Submitted by M.R.Thompson
The Barbadian Economy and Finances are suffering from a self inflicted malady and urgently in need of a CURE. The prescription is a foul concoction and unpalatable which will no doubt result in severe blame the other guy, political suicide, I told you so, reduced quality of life and other as undiagnosed complaints.
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Immediately Devalue Barbados dollar to a ratio of 3:1 of the US$. Re-evaluate after 5 years.
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Immediately Reduce the level of civil service employment to 10% of the population, ie: 29,000. This level (29,000) includes direct civil servants, All agency employees, All board employees, All Central Bank employees, All Police Employees, All Teachers, All Defence Force, Transport Board, etc., everyone that is directly or indirectly paid from the public purse.
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Immediately implement programs to streamline the collection of taxes aimed at efficiencies and recoveries.
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Sell off or disband all non performing (money losers) entities not related to Health Care, BWA and NIS Pensions. Sell Off all government held property that cannot be substantiated for retention, provided a reasonable rate of return can be obtained, ie NO FIRE SALES.
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NIS to have an immediate financial audit to determine what is the state of the portfolio. NIS held government debt be reduced immediately to no more than 25% of the portfolio. NIS be allowed to hold off shore assets in the portfolio. NIS employee levels to be evaluated.
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Central Bank Governor be immediately FIRED and function filled with a non Caribbean Capable Financial Currency Board.
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An extreme policy adjustment be made to see that ALL Barbadian Laws are fully enforced and complied with.
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Integrity Legislation be immediately implemented with severe penalties for non compliance.
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An agricultural/import policy be implemented with the goal to becoming self sufficient in food production within 5 years.
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IMF be invited in to oversee All Government Operations.
It’s a BITTER PILL but the alternative MAYBE the DEATH of a NATION.
125 responses to “Barbados – The Prescription”
all these issues are redundant going fourteen years back.and the same dribble response..facts are facts. And instead of the horse allowed to bolt.there should have been someone guarding the stable door.a lack of proper planning along with poor fiscal discipline has put the country in a juggernaut..it is. amazing to read the comments which are still suggesting that everything must be sold.but no one is even. suggesting. that outstanding inherited loans must be repaid…furthe more a short sale is only a panacea .but in the long run govt still have to deal withproblems of high energy cost which will continue to spiraland impact negatively on inflation.
@lookin elsewhere,
Good idea to look elsewhere. Life is too short to waste the rest of your life in Barbados.
Did you see the new private hospital rates? $800 per day.
AC……..shutup, the only redundancy lies in the two corrupt political parties in Barbados, DLP AND BLP, lies, deceit, thievery, selling out to the minorities or whosoever presents the biggest bribes in millions, so just shutup, the damage is done, one cannot be blamed without the other, no one is as stupid as you to believe that, and if your dumb DLP masters are telling you to say that, they are more stupid than you are…….steupss.
Well Well | June 11, 2014 at 11:58 AM |
“The is no way the private sector would get their hands on the cash cow that is Transport Board and NOT raise bus fare to at least $5.00, presuming that the dollar is not devalued by then, if that happens, it would be anyone’s guess the price of bus fare.”
The reality of the situation is that, in order to be profitable and deliver a satisfactory service, bus fares should reflect distance. This is done in the other Caribbean island… we in Barbados think it is our God given right to pay little or nothing for anything and expect exceptional service.
If bus fares are increased, we will hear about the “poor black man”, “I have 6 children to send to school”, “I don’t work for enough money to pay more bus fare”, etc. Yet, those individuals living in St. Vincent and St. Lucia, who are earning less than us, have to pay over EC$5 to travel from Kingstown to Georgetown, and Castries to Vieux Fort, respectively.
Another reality in Barbados is, we have many so called entrepreneurs in this island, who can boast of building six bedroom houses, apartments, having 3 cars and 5 women, but will not contribute to the NIS fund, pay income taxes or VAT. Yet they are at the forefront in capitalizing on free primary and secondary education, free medical care and everything else that is free, without having contributed. They are also the ones who are protesting with vehement passion against the introduction of UWI tuition fees. At 65, they are the first up the steps of NIS to register for old age pension, and when informed that they are not entitled, they think they’re being discriminated against.
We talk about Barbados’ debt. Instead of earning our way and making a contribution to the country, we prefer to beg the politicians. We define patriotism as blindly and stupidly supporting a political party and not contributing for the development of this island
The government has to subsidise social services and further subsidise for those non-contributors, who continue to beg. The politicians capitalise on this begging by borrowing to satisfy these “artificial needs” in return for votes. So, we have young and strong individuals in this island, who are satisfied in producing children, then to receive houses from UDC or RDC, have their utilities or rent paid, without looking for a job; while senior citizens who have made invaluable contributions to this country’s economy, that are asked to wait while these youngster get a free ride.
Everything free……. thousands of people living in NHC units and refusing to pay because it’s “guvment” or a politician tell them not to pay. Millions of dollars owed to the Corporation, and now this lot gave away the units free; building houses that have remained unoccupied for months; each housing minister employing people from their constituency, with no emphasis on productivity……… no wonder this administration was secretly funding NHC to the tune of $40M without parliamentary approval. They had to borrow that money too.
This mendicant attitude that politicians have inculcated in our minds…….. for which debt must be incurred to satisfy.
Hants:
You are perfectly correct. The tendency, although it not said publicly, is to drive all the prices in the country as close as possible to the US dollar equivalent in the event of a devaluation!!
@Artax
Agree with you there seem to be too much attention to debt and no equivalent attention on growth and earning our way. It is can be described as a defensive position.
Well Well
“Due……..if he registered the money with the Central Bank upon arrival, they have to let him take it out, if not, dog eat his dinner.”
I do hope, for his sake, that looking elsewhere can find a copy of his CBB registration form(s) when he goes for approval to take his money elsewhere, cause I don’t like his chances of CBB finding its copy.
Sounds to me like Dr. No Worry, is having trouble Forex.
@ Hants | June 11, 2014 at 12:29 PM |
“Currently $1 canadian = $1.84 bds. Cheffette all chicken roti cost $5.50 Canadian.
So after a 5 to 1 devaluation the roti will still cost $5.50 Canadian but $60 Barbados.
Please correct me if I am wrong.”
I think your are being purposefully disingenuous here. Unless Chefette immediately raises it prices fivefold how can the same roti cost you Canadian $5.50? Why not Can. $4.00? Do you really feel Chefette can automatically increase it prices five or six fold while wages and salaries and many other local inputs remain constant or increase at rates somewhat below the levels you are suggesting?
Even if prices remain constant to people paying in foreign currencies it would make prices of imported goods more off-putting to locals and creating a more competitive environment for indigenous goods.
The primary objective of bringing the Barbados dollar in line with its true value is to deter locals from engaging in conspicuous consumption of imported goods paid for in foreign currencies.
Unless Bajans are prepared to work hard to earn forex or save forex through the consumption of more locally produced goods and services with a very high local added value content there is no way they will be able to stave off the necessary correction to the value of their currency to bring it in line with market forces of supply and demand.
@ Miller wrote “I think your are being purposefully disingenuous here.”
No I am not. I put forward a simple equation to show that devaluation should not deter overseas Bajans (and tourists) from visiting and spending their money in Barbados.
Barbados is still dependant on Tourism and inflows from Bajans in the Diaspora.
Expect an increase in “Barrels” from North America.
Miller your thoughtful analysis is appreciated. Now if you could recommend an honest real estate lawyer………
@ Hants | June 11, 2014 at 12:29 PM |
“Currently $1 canadian = $1.84 bds. Cheffette all chicken roti cost $5.50 Canadian.
So after a 5 to 1 devaluation the roti will still cost $5.50 Canadian but $60 Barbados.
Please correct me if I am wrong.”
Hants,
Please allow me to reconstruct your question correctly.
A cheffette roti currently costs BDS$10.12.
Since canadian$1 = BDS$1.84, it would take Can$5.50 to purchase the roti.
If the exchange rate were changed to canadian$1 = BDS$5, the same roti that sells for BDS$10.12 would now cost only canadian$2.02.
In short, a devaluation would cause a product manufactured or produced in Barbados to become cheaper to Canadians. The economic argument usually made is that this cheaper roti price would induce Canadians to buy so much more rotis that Barbados would ultimately earn more FOREX selling the roti at $CAN 2.02 rather than at $CAN$5.50.
Hope this explanation helps.
are u guys fuh real trying to solve ole age issues im a fortnight .get real everyman hands to the plough..well with certain excrptions.the good news is that private sector say they are willing to play their fair share..i wonder how much it is going to cost govt.even affta put he two cents worth about the private sector laid back attitude
@Walter Blackman,
That is a great example when applied to ( hopefully locally produced chicken).
You and Miller are correct in that it could pressure Barbadians to produce and buy local.
So a roti could still sell for $10.25bds but a box of Kelloggs cornflakes would sell for $120bds.
Actually, with the exception of points 1, 4, 6 and 10, it is inconceivable that most of the others are not part of the constitution or at least the LAW of Barbados.
Surely there MUST be clear guidelines for the MAXIMUM level of employees of the state….. Wuh the same shiite government have FORCED Credit Unions to follow international guidelines with all kinds of limits on loans, investments etc…..
SURELY the billion dollar NIS fund must be audited promptly….how do we know that the money is not being stolen? Credit Unions have STRICT deadlines to have their funds audited and their AGMs held….
What the hell is the PURPOSE of the ministry of agriculture? To employ nuff PhDs to sit around in air conditioned offices talking shiite? Surely there is some kind of PLAN….?
What the hell….!
…this go damn place is amazing….
…and now the thieving politicians will be taking the CREDIT UNION savings to add to the NIS savings that they have squandered….
…and we are hoping that somehow this will work out….?
Me nah know how we an’ dem ah go work this out….
Bob Marley
…wait – what became of KiKi…?
The message from me is ” in not plenty and in time of need ” we must “remember where we come from” and show some patriotism even if we remain “politically divided”.
Even though Government has signed trade agreements with WTO etc. etc.
there is nothing stopping us from BUYING LOCAL products or delaying the purchase of that NEW GAS GUZZLING LUXURY CAR.
WE BARBADIAN CITIZENS MUST DO WHAT IS GOOD FOR ALL.
Bajans in the diaspora must continue to support friends and family in Barbados and buy Bajan products when they are available.
Shirley and Eclipse biscuits, Aunt May’s seasonings and pepper sauce and Flying fish are available in Toronto.
I bought an Alison Hinds cd from HMV but we can buy Bajan Music online.
@Hants
Leader required.
Walter how does that effect real estate, should I wait to buy , will I need to join the Kendal shooting club and buy a glock to get my corn flakes home.
A Bajan buddy of mine came to visit me …we went to the strip bars ….and he kept throwing bajan dollars at the dancers … when I asked why …he said it was only fair…since they kept putting fake tits in his face.
@ Walter
Hants has a point.
How long do you think Cheffette will keep the BDS $10.25 price? Practically EVERYTHING in that roti is imported or contains high percentage of imported inputs…
In short order therefore the production costs will be impacted by the new exchange rate 1 and Cheffette will do just what Harris is now doing with Bayview….Roti – now at US $ 5.75 or BDS $ 35.00
Only LOCALY produced items will fall in price for US and Canadian buyers…things like marijuana, yams, and the occasional sweet potato…
But Bajans would then be only able to afford less than 1/3 of the imported stuff that we currently “buy” with our mock money…..much closer in line with our actual international level of productivity.
In another year of so, instead of around US 27 cents to our dollar it would be more like US 10 cents……
Sorry
instead of around US 17 cents to our dollar it would be more like US 10 cents……
David
@Hants
Leader required.
I cannot think of a single Bajan who would want to lead us out of this mess.
We are all wishing and hoping for a lucky turn of events to give us “breathing room”
How do you find a Leader who can convince Bajans to drastically change their work habits and lifestyle in order to save the country?
Who is going to persuade the big ups that after years of exploiting the import consuming sector it is time to invest in producing?
Surely the PRIVATE SECTOR can do more that import and sell.
@Hants
You don’t find a leader, a leader is suppose to emerge.
Hants | June 11, 2014 at 3:30 PM |
“So a roti could still sell for $10.25bds but a box of Kelloggs cornflakes would sell for $120bds.”
Hants,
Yes. The roti that cost BDS$10.25 before the valuation, would continue to cost BDS$10.25..using the ceteris paribus (all things being equal) assumption.
Let us assume that a box of Kellogs corn flakes was produced in Canada and sold for CAN$24.
When the exchange rate was $1 canadian = $1.84 bds, the box would have cost BDS$44.16. If the exchange rate were changed to CAN$1 = BDS$5, the price of that same box of Kellogs corn flakes would skyrocket from BDS$44.16 to BDS$120.
The economic argument is that the devaluation would make Canadian products more expensive for Barbadians and would have a dampening effect on Canadian exports to Barbados. In other words, Barbadians would import less Canadian goods, and this would reduce our national usage of Canadian FOREX.
The economic argument, of course is highly theoretical. The social problems generated by a devaluation, on the other hand, are very real. if almost everything you use and eat came from overseas, and a policy was implemented to choke off this external supply, what do you think would happen?
Riots, starvation, diseases, crimes?
So Walter to follow your explanation, will the printing of money ultimately have the same effect?
Let me see if I’ve got this straight …
Devalue the Bajan dollar four-fold and Bajan exports become four times cheaper, so we can sell more of them. Lots more forex. But Bajan imports suddenly become four times more expensive. And every “local” product that consists of imported inputs abrubtly quadruples in price.
Did I get this right so far?
So, for example, your cable TV provider, who is paying in US$ for the satellite feed, is going to raise your rates four-fold. And all savings in BB$ suddenly became four times less valuable unless you spend them on yams, or on chicken raised on non-imported feed and packaged in locally produced packaging.
Is this right?
If I’m a high-spending tourist at Sandy Lane, suddenly my US$50 buys me a lot more food at The Cliff, but only as long as The Cliff’s signature dish is grilled flying fish and steamed sweet potato.
Or perhaps, while I was asleep, Barbados abruptly sprouted industries in children’s footwear and Toyota vehicles and petroleum.
@David
Of course =.Devaluation by printing.
Would probably be the better way average Joe Public would never see what hit him.Just get up and wonder why he has empty pockets.
lawson | June 11, 2014 at 4:00 PM |
“Walter how does that effect real estate, should I wait to buy , will I need to join the Kendal shooting club and buy a glock to get my corn flakes home.”
Lawson,
As long as you are sure that a devaluation is inevitable, and you have foreign currency, you should wait.
If you have Canadian dollars, a devaluation of the $BDS relative to the CAN$ will make everything in Barbados, including real estate, cheaper. In fact, if the devaluation is deep enough, a multinational corporation might be able to offer an attractive price to purchase the whole island!
On a more serious note, you are on the right track when you started talking about the need to protect yourself and your assets from the social fallout of a devaluation.
@hants
If a roti costs 10.50 barbados and the barbados dollar is valued at 4 to 1 rather than 2 to 1 the roti will now see a price in US$ of about $2.60. Whether the price in Barbados dollar changes will depend on how adept the roti makers are at sourcing local products. Having a currency that has risen in value by as much as 20% in recent years has discouraged local manufacturing and made the major FX maker non competitive.
Bush Tea | June 11, 2014 at 4:01 PM |
@ Walter
Hants has a point.
How long do you think Cheffette will keep the BDS $10.25 price? Practically EVERYTHING in that roti is imported or contains high percentage of imported inputs…
Bush Tea,
Your point is well taken.
Similar to Einstein’s equations and his law of relativity that broke down in the face of a black hole, economic arguments for a devaluation would break down in the face of a small, open, fragile, corrupt, mismanaged country like Barbados. Economic theory will quickly give way to social chaos. Immense pain and suffering will result.
Let me give you an example.
Pretend for one moment that Barbados did not have one cent of FOREX, so no roti ingredients could be imported. Your local cows and your local chickens will suddenly loom large in value, and as the current practice suggests, they will be stolen and sold without any questions being asked by the buyer. The thieves would be quite willing to kill you, the owner, to defend their cows and chickens which they did not raise.
This situation would in turn drive you to the point where you and many others in your predicament would decide to purchase one of the many thousands of guns on the island, with a view to maiming or killing your Barbadian brothers and sisters. A downward social spiral would be set in motion.
Added to the social chaos would be an economic double whammy that would develop to bite you in your backside. Because of the devaluation, you would now have an excessive amount of Barbados dollars chasing few locally produced goods – the classic definition of inflation. Add high unemployment into the mix, and you have a stagflation nightmare. It would take us years and years to wake up from such an awful dream.
@anonymous
While I appreciate why you might feel resentful of an expat getting health benefits after you paid taxes for 40 years, the other side of the coin is this:
I did not even pay 2% in taxes. You mistakenly assume that every expat is living high on the hog, working for an NGO in Barbados on a fat contract or has an offshore company and living in a 10,000/month house. Wrong. Lots of ordinary, retired folks call Barbados home.
I didn’t pay Bim taxes because for 20 years I worked overseas and brought that money INTO Barbados. At a modest average of 4000BB per month x 20 years that equals 960,000 BB in foreign exchange I brought into this country. I surely supported my share of workers. So don’t lecture me about not paying taxes.
Fortunately, I did not invest in a house and only brought enough in to pay bills for one month at a time. I am not talking about the problem of home-owners taking their money out of Bim.
I am talking about the problem of buying health care insurance. Since Sagicor drops you at age 70 and the govt refuses health care to expats, that leaves little choice except to leave. Could we be the ONLYE ONES thinking this way? Hardly. No problem, Barbados is a beautiful spot, but the world is big.
I wish the best future for Bajans and may God help them because they don’t seem to want to help themselves.
Re: property values will not become cheaper. Any sensible person prices his/her property for sale in US dollars or Euro.
@Walter
Bit of a shortsighted view in my opinion.
For a start most property attractive to big money people is already quoted in other than B$.
AND
what is not soon will be.
Bajuns dont sell unless they get what they want,excluding the “chancers ” who have their selves in a corner and have to sell.
I have seen Bajuns when the crazy prices started put prices that were ridiculous on property, and sit for years till property cought up with the price..
Devaluation will NOT make things CHEAPER other than the Local labour costs.
The poor everyday brothers and sisters, struggling already to stay above water,will have to go back 60 years and eat shit to survive.
Local goods will be priced as they always are ,at thievery prices.
At first there will be murder and mayhem,then the DOMINANT CLASS will order “THE LAW” enforced in a Draconian way.
Then heads will bow and people will”just survive” and become the “NEW SLAVE CLASS”.
Its already going on all over the World.
You surely do not think that they will stop for the sake of killing a few “Blacks” in Barbados do you??
It will be as in the past too
,Black men will enslave black men,.
Look at the current political Class in Barbados and tell me one of them who would even turn their head or try to help you ,if someone was about to kill you ,when the NEW WORLD ORDER Is functioning in Barbados.
Walter read about the NEW WORLD ORDER, the World is for them not us.
We just are grist to their mill.
Dont say THAT CANT happen in Barbados,it has ,it is.
These prostitutes who are in control of Barbados now,are just Lackies,and yet to realise it.
But in the end they will sell their brothers for a position that allows them still to enrich themselves at OUR exspense,even tho as lackies to the DOMINANT CLASS.
They will make your life as low as a snakes belly and as they have done now in Barbados for donkey years simply make the Laws “a coat to fit” with regards to Law and Order.
Didnt they hang Black men LEGALLY in the 1700’s?
Who made the Law??
THE DOMINANT CLASS DID.
Yes they were NOT Black men,well not all.
BUT the fellas that PULLED THE ROPE WERE..
These politicians in Barbados are already picking up the ropes end.
What is happening now is NOT just an unfortunate time for Barbados,caught in a maelstrom of financial disorder.
It is the culmination of a World plan for a NEW WORLD ORDER.
You are about to experience subjugation and teaching of how to bow your head again.
Barbados WILL devalue and soon.
The organisations controlling Barbados’s access to money have worked in concert to shut all doors.
These political prostitutes are already in the net.
They will sacrifice YOU and Me.
David
“You do not find a leader, a leader is suppose to emerge”
David, I guess we ought to consult the history books to answer your question right? FDR, did not emerged at a leader during the Great – Depression, he was elected because he convinced the American- electorate that he could get the job done. And he brought the American people out of the Great- Depression with his many programs.
Art……i have to agree, but again the politicians of both the DLP/BLP have contributed to the ‘free’ mentality because the wanted votes and to accumulate yardfowls, alot of the ills on the island can be traced to both political parties, they both tell the same lies to the voters/taxpayers, practice the same deceit and corruption against the taxpayers, both take the same bribes from the same minorities and same business people on the island and more than likely the same amount of monyin bribes and election campaign funding, that is why the likes of Peter Harris can just bide his time of years and make damn sure he acquires that Transport Board cash cow for little or nothing.
Due………we can only pray things work out for this guy.
Hants…….i believe Eclipse biscuits is now made in Trinidad, not sure about Shirley
Lawson
But fake tits are better than fake dollars.
David
Bill Clinton, did not emerged as a great leader despite his moral slippage. He was the first president to balanced the budget many many years.
David
Bill Clinton, did not emerged as a great leader despite his moral slippage. He was the first president to balanced the budget in many years.
So that all the talk of the Barbados dollar isn’t negative…. the govt has decided to start making it in two ply.
At least the Jamaicans are in our corner on the subject of devaluation, who better to opine on the matter.
Myrie doesn’t want her 77000 Barbados dollars devalued for sure.
“So Walter to follow your explanation, will the printing of money ultimately have the same effect?”
David,
The printing of money creates its own problems, and if it continues unabated, it can trigger a devaluation.
I suspect that many Barbadians have heard about “printing money” but they don’t quite grasp the concept and its inherent dangers.
Please allow me the opportunity to get the concept of printing money across by using a simplified example.
Let us assume that there are 300,000 Barbadians, and each Barbadian must purchase a can of food every day to survive. The only product sold in Barbados is this canned food and there are only 300,000 cans on this particular day. For convenience, let us also assume that our total money supply amounts to $3 million, and the price of a can of food is $10.
Suddenly, the government decides that it wants its friends and members of the political class to have , not one can of today , but an additional hundred thousand cans. The additional 100,000 cans of food of course cost $1 million at current prices. Government doesn’t have the money, so it orders the Central Bank to make the money available now, and promises to repay the Central Bank later.
The government has now imposed a new monetary policy on the Central Bank. In this simple example, The Governor of the Central Bank is forced to increase the money supply of Barbados from $3 million to $4 million. Note carefully that no more cans of food have been produced, so we now have $4 million dollars chasing $3 million worth of goods. Prices will rise and inflation will set in before this new situation settles on an ultimate price for a can of food.
In the real world, the resulting inflation will wreak economic havoc. Businesses will have to spend more on operating costs, and will have less to save or invest. Interest rates will rise. There is an inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices. So people who are holding government bonds (which are now paying relatively low returns) would now receive low prices if they try to sell the bonds. Investors would not be interested in lending their money to the government, or even investing in the country. More than half of the extra million dollars put into the economy by the Central Bank would be used to purchase foreign goods, and this will put a tremendous strain on our FOREX. The country would eventually come face to face with the threat of a devaluation.
@Walter
Thanks, that was clear. What if the printing of money is to mainly satisfy government’s servicing of bond and TB redemption? The printing of money is not being released into circulation per se but represents a ‘book entry’?
@Walter Blackman
Your example very clearly explains what happens when a Government prints too many $’s, humm — does this not sound like the situation Barbados is presently in ????
The 12 weeks of FOREX cover being used is a very arbitrary figure with little or no basis. I personally think the Forex cover should be based on the amount of Barbados dollars in circulation and not an arbitrary 12/15 week figure. It is difficult to get an accurate figure, from the Central Bank information available, to determine exactly how may Barbados dollars are presently in circulation, which would no doubt shed/highlight the FOREX issues in Barbados.
@ David
“What if the printing of money is to mainly satisfy government’s servicing of bond and TB redemption?”
I suspect this is not why the government is printing money as the NIS funds are being rolled over and over for these purposes. The printing of money for this purpose will only happen once the NIS funds are exhausted, not to far in the future I suspect. The printing of money is to cover payrolls for government civil servants, boards, agencies, etc.
Walter Blackman | June 11, 2014 at 6:47 PM |
A very clear explanation Mr. Blackman…… I hope BU understands what impact the printing of money would have on the economy.
Sometimes I prefer to listen, and I am still waiting to hear what it is we are going to export and who would be our competitors in this global market. I would also like to hear about this food import bill and what it is we import and to sastify whose tatses.
Whatever corrective actions we might take in order to revitalize the local economy and satisfy Moody’s analysts and number crunchers that we have taken the necessary steps to plug the leaks and re-float the good ship SS Barbados, seems like the sea on which our own tiny economy floats, i.e. the global economy, is at some point heading for an unavoidable and massive shakeup of its own.
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@Well Well
Owned by Trinis but made in Barbados?
http://www.wibisco.com/
Enuff
re. your 9.03 pm post: Did you see the report yesterday or this morning where Butch Stuart was enthusing over the Barbados Government’s new innovative strategy to declare and treat Tourism as an export industry.
In that scenario I also wonder what it is in tourism that we would be exporting. Is the new treatment of tourism, that Butch wants the rest of the Caribbean to emulate, presaging a wholesale conversion of most of our tourism operations to Offshore All Inclusives? or is it an extension of lewis carroll’s character Alice, in through the looking glass, declaring that any word she used has exactly the meaning she deems it to mean, no more or no less? Sounds very freundellian to me.
Would someone please explain what is happening here?
@Are-we-there-yet
All Butch is preaching to Caribbean governments is to treat the tourism sector in the same way they treat the export sector by supporting with concessions as oppose to taxing to death the goose that is laying the eggs.
Printing money, and eventual devaluation, is the worse possible option. It would make FAR more sense to undergo a series of across the board wage and salary REDUCTIONS aimed at equalizing our spending with our productivity.
Ideally a system of productivity based pay would be ideal.
But of course we have now passed laws to “protect” us from such an option….
OK Bushtea
Could we get some of the BU economists to champion that message and use every fora (ancient and modern) to prove the concept and to let the Government and Opposition know that the people think it is a viable alternative to devaluation? Then let Caswell and BAFBFP get on the platform to bring the message to the country at large, LOL.
Time looks like it is running out and this, as I said much earlier, is an option that deserves to be tried. The BLP opposition must be shamed into accepting a rollback of the law for the greater good of the Country and the Government must not be allowed to play political tricks and run away from doing what is necessary. Let them both eat crow and bring a joint resolution so that there is no future benefit.to be gained from being able to claim that the other side reduced the people’s salaries.
@Bush Tea,
But of course we have now passed laws to “protect” us from such an option………………………
True, but when this law was passed, no one could ever forsee that any government would ever again brought a country to its knees again into such a position. DLP = Brass Bowls.