic challenges like every where else but it is not driving people to complain that they cannot afford to eat properly, buy a house or a car etc.
The people in Barbados make too many damn excuses for the state of affairs there and those making them are the ones drawing big dollar bills and living like king pins. How many middleclass and wealthy black and white Bajans including Foreigners are complaining about the cost of living? And how many are they compared to those complaining. You cannot run a country like that my friend. And here is another thing.
What impact do you think Commission Agencies that are outdated in todays economy is having on food and other costs in Barbados? Think about it. By the time a product gets to market it is loaded to the hilt with hidden costs keeping the ones not complaining fat and happy.
Barbados is a relatively simple economy compared to other more complex economies in other parts of the world and they need to stop talking BS and face the facts. In Barbados no one can even find out the facts about things like Hardwood, what caused serious over runs on Government contracts, were they put out to bid or bugger all so how to hell can you get to the bottom of food and other costs and what is impacting them? And this has nothing to do with politics it is a situation that effects the lifestyle and well being of ALL Barbadians and they should have a right to know!
I am not in favor of the great Commisiong suggestion of price controls because that is not necessary. And honest people in the business world of Barbados bloody well know they have been ripping off the people for decases. And that is a fact. They should first be given the opportunity of self regulating their greed!
One of the reasons why Barbadians are fooled so easily is that the businesses there are as protected as Gocernment from scrutiny and there arer no watch dog agencies in place to expose what is going on as they are in other Nations.
But having said that you are still my choice for the portfolios mentioned but what scares me is, that some of your policies are so extreme it might cause you to lose these portfolios suddenly and too quickly when I find you floating in the careenage face down!
Voodoo economics?
Inecrease taxes, ditch the green back (exactly how much would a floating bajan dollar be worth?), expand the bread basket, increase use of “IT” (how does that translate for taxis, maids, tour operators, cooks, waiters, ubitiquous security guards and hotel receptionists, or masseurs), subsidize housing, but not higher education?
Increase taxes, sorry “de gap” i might have confused you a bit. I still believe you can lower the overall tax burden on the masses of Barbadians. Large amounts of money are wasted in education (my uwi example), healthcare [don’t want to mention any examples, to close to home 🙂 ] and other inefficiencies.
Ditching the greenback…..never suggested it, just proposed a move away from a harder peg to a softer one, some hybridization and hedging but if it sounds too radical…then keep all your eggs in one basket, stick with the us dollar exclusively and get burnt in the devaluation. Understand this, an invasion of Iran, will make the money spent in Iraq look like scratch grain….all those dollars mean more devaluation, our manufacturing sector is in no great position to benefit from decrease in cost of exports, not to mention the dearth of indigenous production so the Trinidad example doesn’t apply…..
I was told long time ago by more than one economist, they don’t care if the markets going up or down as long as they moving fast.
With globalization some players going up, some down and some just languish. Elevators to both the penthouse suite and to the basement. Without absolute advantage in production (or even comparative), and factoring in economies of scale Barbados needs to be lean,mean, nimble and efficient. Visit any western civilization major city on earth…the banks are some of the tallest buildings, how many Barbadian own banks operating in Bim? Outside of Bim?
To paraphrase the address to the U.N in Dec ’66 “friends of all, satellites of none” Small ain’t always a bad ting we need to recognize that quality can be used to overcome quantitative disadvantage. Watch the film 300, jingoism aside, there is an important lesson in there.
As for expanding the bread basket, I wouldn’t just pick some goods out of a hat, we need a research culture in this country, survey the people find out the essentials, rank the goods, define the value system and tax accordingly.
I agree with most of what “No Name” is saying, a big part the problem in availability of information, regulation and control. Hidden costs abound.
I could care less about a 5.5% swing in a poll with 5% error. But a break down of common food prices and the increases compared to the complaints and perceptions of the Barbadian public would be interesting. Lets say okras have gone up 50cents a pound/kilo (what ever measure you understand best) ask bajans do you buy okras, do you know how much cost per pound/kilo, how much has it gone up by…tabulate the data and correlate/analyze with the prices at the market, vendors, supermarket. Analyze wholesale vs retail…they is so much that needs to be done to understand the problem.
And this info should be in the public domain. Not just booklet that you have to go purhase from a ministry, g.i.s etc
Figure out how much of the increase is real or imagined, figure out where most of it is. I could go on but I hope one gets the basic idea.
I’m all for spending money on higher education… so please do not infer anything to the contrary. Every year some of the brightest Barbadians return from Mona or St.Augustine because government can’t pay for them to do medicine…so don’t even go down that road with me.
Our education dollar must do more, must go further. Same goes for healthcare.
As for the (taxis, maids, tour operators, cooks, waiters, ubitiquous security guards and hotel receptionists, or masseurs.
There are problems which effect them all, some more than others. I don’t want to generalize. But the IT comment was meant as more than a glib statement, availability of information and interconnectivity is important to the efficient running of a government. It is part of an overall strategy to reduce costs, and return money to the tax payers. For example one ant is pretty stupid , but 1000 working together..where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts…its incredible what they can get done. There is a term for this its called emergence. Also applies to neurons, not much difference between them in animals for the most part, and having a salt meat bucket full of them does not a brain make. Specialization interrelated with generalization, rapid accurate communication, local autonomy~global coherence…. this is a way to raise quality, a close approximation is the running of Toyota Motor Corporation.
And not to lose you entirely, but that’s
the direction of 21st century philosophy….we must move out of the information age with its abundance of information, into the conceptual age…where we have what information we need, when we need it so we can be creative, produce novel combinations, fill the gaps in our knowledge as quickly and appropriately as possible and do what we do best as humans, imagine, created, solve problems, raise the quality of life, aesthetics and high culture. IT is to save you from running off hundreds of forms by hand like a robot, zombification of workers should be a human rights violation.
Even today in 2007, it is still very much one big plantation in Barbados. I highly recommend reading Nietzsche’s writings on master and slave morality as discussed in “The Anti-Christ” emancipation from mental slavery is just a beginning, what you do with that freedom is largely an issue of morals and ethos.
“I am not in favor of the great Commisiong suggestion of price controls because that is not necessary. And honest people in the business world of Barbados bloody well know they have been ripping off the people for decades. And that is a fact. They should first be given the opportunity of self regulating their greed!” : quoting No Name
I agree with the assessment of the dire situation. I also think the merger-aquisition phase got way out of hand…and so much commerce is controlled by so few, previously there were a few cartels more and more it seems to be an oligopoly situation. How many
markets are basically 2 or 3 big players. (duopoly and triopoly) To be fair you might want to give them the opportunity to self regulate their greed, but its more than business and economics at play…significant social factors run as undercurrents…some groups always maintain high affinity for each other due to similarities of class, family and ethnicity combined. There will always be the tendency to cooperate, conglomerate and corner the market. In the end the captive Barbadian consumer is fleeced.
The last part of your message is even more relevant it is run like a “Country Club”. Just to show you the difference on how things are done abroad AND THIS IS A FACT THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK.
Grocery chains years ago would post specials and still do in the newspapers. For instance Tropicana Orange Juice will be said to be $3 a jug regular $7. And other items on sale are posted not only in the newspaper but right on the shelf at the store. However, for some reason these special prices or many were never changed in the store computer. Many claimed puposely because of the number of incidents and stores claimed it was a mistake.
The customer comes in picks up his/her Tropicana and when the cashier puts it through instead of ringing up at the special price of $3 it rings up at $7. The vigilant shopper would tell the cashier and she would check and say sorry and give you the $4. But this crap was happpening too often and on too many goods to be a mistake. Another thing Bimbos and others who were not vigilant paid the full price.
The shoppers complained to the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs suggesting this BS was going on too frequently to be mistakes and they agreed. All stores were warned they would be fined etc if they were found to be deliberately ripping the people off.
The stores not to be outdone brought in policies that clearly told customers if you are charged the regular price on a sales item and you catch it at the cash register you are entitled to that product “Free” no questions asked. That policy still in effect to this day and the stores are still making money.
The thing abroad is watchdog agencies Government and the consumer packs a lot of power and their complaints and concerns are not taken lightly. The stores here are so competitive they cannot be run like Country Clubs or they will go out of business. Another thing unlike Barbados is, consumers, like farmers and other groups pack BIG power at the polls on election. It isn’t basically 100,000 pampered residents, businesses etc that determines who wins an election as is the case in Bim.
To show you how closely businesses follow consumer trends take the Ford F 150 and other F series of trucks from Ford one of the most popular pickups on the planet.
Ford discovered that WOMEN were buying these trucks big time not just men and immediately altered their macho ads to cater to the female buyer.
I recently listened to a speech to the Business community and press by the President of Canadian Tire Stores a huge conglomerate that sell every imaginable product Auto, Sports, Tires, Clothing, Auto repairs etc. You probably know them. They are right across Canada. And here is the difference in business mentalities between North America and the Caribbean.
The President said we have control of one of the largest and most loyal following of customers that do billions in dollars of repeat business with us year after year and we will do anything to maintain their trust.
Our policy is that no product returned because the customer is not satisfied with it or believes it to be defective is to be questioned or hassled bill or no bill to prove purchase at our store. Give them a new product or return their money! These people find few customers ripping them off with lies because of this policy. Sure they are some but few. And in Canada we have a huge multi cultural and West Indian population.
I’m no economist, but if you increase customs duties on imports, and most of the goods consumed are imported, how can you decrease the overall tax burden? The increased customs duties will be passed on to the consumers, and the c.o.l. goes up. Speaking for all the B- students, B- students are people too; everybody can’t get a 4.0. The more highly skilled workforce we have the greater their earning power, and the less need for subsidized housing. Also, if you’re going to a softer peg doesn’t that require that the prospects for the Bajan economy be more robust that the US? IT would increase efficiency within the civil service, but then 50% of the civil service would be made redundant. It takes no less than 8 hard back men to sign or stamp 1 piece of paper to clear 1 half empty barrel at the port.
We agree with PM Arthur that Barbados imports much of our inflation, after all our import bill is through the roof and with the upward trend of oil prices, expected to hit the USD100.00 per barrel soon-God help us! However they are still some factors which are within the grasp of government to control. A major component of the cost of commodities in Barbados is port costs. There was a recent report which cited the port costs in Barbados to be one of the highest in the region. It is one reason why we have no respect for the tripartite arrangement between union, government and private sector. If the Port Authority of Barbados was a private organization it would have priced itself out of business already. We recommend major restructuring and rationalization at the Port.
First and foremost the BLP have placed taxes on the wrong things. They have increased taxes on almost everything that impacts food and everday living costs.
Were the truth known and that is where the problem lies, you do not seem to be able to get the truth in Barbados about anything. Much of what is being imported is not as people being led to believe out of sight in price at the source. Wholesale prices are competitive they have to be and when importers are buying in bulk they get many lower prices on different items. The thing is they are not being passed on to the customer.
Barbados like all other Nations do, have to learn to keep inflation in check by watching spending, increasing the National Debt and having in place proper tax policies. You cannot exempt people from taxes especially wealthy ones then increase VAT to make up the difference or increase other taxes that impacts cost of living. That is dumb! Especially when you have no or little industry that can or will pay wages that takes into consideration the inflationary pressures of the economy. It is impossible
But here is what needs to be looked at because no other country I know has an economy that functions like this.
We are told the Barbados population is approximately 285,000.
The other evening I mistakenly got involved with what only could be described as a popett by the name of Linchh on the “Margin” who claimed the number of people living in poverty in Barbados is 13,000. That is less than a 1/2 of 1 % of the population. Let us therefore turn our attention to the other and let us round it off to 99% of the population.
Let us say that 40 % are living the good life. Have businesses, jobs, good salaries, Investments and all of the amenities of life. Many of whom are not paying one damn red cent in taxes. And I am sure that 40 % are not living this lifestyle. I am being generous here with my numbers.
We now turn our attention to the so called masses or as some call them “invisible” people who make up 59 % of the population. We are told that the island of Barbados has an unemployment rate as I type this of 4% or less of the employable masses. These facts combined would suggest to the people who are in economics that Barbados is in great Financial shape and everybody is prospering.
But that is not reflected in the voices of the masses who are crying out about high food costs that they cannot afford, cannot buy a house etc etc etc. Why is this because it is not supported by the numbers. Who then is lying and why with a less than 4 % unemployment number is so many claiming they cannot afford the high cost of living.
High oil prices, increases in raw materials etc is relative as these things are impacting every country in the world not just Barbados. Therefore why are other people in other countries though seeing prices modestly increase to reflect inflation etc are not finding the cost of living as unbearable as in Barbados?
It just does not add up. Maybe Arthur should be looking as I said to making those who are getting a free lunch and who do not need it to pay their fair share and reduce the taxes that impact consumer products. He should also look at the role Commission Agencies are playing in inflating costs along with price fixing and gouging.
I have to agree again with the Canadian Tire example, from personal experience. I try not to compare Barbados to Canada too often it can be depressing….still have a stash of old Canadian tire money 🙂 , I don’t think it expires….does it?
Oh god I’m reminiscing about Canada again, getting nostalgic, not good.
C: format brain: /s
As was posted on the BLP website trust you will give me room to post on yours as well.
WOW this site is almost as hot as BFP and BU.
I never thought that I would have seen views that are so anti gov’t on this site as they are.
Is this just me being silly or are these cries indicative of the real issues in our island?
What about this talk about corruption and dishonesty in Gov’t it seems to have some grounds for discussion as there seems to be a massive amount of money being overspent in every project that this gov’t has undertaken in the last five years each one seems to have suffered the same fate money being thrown at it with simply no accounting for these mega funding.
Is there any truth to this story making the rounds that you Mr Arthur , Nicholls and Bannister held the countries builders to ransom by requesting a 7 % commission to be paid to you all for the awarding of the contract? I have this on good authority of a lawyer that this is the case if so you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
This Road works contract why have you chosen to award it to a proven and known crook in ythe form of DANOS it is not a doubt but rather a know fact that he is guilty of fraud in operations in Jamaica in something called the Jamaica Kickback Agreement do we have a BARBADOS KICKBACK AGREEMENT in place here as well for you three to benefit from Mr Arthur?
Why in both these massively awarded contracts are two companies that are before the law courcts in the two countries of their birth for charges ranging from corruption, fraud and bribery things that are all to familiar to you Mr Arthur and your gang of goons.
Wealso understand that the West Coast Sewage Treatment project is held up because of yet another request for yet another commission payment to You Mr Arthur , Bannister and Nicholls should this be the case it is a disgrace to the Barbadian people to have work being delayed while you all fight for commissions.
On the subject of fighting mr Arthur please ease up on Mottley before you drive into another biting frenzy, you really already scorned her by saying that ASSCOLL is behind you in the pecking order, if Mottley had an ounce of sense or decency she would put you out to dry and let you see how much help ASSCOLL would be to you, once she put you out to dry I would sit out the next election and return as leader of the BLP in your absence and lead the party to victory single handed.
On the subject of ASSCOLL funny things are obviously taking place at HARDWOOD HOLDINGS and you seem powerless to do anything about them does this have anything to do with your own involvement and your own level of corruption ?
We shall await your statement of intent to arrest the corruption and dishonesty of this Gov’t and put those behind bars that have stolen from us even if that includes you Mr Arthur we need things done to save this country from falling further into the mire and hell than it already is in.
The current government’s interest in Commission Agencies might be tempered… we don’t know the effect on VAT collection…most of the business is on the import side…PM might content to smile while the middleman-ism gets attached to the final sticker price. Notice that in Canada a Finance Minister and a Prime Minister can, and are often TWO different people…they can disagree, argue, discuss etc.
Another good point re PM and Finance minister. But I do not ever recall that happening in Canada over the past 50 years. That is not to say it did not happen.
A number of people suggest not me that Lord Arthur had ulterior motives. He certainly has people who now claim they are competent and qualified to be Finance Minister but I see no sign of him relinquishing his dual roles.
The big thing is that unless you have legislation in place that dictates transparency of a Government or inquiries into scandals etc you are merely spinning your wheels.
Look at the present situation we talk talk talk and go round in circles and the Government is ignore everbody including Thompy and business in Bim goes on as usual.
But here is my beef nobody of consequence gets up and says dick because it doesen’t matter to them but that is not a healthy Democracy!
How can you call Bim a Democracy when a Minister of Labour goes on the public record (Nation News) and says he is bringing in Legislation that will penalize employers who hire “illegal” workers. But it will only go inte effect if the Social Parnership approves of it. Tell me man? talk to muh!
Did Bajans elect the BLP to pass Legislation that serves their and their Nations best intersts or did they elect the Social Partnership to approve Legislation? It is a joke! It is all smoke and mirrors!
Mack I am not really sure about CT money but were I a betting man I would say it is still good. I do not use it because I like to get travel points on my VISA.
I would say that if the money you have does not say it “expires” on a specific date then it is good! Personally the way business is done I would be surprised that they would hassle you about it. UNLESS they have a specific date. But I don’t think they do because some people is keep it for a year or so until they want a big ticket item. I could be wrong but look at the money and see what it says.
I like buying their tools and other specials. Like I just picked up yesterday two jugs of 4.4 litres of
Castrol Syntec 5W 40 oil for summer use for $22 each that was a $17 saving on each. And that is with rising oil prices. That is what I mean. Do you see that happening very often in Bim?
They will tell you man you musee mad as sh—–te you ent see de price eh oil an you hey askin me why my Castrol Syntec oil cant be reduced.
But my beef is not just with high food costs in Bim. I am sure mechanics are paid no more than mechanics in North America and overhead in North America is as high or higher than the Caribbean. But people can get an oil, lube and filter for $19 or if they want premium oil $29. A major tune up on a 6 cylinder car using NGK plugs, a new air filter and gas filter is $200. And these are DEALER prices not corner shops!
How in Gods name the boys in Bim can get away with the nonsense they talk is beyond me.
A turkey that weighs 12 pounds and comes fully stuffed that feed 6 -8 easy is $16 . All you do is put it in the oven and that is a Butterball. And it sweet as a–s——not quite. If you can buy it at the retail level at that price what are producers selling at? Chicken dirt!
In Buffalo the stores there give em away as incentives after you spend a modest sum of money or charge you chicken dirt for a big one. It is a promotion.
That is why people from the Caribbean come up North America even the Big Ups to fill barrels
but still do not see the light! I gone!
I’m no economist, but if you increase customs duties on imports, and most of the goods consumed are imported, how can you decrease the overall tax burden?
Agreed the burden would go up, but I never intended such a crude approach. Hence the need for a study, including a wholesale vs retail comparison/analysis.
Speaking for all the B- students, B- students are people too; everybody can’t get a 4.0.
Come on gimme a break there is a grand canyon of a gap of performance between 5Fs and 3 Ds; and a B- average. I’m not begging for miracles here. We could tolerate C- average mediocrity, I’m not trying to be despotic but 7years is much to long to be at CaveHill fulltime. Ask other caricom nationals how they feel about the fact we are all paid for at UWI and some bajan children piss the opportunity away, blame everyone else but themselves for poor performance. Ooo it was the lecturer’s fault, take responsibility for your life, please say it isn’t so…
As for the whole degree issue has there ever been a survey done to determine the skills, manpower requirements for ummm lets say a 10-20 year national development plan….they try in a thing with the scholarships, but what is the big picture.
Deafening silence.
Also, if you’re going to a softer peg doesn’t that require that the prospects for the Bajan economy be more robust that the US?
Ah the illusion of U.S economic robustness…I
don’t want to end up with a dissertation .
U.S quit being the largest producer two decades ago…the economy is supported by the world holding on to greenbacks, use to be because of oil, but with euros and other options available for the purchasing of oil that rational is losing traction. Nations like China and Japan are kinda locked in to a deadly little dance with the U.S. We’ll see how long they can tolerate their dollar reserves being devalued, how low do treasury yields have to go before they both pull the plug. How much money will it take to continue in Afganistan, Iraq and possible jump into Iran??
Oh and just throwing this one out there subprime mortgages anyone?
Barbados has problems, but don’t least count the lil rock for the grand ole US of A.
IT would increase efficiency within the civil service, but then 50% of the civil service would be made redundant.
Same old argument from previous revolutions in production and economics, i.e industrial revolution …didn’t turn out that bad after all.
Here’s a trick question.what’s better.
4% unemployment, with 20% of the labour force working to be broke….(don’t forget that the disillusioned ones that quit looking for jobs don’t count)
Or a vicious lil piranha of an economy, even if it means 10-20% on the dole….comfortably on the dole. Full employment = great economy is a ridiculous assumption. Of course you can cram your civil service, and trust that the jobs produced there will offset the jobs lost in the private sector from diminished business due to bureaucracy and inefficiencies….good luck with that. Of course job number one is jobs…which is kinda like saying job number one is votes…don’t you think?
Of course the above two examples are only to demonstrate a point, challenge a popular perspective. It is not intended to set up a false dichotomy…there are other options.
Let us re-visit the subject of the CADRES Poll indicating a 5.5% swing AWAY from the BLP though showing that the people still favour PM Owen Arthur over Mr. David Thompson, leader of the Opposition.
I want to re-visit the subject because in to-days Nation News the political writers and the editorial are again examining what the poll means.
From my perspective this poll finding a 5.5 % swing away from the BLP means very little if anything that favours any of the three parties.
When one reads the press and blogs of Barbados the only hot issues and these are in the Blogs more so, than in the mainstream press is the many allegations suggesting the BLP are corrupt. But to date the BLP Government has given little in the way of information nor has any concrete information been obtained to support the allegations. The people have only a “smoking” gun!
As far as knowing the platforms of either party which is really the “meat” of any election and the main single component influencing how people will vote, I am still waiting. I get tired of reading every week Mr. Reudon Eversley’s column for the DLP and BORED at the nonsense Ezzra Alleyne writes about. These people cannot speak for either their leaders or party’s platform as none have been made public. The two of them are spin doctors talking the same old same old, week in and week out! “He said she said”.
People want to know in clear and concise terms what is the Political Platforms of the BLP and DLP and they want to hear it from the leaders and their Candidates not a bunch of bloody spin doctors talking each week the same old same old. Until this happens polls mean dick. Especially a poll like what CADRE did. The timing of it was also spurious because the election has not been called and the people have not been told what the main party’s have to offer them!
I could say that MAYBE this 5% swing was due to the intense coverage on Blogs dealing with the allegations of corruption against the BLP. And that opinion would be as credible as any. But think about this and were I David Thompson I would have seized the opportunity to pounce on it IMMEDIATELY and keep it in front of the electorate until the last vote is cast.
What did this poll find that was far more important than showing that there was a 5.5% swing away from the BLP? It showed what were pi—–ing off the electorate. Who are the most important part of the puzzle. And that was THE PEOPLE WERE ALL OR MOST WERE DISATISFIED WITH THE HIGH COST OF LIVING IN BARBADOS. THEIR SECOND CONCERN WAS NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD HOUSING! READ THEIR LIPS AND ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS. These issues can easily be fixed by either the BLP or DLP. All it takes is a little guts and few hard decisions. But I hear nothing from either camp about these issues or any of the other main ones. And I say until the people hear them, they will make no decision as to who they will vote for and therefore polls at this stage mean dick.
You mark my word old Al Gilkes, the stupid like a fox Lord Arthur and his colleagues are all noting what the “Majority” wants and when they come out they will make it look like Santa Claus has come to Town early. And will sugar coat the concerns of the people so sweet that look out.
I cannot figure out why the DLP sees it necessary to first wait for the election to be called before exploiting what the people are saying is their major concerns. Another “fatted” cow/calf whichever is appropriate speech is needed from David to update the people.
I always say “strike when the iron is hot”.
For what reason are we comparing the Leader of the H M Loyal Opposition Mr David Thompson to a drunk womaniser Owing See Thru Rum Arthur?
When really the only reason is for Owing to carry this lame bunch into elections hopefully for him to win it for them and shortly thereafter to have him replaced as PM and head of the party.
He is tired and he is making a lot of very bad decisions that are affecting all of us taxpayers, our public servants are constantly crying out for their wages from gov’t, they have been involved in cost overuns on every single project that they have touched, even at Oistin this work is behind schedule and over budget and now the BTIC is coming forward to pay the bills in the hope that it will finish, the PRISON three times over cost, the road works three times over cost, and where do you suppose these cost overruns are ending up ?
In the bank accounts of the Owing’s the Nicholl’s the Bannister’s, the Shorey’s.
Least we forget his deposit of his cheque for $ 750,000.00 to his PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT this is wholesale fraud that we are powerless to address but time will assist in putting all these ills right.
While on the subject of ills tell me what has Ms Walcott achieved during his term as Minister of Health?
The hospital is certainly worst off now than when he took it over, very much the case with Tourism our airport is less functional today than before they destroyed the old building etc and the Minister is living in a $$$ million $$$ home and has spent in excess of another million dollars in renovations to his estate home doing all of this on the slender salary of minister of gov’t, but gets all flustered when he is asked where he amassed his wealth from in 3 short years.
Why are we considering that Owing will be involved in politics for another term when he was all set to step aside and let Mottley run the ship but then he wrote those questions and told the interviewer to ask Mottley about Condoms in Prison and same sex marriages and legalising prostitution and homosexuality and low and behold she fell for the bait and then Owing beat her into submission and has completely broken her spirit.
Owing will not endue the leadership of the party and will be overthrown or ousted from his post so why even factor him into any future equations?
He is at war with so many of his members he is luck to be able to count 10 loyal supporters to himself, look at his most recent encounter with Haamy Lashley who has served him well but his use has expired to Owing so he is now treated like a piece of trash and destroyed.
that wun owen arthur think that he cud tric we by giving the people a $40dollar ta vote fa he ya rong.so if he think he gine tric me he real rong. and i tak in bajan term
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I represented Barbados and competed in the Eight China ZhengZhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival. It was held in Zhengzhou, China. I won two silver medals. One for Taiji Quan (Tai Chi) and one for Yong Chun Quan ( Wing Chun). The event was organised by the Chinese Wushu Association., and the Zhengzhou Sports Bureau Municipal Government.
In addition to the martial arts competition, which held a grand opening music ceremony, I visited the largest Shaolin Temple in China, where I saw a wall Muriel of monks who looked like the average Barbadian practicing with Chinese monks over 1000 years ago, the ZhengZhou Museum and Ancient Shang Dynasty Relics. Also, I viewed Chinese health culture practices first hand.
I have about 4 hours video footage and digital photos of my visit. 2430-15 ( mobile)
Qaasen Ricardo Sealy; You said “I visited the largest Shaolin Temple in China, where I saw a wall Muriel of monks who looked like the average Barbadian practicing with Chinese monks over 1000 years ago”
Could you publish any pictures you might have of these monks who look like the average Barbadians or point us to how we can get sight of them? It might be some more evidence of the spread of the black african throughout the world and all the ancient cultures.