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The Hour Of Decision: A Pressing Need To Cut Cost And Articulate A Divestment Strategy

Submitted by St. George’s Dragon   There are some, including the Prime Minister, who after the Moody ratings downgrade think all is going to be ok, and that we just need to sit tight until the economy comes right.  I see a strong swell of opinion that there is no alternative but for public sector…

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Submitted by St. George’s Dragon

 

Chris Sinckler, Minister of Finance

There are some, including the Prime Minister, who after the Moody ratings downgrade think all is going to be ok, and that we just need to sit tight until the economy comes right.  I see a strong swell of opinion that there is no alternative but for public sector cuts. Here is my somewhat random list of where the Government should look for cuts and other income. Feel free to add your own.

  1. Agree a public sector wage freeze. Ministers and MPs to take a pay cut of 5% if Unions agree to the freeze
  2. Employ a foreign consultant to get off-shore oil exploration going again as quickly as possible. Pay them a flat fee with a bonus dependent on how quickly they can get income in and the % profit the Government makes on it
  3. Privatise the BWA
  4. Cut down the number of Barbados High Commissions abroad
  5. Tender a significant number of Transport Authority bus routes to private sector operators
  6. Privatise the Licensing Authority offices. Pay the new operator a fee per license issued, with a performance related addition or deduction depending on average numbers in the queue
  7. Abolish dog and bicycle licenses. The fees can’t cover the administration cost
  8. Start discussions with our Caribbean neighbours about sharing public sector cost. For instance, why do we each need a National Standards organisation?
  9. Push for development of practical aspects where CARICOM can add value. Only pursue these where it can be established that the additional cost of setting up the infrastructure will result in greater savings for each country (see 8 above as an example)
  10. Use the Post Offices to: Stage 1 – provide public sector forms (Licensing Authority, VAT, Immigration etc). Stage 2 – allow them to vet the completed forms for correctness and send them on to the relevant Government departments
  11. Privatise CBC
  12. Privatise the Port
  13. Review the Government’s entire landholding; sell what is not required for housing in the next few years
  14. Bring in the promised transparency and accountability legislation to stop crooks from stealing our money
  15. Invest 20% of the savings in a social support system that takes poor people out of poverty.

37 responses to “The Hour Of Decision: A Pressing Need To Cut Cost And Articulate A Divestment Strategy”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    The government should immediately implement VOIP in those ministries generating the highest expense making overseas calls.

  2. weary baje Avatar
    weary baje

    Not just privatise the BWA, but create an environment for a robust and competitive well regulated water industry. Such an industry would attract massive foreign exchange from investor and generate lots long term employment.
    But be careful when talking about “privatise BWA” you might put yourself in the line of fire, there is a whole lot of people against that including the unions.
    The Transport Authority needs to be structure properly with the correct mandate to function efficiently. As it stands right now it is weak and hapless, just another waste of taxpayers money.
    The Licensing Authority should come under the TA .

  3. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    The PM is in a better position to make meaningful statements thanyou are.

    If you are so brilliant,and you are not, face the electorate. Let’s see what you are made of!

  4. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    You want to be Minister Of Finance.

    Face the people on the political platform, don’t hide at home under your bed and make ill advised statements.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    @Cadogan

    Do you understand that politicians serve at the please of the people?

    Perhaps your objective is to disrupt the exchanges?

    Hopefully the BU family will stay focussed.

  6. Paul Barnes Avatar
    Paul Barnes

    Carson C. Cadogan really telling somebody not to “hide at home under their bed”? Why? He feel they would “butt” Fruendel Jerome Stuart up under there, as we Bajans would say? Stupse…

    If anybody hiding in Bajan politics, it is one Fruendel Jerome Stuart…

  7. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Notice there was no mention of that “sacred cow” i.e. Free Education. This country can’t continue to supply free education at the post secondary level without raising taxes. It will take a brave Gov’t to tackle that issue. Education remains the third rail of Barbados politics touch it and you will be fried, the Gov’ts cant even adjust a 50 year old system called “Eleven Plus”.

    De well runnin dry

  8. checkit-out Avatar
    checkit-out

    Resuscitate the late Prof Oliver Headley’s proposal for a massive Solar Energy project and get Chinese assistance re. that technology.

  9. Zoe Avatar
    Zoe

    Where does the real, true, foundational Infrastructure of B’dos lay? As is the case with the USA, and why its crumbbling?

    All of the suggestions, as good as some of them are, it’s only dealing with, the symptomatic causes, of a much deeper underlying malady!

  10. Clone Avatar
    Clone

    Carson
    You have to be tolerant of other views and then use your intellect to oppose those views in a robust way.
    David
    Mrs. Husbands is a very smart woman and has decided to use blogs and other social media to get her message out. I do not think she is one of those politicians who we are looking for to effect change.
    She has been exposed to those arrogant politicians that have disappointed her over and over by having her campaigning in St.Michael central, St.James North and now St. James south and got to run only because no one else wanted to run against Donville.
    If she seeks honesty let her say her thoughts here on the blog about integrity legislation and the declaration of all assets before she runs for office.

  11. St George's Dragon Avatar
    St George’s Dragon

    I am very happy not being a politician, Minister of Finance or Prime Minister. I believe I have the occasional idea that might usefully be considered.
    The conclusion from CCC’s comments must be that no-one should ever comment on what the politicians do after we have elected them. That can’t be right..

  12. Josquin Desprez Avatar
    Josquin Desprez

    @ St. George’s Dragon

    Some good suggestions. I agree with your suggestion as it relates to tendering a significant number of Transport Authority bus routes to private sector operators.

    The Transport Board, which is significantly subsidised, operates in conjunction with the more profitable private sector buses. The government should explore the possibility of privatising the Transport Board, and the first offer of sale should be made to the credit union movement (the transport service would be owned and operated by the ordinary citizens of Barbados). Another option would be to auction the routes to those private sector bus operators who propose the best packaged schedule services, or provide government loans to worker co-operatives who may also want to bid for routes as well.

    There are many entrepreneurs and individuals in Barbados who are involved in legitimate economic activities, but do not comply with statutory requirements, or pay VAT if eligible. These persons and their families are enjoying free health care, while their children are receiving free education, free bus transport, free school meals, free library service, school uniform grants, and benefiting from the text book scheme. Yet these persons do not pay income tax, value added tax, or contribute to the national insurance fund. As a priority, the government should create a Tax Enforcement Unit, which would be primarily responsible for ensuring that all and sundry file the necessary tax returns, collect the millions of dollars owed to the Treasury.

  13. Truthman Burton Avatar
    Truthman Burton

    Listen St. George Dragon,
    Suggestions from you or anybody else are not welcomed by GEORGE STREET. They scream for unity. They shout let’s put our heads together in the national interest, but they are really playing a game.

    Carson (Reudon), the rancid perpetual political yardfowl that he is, is merely following the lead of Fumble Stroke. Remember that Fumble does not want to hear anything from anybody. Fumble said a couple days ago, that those who critique his performance are giving the impression that they know everything about everything. He even says that he is taken aback that none of them even got a mention with regard to replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the IMF. HE SAYS THEY HAVE NO NAME-RECOGNITION OUTSIDE THE SMALL VILLAGES IN BARBADOS!

    Imagine this MASQUERADER FUMBLE, who ought to be arrested for impersonating a Prime Minister, talking about “no name-recognition outside small villages in Barbados!”

    FUMBLE just got back from BIG CHINA, and already he is implying, boasting, that he ain’t no “small village person!” Well, he may be right, because the “small village people” in St.Michael South don’t even see him. They wonder if he exists!

    Does not this man give stark reminders of Sandiford? I don’t think anybody would have missed him or recognised the difference, had he stayed in China and let Sandiford come home. Even so, I think we would have been better off with SANDIFORD in ILARO COURT, because we now know for sure that SANDIFORD, angry about what RICHARD SEALY has done to his beloved LLOYD ERSKINE SANDIFORD CENTRE, would not have allowed the wastage of FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS on a car park next door to ILARO.

    BU FAMILY, go to BajanTube.com and hear ADRIAN CLARKE’S 2011 calypso “FREUNDEL” But you have to hurry, because it appears Bajan Tube is under pressure to remove the song, an almost perfect depiction of FUMBLE.

  14. Truthman Burton Avatar
    Truthman Burton

    By the way, hear FUMBLE on his return from China: ” Tourism pays our bills and a miniscule fraction of that 50 million Chinese who travel coming to Barbados will make the world of difference to us in terms of the earning of foreign exchange. So this is a priority issue for us, and AMBASSADOR SANDIFORD IS GOING TO BE DOING THE NECESSARY FOLLOW-UP and we hope to have it in place in the very near future”

    Well, WHAT EXACTLY has SANDIFORD been doing since being posted to China so long ago? Learning Chinese? FUMBLE went all the way to China to beg for a little change, as well as to come back to tell us that SANDIFORD will be following up? Was not the foundations of this travel arrangement discussed and put in place by the leaders of the previous administration? What is this Christopher Columbus mentality? I ask again, “What has SANDIFORD BEEN DOING IN CHINA all this time?”

    The way I see it, is that everything FUMBLE “accomplished” could have been settled by a phone call to SANDIFORD, and a little talk with local Chinese Embassy officials. Of course, the long trip allowed FUMBLE the opportunity to tamper with an already swollen and unaffordable cabinet i.e. find a place for KELLIE, OR ELSE, and then RUN AWAY as usual.

  15. Truthman Burton Avatar
    Truthman Burton

    Sandra Husbands rather brought it to our attention elsewhere on this blog. We must all express great sympathy to the people of St.Michael South Central. What a burden they have been under, suffering the representation on two (2) occasions by two (2) “by chance” counterfeit prime ministers, in circumstances where the two (2) popular prime ministers from the same constituency died in office. There seems to be an important message in these occurences, people of St.Michael South Central.

    When balloting time comes, BREAK THE BACK OF THAT BURDEN! FLOG FONDLE!

  16. David Avatar
    David

    Imagination or fact, was Caswell Franklyn rushed off the talk show today?

  17. rhubarb Avatar
    rhubarb

    Why should public sector employees be the only Bajans not worrying about wage cuts or job losses? Why should they not share the same level of discomfort that the rest of us are feeling during hard economic times? Amend that legislation that could lead to the rediculous conclusion when there are no tax payers left to pay their salaries!

  18. just only asking Avatar
    just only asking

    @St. George Dragon

    goto www://world_psi.org. and research the topic water privatisation and come back and tell the blog which counries attempted it and reverted. By the way if the poor cannot pay for the water who will carry their burden?

    I will look at your reommndations one by one.

  19. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Would someone give Truthman Burton a sedative? Everytime he is on the blog he is cussing someone.

    Poor fellow!! Must be suffering from withdrawal pains after having his grubby paws removed from the taxpayers’ pockets.

  20. just only asking Avatar
    just only asking

    @St. George Dragon and David

    I support a wage freeze, but not for maids and general workers or simply put persons below Z24 should not have a freeze as persons in those categories are the most impacted.

    when you have done so much privatisation, are you going to retire some persons earlier than they should and place a burden on the Treasury” by paying early pensions and gratuity and where will the state find the money to pay all those persons.. as you would appreciate, public offiers can now work to age 66 some are enititled to retire at 55 and 60, and if you force theirearly retirement as long as they qualify for full pension your suggestion would impact the Treasury, dont you think so. You action will force the state to look for millions in immmedaite gratuity and pensions, Ponder on your recommendation for a while and get back to me..

  21. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    The suggestion to privatize the Transport Board wouldn’t fly. All public transportation services in the world are subsidized to some extent and privatization would allow the owners to scuttle the unprofitable routes and focus on the ones which have the highest volume of customers.

    Public Transportation is an essential service and any attempt at privatization would result in dire consequences for those with limited means in our society.

    Try replacing public transportation with a private system, you wouldn’t like the results

  22. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @Josquin Desprez

    The point about people not paying taxes or contributing to NIS is an excellent one. I know some small builders who employ carpenters/masons/labourers etc. and pay them wages without any deductions. The same probably exists in other spheres of the economy, at a minimum I think that this costs the Gov’t millions in lost revenue annually.

    In contrast every American citizen no matter where he/she lives is supposed to file a tax return every year. The US Gov’t has started to clamp down on many non resident citizens, some of whom happen to be born in the USA but haven’t lived there since they were babies. They are now expected to file backdated returns on world wide income and some face thousands of dollars in penalties

    Uncle Sam always gets his man or woman.

  23. The Hour Of Decision: A Pressing Need To Cut Cost And Articulate A Divestment Strategy | Barbados news

    […] is going to be ok, and that we just need to sit tight until the economy comes right.  I … Continue reading → This entry was posted in Top stories and tagged Continue, economy, Moody, Pressing, Strategy. […]

  24. Truthman Burton Avatar
    Truthman Burton

    @Sargeant | June 21, 2011 at 9:42 PM |
    “Would someone give Truthman Burton a sedative? Everytime he is on the blog he is cussing someone. Poor fellow!! Must be suffering from withdrawal pains after having his grubby paws removed from the taxpayers’ pockets.”

    ***********************************
    Sorry to disappoint you Sargeant. I am not suffering any pains, neither do I need sedatives. I really shouldn’t answer every silly little comment, but I also know that the TRUTH hurts Sargeant.

    Tell me what about the following statement I made constitutes cussing, and tell me if it is not the TRUTH?

    “Truthman Burton | June 21, 2011 at 7:30 PM |
    @HAMILTON HILL | June 21, 2011 at 6:09 PM |
    “Tell us how the late David Thompson mastered the media ”

    David Thompson sure MASTERED the media. He INFLICTED that bungling green-verb tyrant LEROY PARRIS up at CBC DLP TV and RADIO, and supplemented that with a collection of partisan yardfowls, designed to inhibit and terrorise the good CBC Staff, but also to ensure that the valid, beneficial views and contributions of the opposition receive NOT a modecum of exposure up at that place.

    It took the unfortunate but unseemly happenings at CLICO to force his departure . It should be noted that PARRIS ran CBC just like he ran CLICO. Alas, nothing has changed even though he is gone!

    It would be interesting to discover by what means David Thompson also MASTERED the supposedly independent Advocate Newspaper. I have already stated that the political alliance between the Advocate and the DLP establishes a level of journalistic prostitution never ever seen in this country.”

  25. St George's Dragon Avatar
    St George’s Dragon

    @ just only asking

    You suggested researching psi.org about failed water privatisations.

    PSI is an organisation dedicated to representing its public sector members. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t expect to get a particularly balanced view of what water privatisation is about from them. After all, their job is to keep their public sector members jobs, however effective and productive they are – or not..
    Barbados Light & Power is for me a good example of a utility company that provides an essential service, does it well andmakes a profit.
    Government does not generally do well at running services. Compare the BWA or the Port with Super Centre or Williams Industries and you will see what I mean.
    Part of the reason for that is that Government lacks the guts to deal with the productivity problems in the public sector because of the potential for votes to be lost.
    The Barbados economy is suffering from the high cost of the public sector, and that costs feeds throughout the economy. You and I pay for people to sit and do nothing and get paid a salary.
    The right role for Government, in my opinion, is to restrict its role where it can, encourage entrepreneurialism, and most importantly to hold the safety net for the poor.
    We should pay the right price for water and not have to suffer an inefficient and ineffective organisation like BWA. I support your concerns about the poor not being able to afford water. If someone cannot pay, they should get Government support – and I am happy to pay for that through my taxes. I am not happy to pay for someone who does a poor job or no job at all.

    @ Sargeant
    ————————————————————————————————————–

    On your point about privatisation of the Transport Authority. Governments throughout the world support their transport systems with public finance. I am not suggesting handing everything over to the private sector without some controls in place on essential routes to be maintained etc. The best private sector bidder may be the one which requires the least Government subsidy

  26. jujst only asking Avatar
    jujst only asking

    @St George Dragon

    I know the role of PSI. Have you read the report or any part thereof. I am quite aware that a number of countries provatise water with devasting consequencces, like health care,

    Please look at the report.

  27. St George's Dragon Avatar
    St George’s Dragon

    Yes, I have now read it. Putting it mildly, it is not the most unbiased document I have read in my life and I guess that is because it was commissioned by the PSI to “counter to these theoretical and commercial publications which advocate a central role for the private sector”. It starts with a graph showing that public sector ownership of water is “normal” (ignoring whether that makes sense or not). It then moves into a large section on the problems of water privatizations. Nowhere are there any comparative figures on the extent to which privatization works or does not. The report just says privatization is bad, which I do not believe is generally the case.
    I am not going to fight this out with you.
    The point of my post is that we cannot continue to have organizations like the BWA run so inefficiently. I don’t see any sign that the Government is going to suddenly turn the BWA around and make it work. Indeed there is every chance that the newly funded project for the replacement of the water mains will going to go horribly wrong. Do you think the BWA is capable of managing and delivering this project within the budget? If not, what are we going to do to change things?
    I believe that the private sector can make an important contribution to solving these problems. You presumably do not.
    The Government’s strategy for the BWA seems to be to build it a new office costing $50 million.
    My experience in business tells me that this the last thing you should do. Sort out the problems of the organization. Get it working properly and see what it’s real needs are. Then if it needs a new office, build it one. It’s all a**e about face at the moment, I am afraid.

  28. just only asking Avatar
    just only asking

    @St. George Dragaon

    The Private sector in barbados is inefficent, especially in the construction area. Show me on project that has been contracted out to the private sector that has been built within the budget. I see it regulary with even small contractors. They allways end up claiming cost overruns.

    I am sure that the laying of pipes will be done by the private sector. if the new office will cost $50m i will have a problem with that. By the way have you seen that the BWA office is decaying, Cant minimum work be done on it and after lease it to some small govt dept?

    I often say that the biggest problems facing the govt and private sectors is lack of well structured meaninful management information systems that will give leaders,, accurate, timely and, realible information when needed for the decsions making at the strategic, tactical and operational levels, such as managing firectors, middle managers and supervisors respectively.

    PLEASE note it is not my attention to argue with you, but to suggest that when we are making reccomendations that we look at the pros and the cons and the consequences of suggesting such a readical shift.

    Pure capitalism destroy the poor as well as socialism. Latin America follwed the dictates of the IMF with devasting consequences where the rich are becoming richer and the poor poorer, Have you witnessed that persons who spout the rhetoric of pure capitalism are being removed from office, We need a new world order, the current one has failed and that was pure capitalism which cause this massive meltdown. Emerging from this experience will be a new order where emerging economies like india
    and brsail have a greater say.

    Thanks for reading the report.

  29. anthony Avatar
    anthony

    speaking of offices is the bwa office of Probyn Street street ever going to be reopen from it industrial cleaning ? I do like the manor lodge office but it can’t handle a rush of people like the probyn street.

  30. Justin Robinson Avatar
    Justin Robinson

    The economic news out of the US continues to be bad. Can Obama make it?

    Stocks Drop on Economy Concern as Euro Falls; Oil Slumps on IEA
    Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A

    By Stephen Kirkland

    June 23 (Bloomberg) — Global stocks slid the most in three months and the euro weakened as U.S. jobless claims rose and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the debt crisis threatens banks. Oil slid as the International Energy Agency planned to release emergency stockpiles.

    The MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 2 percent at 10:03 a.m. in New York, its biggest loss since March 15, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 1.5 percent. Crude tumbled below $90 a barrel for the first time since February. The euro declined 1.3 percent to $1.4174. The gain in Treasuries sent the 10-year yield down six basis points to 2.92 percent, while Portuguese, Greek and Irish bond yields jumped and costs to insure European sovereign debt from default surged to a record.

    Energy, raw-material and financial companies led losses in global stocks. Applications for jobless benefits increased 9,000 in the week ended June 18 to 429,000, Labor Department figures showed. Risk signals for financial stability in the euro area are flashing “red,” Trichet said late yesterday in Frankfurt.

    “We are seeing a very slow second half of the year recovery,” Patrick Legland, global head of research at Societe Generale SA in Paris, said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Francine Lacqua. “Markets are extremely worried” about Europe’s debt crisis, he said.

    Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the recovery is progressing “more slowly” than expected as policy makers yesterday kept a pledge to leave interest rates near zero and complete a $600 billion bond-purchase program this month.

    Home Sales

    All 10 of the main industry groups in the S&P 500 retreated, while Alcoa Inc., Chevron Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. lost more than 2.7 percent to lead losses in 27 of 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

    Aflac Inc., the largest seller of supplemental health insurance, fell 1.4 percent after saying it may issue as much as 100 billion yen ($1.24 billion) in debt as it records losses tied to investments in banks from Greece, Ireland and Portugal. The second-quarter losses on the assets will probably be about $610 million, the insurer said today.

    A Commerce Department report at 10 a.m. in Washington showed purchases of new U.S. houses fell 2.1 percent to a 319,000 annual rate last month, compared with the median forecast of 310,000 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond declined four basis points to 4.18 percent. The U.S. plans to sell $7 billion of similar- maturity Treasury Inflation Protected Securities.

    Oil Slides

    Oil for August delivery in New York sank 4.8 percent to $90.87 a barrel and Brent crude in London declined 4.4 percent to $109.16 a barrel. The S&P GSCI index of 24 commodities fell 3.5 percent, the most in a week.

    The IEA announced that it will release 60 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles, to alleviate possible shortages following the loss of Libyan crude. It is the third time the Paris-based agency has coordinated the use of emergency stockpiles twice since the agency was founded in 1974.

    The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 1.2 percent, with more than 15 shares slipping for every one that gained. European services and manufacturing growth slowed more than economists forecast in June, a report by London-based Markit Economics showed today.

    Bayer AG plunged 6.3 percent as a rival to its Xarelto blood thinner prevented more strokes with less major bleeding than an older medicine in a study. Mediaset SpA, the broadcaster controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, sank 6.7 percent after forecasting that advertising will decline.

    Euro Weakens

    The euro slid against 14 of its 16 major currencies monitored by Bloomberg, depreciating 0.8 percent versus the yen. The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six trading partners, climbed 1.2 percent. The pound weakened 0.6 percent to $1.5968, falling below $1.60 for the first time since April 1.

    The yield on the Greek two-year note jumped 38 basis points to 28.26 percent, climbing for the second consecutive day. European ministers meet in Brussels today and tomorrow to debate the size of new loans to Greece and how to get holders of the nation’s debt to contribute. Default swaps on Greece rose 25 basis points to 2,012, signaling an 82 percent chance of default within five years, according to CMA.

    The extra yield investors demand to hold Portuguese 10-year bonds instead of benchmark German bunds increased 31 basis point to 8.50 percent, near the widest on record. The yield on Spain’s 10-year security advanced nine basis points, with the Italian yield four basis points higher.

    Default Risk

    The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of default swaps on 15 governments jumped 13 basis points to 237. Portugal’s climbed nine basis points to 791 and contracts on Spain rose four to 289, while those for Ireland increased 12 basis points to 767 and Italy’s were five basis points higher at 187.

    The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.9 percent, heading for its first decline in three days. Russia’s Micex Index slipped 1.6 percent, South Africa’s benchmark gauge lost 1.4 percent and South Korea’s Kospi Index slid 0.4 percent.

    To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net.

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Sillitoe at psillitoe@bloomberg.net

  31. Justin Robinson Avatar
    Justin Robinson

    Its been almost five years of pressure for the global economy. First the oil price shock, then the food price shock, the financial sector collapse and then a deep recession. No wonder the recovery is so anemic.

    The Clinton presidency is said to have coincided with the longest peace time economic expansion in modern history, an this expansion continued with minor bumps up to around 2006. Economists thought they had tamed the business cycle. Maybe our expectations and outlook are still shaped by the long period of stability and prosperity, while there are some fundamental changes in key systems such as commodity prices and the financial sector. Is it time to review expectations?

  32. David Avatar
    David

    @Justin

    We all understand the external pressures.

    The debate should now be located on government’s fiscal strategy of mitigation balanced with stimulation.

    Hope you are listening to Clyde Mascoll at this moment who has accused the government of unprecedented spend on current account.

  33. Justin Robinson Avatar
    Justin Robinson

    We are all focused on the local issues. But the international news coming out today is quite sobering.

  34. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    We are not going to get out of this mess by simply looking to spend less. We need to earn more. So selling this, privatising that, and allowing someone to make a commission off of a service offered by the state is not going to change the problem.

    I would agree with the oil exploration and the push to renewable energy. But we need other initiative where we can earn more. Be more productive. We also need to be more efficient as well.

    If you look at what is happening in Greece austerity measures are not the best way out of this problem. Have to take account of the social aspect as well. You cut this privatise that and have a struggling society what good would that do.

    Education, we need to tap into that resource so that we can realize a significant return on the investment. See it as an investment and not an expense. Innovation, Entrepreneurship comes out of education.

    How about simple things which we can do now. Return some of our land to farming. Instead of waiting for some foreigner to buy it at a very high price. Recognise how much land we have around here catching grass.

  35. Straight talk Avatar
    Straight talk

    @Justin:
    The time to review expectations was in July 2008, not being an economist, more of a realist actually, if you had been a more regular visitor to this forum then, you would have heard voiced the prognosis from experience , not academe.

    Never has a recovery occurred with oil above $10 a barrel, never mind $90.

    Oil is the main driver of any economy, and the mopping up of disposable cash to buy it, whether individual, corporate or national, drains off the spending power needed to build a recovery upon.

    This depression is going to be long and hard, some say a permanent revaluation.
    The euro will fail, the dollar will eventually follow,and all whilst the experts are desperately grasping at false silver linings.

    Tell me, Doctor, I can take it, what if this time the s**t has really hit the fan, what is the economist’s Plan B, or do we have to endure more optimistic waffle.

    What is the scenario when,not just a nation defaults, but a whole economic system collapses?

  36. Christopher Halsall Avatar
    Christopher Halsall

    @Straight talk: “Tell me, Doctor, I can take it, what if this time the s**t has really hit the fan, what is the economist’s Plan B, or do we have to endure more optimistic waffle.

    Here is the truth: There is no “Plan B”.

    (Actually, that’s a lie. Deal with it.)

  37. Straight talk Avatar
    Straight talk

    Chris:
    As usual, you have lost me.
    Different reasonings…. you understand.
    Care to elucidate, if in your opinion, there is in fact a Plan B, or not?

    Here is the truth: There is no “Plan B”
    (Actually, that’s a lie. Deal with it.)

    We are left to consider these three motives:
    a) Sarcasm: There has never been a Plan B formulated for meltdown, very doubtful
    b) Faith: Chris is privy to the effective back-up plan, very doubtful
    c) Scepticism: Or are our friends on Cave Hill bullshitting for a post and salary their . predictions and theories don’t warrant, very doubtful.

    A true doubtful scientific sceptic as we should all applaud, empiricism v narcissism.

    At least I hope that is the the case, oh my god, he might be being nasty to me and in my ignorance I misunderstood.

    I’ll gauge his inevitable response, before stepping deeper into the mangroves.

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