@ David BU

No I am not. What I am saying is that those social policies that were implemented were done at the wrong time.

These views of spending assume that government knows exactly which goods and services are underutilised, which public goods will be value added, and where to redirect resources. However, there is no information source that allows the government to know where goods and services can be most productively employed. Government spending is less likely to stimulate growth when it cannot accurately target the projects where it would be most productive.

In addition to this information problem, the political process itself can stunt economic growth. The political system in Barbados suggests that politicians and bureaucrats try to gain control of as much of the economy as possible. Moreover, demand for government resources by the private sector leads to misallocation of resources through “rent seeking”; which is a process by which the private sector and individuals lobby the government for money {e.g. Four Seasons}. Rather than spend money where it is most needed, legislators instead allocate money to favored groups {e.g.CLICO}. Though this may yield a high political return for incumbents seeking re-election, this process does not favour economic growth.

@Artaxerxes

The debate will continue on whether the government overtaxed or not and it is one which given the unprecedented nature of the challenge will be eternal.

On another note are you suggesting the government should allow the Four Seasons to flounder? CLICO too?

How can the government encourage the private sector?

@Miller

there is nothing in your blog that make sense, it sounds like soup warm over. By the way, i would welcome you sitting beside me in any class because I know you would be less wiser as this dunce will ensure that you dont taken anything. For your edificaton. i hated economics, i think all economists are criminal and theoreticians and are responsible for all this corporate greed.

When you start to offer constructive criticism i will leave you and your group alone. We must recognize, regradless of our political leaning we should look at the whole picture and dont selectively argue points.

I gone, remenber i am undeducated so if i spell words wrong, i know no better.

Business man | December 1, 2011 at 12:05 PM | Caswell raised questions about the viability of the fund. Should he not respond to the Consultant Actuary who should be well placed to comment on the health of the fund.
____________________________________________________
Did the actuary give any reasons for supporting the investment in Four Seasons other than to say that the NIS funds needed to be invested in something, and that you cannot go wrong with the name of Four Seasons. That is not reasoning worthy of an actuary. That is reasoning I would expect from a purblind DLP supporter.

Who is the actuary that advised NIS that they should pay early reduced pensions from as early as age 60? My information is that NIS, was advised, by an actuary, that they could pay early pensions and it would not be a drain on the Fund because the loss would be offset by those who opted to defer applying for their pensions. The last I heard is that hundreds have applied for early pensions and only one person has deferred.

Do not be so impressed. Think for yourself. If this were such a good investment, no one would be out there begging NIS, the private investors would jump at it. National Insurance is now required to be the investor of last resort.

David, I agree with you that we can flog this tax debate forever.

I would have preferred if some of the measures in the 2008 budget were not implemented. I was not sure how collectible a lot of those taxes were anyway, and a number of them such as cell phone tax and lottery winnings have not been implemented as far as I know.

Listening to the governor of the central bank, his advice seems to have been err on the side of protecting reserves and to be fair we have gone almost four years into a deep global recession and we have been okay on the reserves side. We cannot just be about screaming at people and criticism, let us give them that.

If the level of domestic demand stimulation some have been asking for had taken place I wonder what the FX situation would be like. I prefer the kinda hard times we are facing now to the hard times from a devaluation, so if thats a choice we have to make, I can live with it.

David

If this country really wants to save foreign exchange we can cut out a lot of foreign products that are retailed in local supermarkets. I went into a supermarket and saw things imported like canned coconut water and grated cassava. While we are at it what about those thousands of christmas trees that are imported used for a few weeks and then sent to the landfill.

@Caswell

How do you propose we regulate the market?

Why stop at imported products?

Why not regulate personal overseas travel?

Caswell, what is the private interest is not necesarily in the public interest. the legal process could take three years to play out.

caswell wants the government to stay out of the market in the case of fiur seasons, but they must regulate what products are imported?

Lawd help us when these are the one shaping public opinion.

@Caswell

At the end of the day we are talking about using forex for non essential reasons. In the case of foreign travel we have the options to reduce personal forex limits no ?

@ Business man | December 2, 2011 at 12:51 PM |
“If we let the private thing play out as they would like it to, the NIS would not even be offered a chance to invest in prime east coast, beachfront, top luxury hotel.”

You have us baffled, befuddled, boggled (dog bite you!) and simply confused! We were of the view that according to the DLP gospel as pronounced by your late “great” messiah and saviour DT that the West Coast will never become the West Coast- neither foreign investment nor local apartheid-like snobbery will see a concretising of this exotic part of Bim. Has there been a change of heart and policy since dead men tell no tales and the poor boys now in charge don’t give a damn about E,W,S or N ecology just get as much as you can of the “fatted” calf which is now in a diseased state and if not cured with appropriate herbs will soon not be fit for human consumption?

@Miller

everything you say is confusing, you even confuse yourself.

@Business Man

I know miller the worm is no mathch for your intellect so ignore him and let him deal with this dunce like himself.

@Caswell or Caswell who has been fired from every job

How would you like to be referred to that.

we need more persons with integrity like messrs decourcey headley, mark prescod, paul bernstien and jerry thorne sitting on statutory boards in barbados if boards are to regain the confidence of the public. the actions of these three gentlemen with regards to the marina project sitting on the board of the BTI were exemplary and worthy of commendation.

@ UNEDUCATED | December 3, 2011 at 2:21 AM |

Typical response! Dodge the issue and use red herrings for bait! Continue to live in the pass and see where that gets you! All the dastardly things you are criticizing the previous administration for the present administration is practicing; same corruption and kickbacks model of looking after the tax payers’ money. Just one goal to achieve: get access to the people’s treasury. But you go ahead and suck from the pig trough until there is nothing; leaving the poor salvation army and its fellow charitable organisations to provide soup kitchens thereby bringing the ordinary, honest and proud Bajan to a state of begging depending on alms to survive.

Please, Sir, stop living in the pass and concern yourself with what is right before us. The writing is on the wall (Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin)! The worm is warning you! Take heed! I am neither B nor D. My cup runneth over and its contents help those in need along the way in streams of charity so much so that you will live to two thousand years and still not fathom (understand)!

Class warfare my people. If I wanted anymore evidence of class warfare I got it today reading Pat Hoyos in the Business Authority today. I like to read that paper to find out what the big people an their kind are talking about.

Pat blasted the economic policies of the government and wraps himself in the flag of fiscal prudence. He ranted about the increases in taxes over the last three years. he speaks of 100ml of taxes in 2008, but conveniently forgets that 56ml of the tax measures were never implemented. He ignores the spending in those budgets. Yet he is supposed to be an impartial observer.

If I understand him correctly Mr. Fiscal Prudence Pat Hoyos and his kind want the tax payer to provide a subsidy to reduce fuel costs even though the price more than doubled on the world market, and we import almost all our oil and fuel products. I don’t have hgis learning but simple brain leads me to question what the cost of a fuel subsidy of the type he seems to imply would be given the oil price over the last four years or so. What would be the state of out foreign reserves if we had kept consumer spending at typical levels in the face of hiogher oil prices and lower tourism receipts. This does not enter into his analysis but he is supposed to be one of our tops analysts.

But the clas sbais is waht gets my goat. he has no problem with the corporate welfare of a fuel subsidy at all, even though he is Mr. Fiscal Prudence. But all the problems in the world with free bus fares for school children. Only poor people children ride the bus. Big problems with summer camps, only poor people children go to those. Of course the opposition has promised a fuel subsidy so the government must change. Class warfare my friends.

He and his kind want good governance and independence from government, but the Fair Trading Commission grants an increase to BL&P and the government must not let it go through. The government must go against the expert advice in this case.

He and his kind want to let the market decide, privatize, step aside government, hey but use tax payers money to subsidize my fuel.

The message is clear, don’t cut fuel subsidies to manage your deficit, send home the poor and lower middle income people in the civil service and statutory bodies, or I will mobilise and vote you out of office. Class warfare people.

Don’t tax my salary disguised as entertainment allowance to avoid paying taxes, send home the poor and lower middle income people in the civil service and statutory bodies (or I will vote you out of office). Class warfare people.

It was very noticeable to me that he did not mention the increase in bus fares in his list of complaints. he probably feels that should have gone up ever since, or by more. You know the poor people ride the bus.

The well of people in Bim are saying very clearly I will make no sacrifice for my fellowman in this crisis. Send home the poor and lower class who work in the civil service and statutory corporation jobs that they want cut.