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Barbados Budget 2017
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456 responses to “Barbados Budget 2017”
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Vincent Haynes June 2, 2017 at 10:48 AM #
Frustrated Businessman: enact Facilitation Martial Law! June 2, 2017 at 7:49 AMRe your above comment……what is so difficult about the private sector/BCCI and the unions sitting down together and look at OSAs presentation,which provides irrefutable evidence as to the dire straits this country will be in as we continue on this path and after that deciding to issue the govt an ultimatum to go to the IMF or call elections…..failing either the country will be shutdown untill such time.
OSA’s views have been shared by the private sector and voiced by private sector leaders at length. Most people don’t understand numbers and the rest don’t care. You have seen me type most here repeatedly for 8 years. The one exception being our insistence on the adoption of the EC dollar so we could close the Central Bank and stop currency printing and fiddling. That would also mean ForEx bank accounts in private banks and other benefits for international trade.
The last time the DLP were booted from office the unions led the protests. The same will have to happen again. Akanni McDowel is the most powerful man in Bim right now. If he marches for elections the rest will follow. I’m sure Akanni is seeking assurances from Stinkliar that the 15% increase in cost of living will be offset by a 15% increase in NUPW member wages so both walk away as victors and the rest of the country loses. If Akanni doesn’t sell out this country we could move forward behind him.
What Arthur made obvious is the depth of ineptitude of Stinkliar and the DLP. The fact that Mia used her response time to campaign the next election and not tear apart Stinkliar’s budget realities and effects would lead me to believe each knew what areas the other would dismember.
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Carson
First of all, Freundel like he is a gambler cause he always talking about and references racehorses.
Second thing is Barbados is not afflicted by a heavy jockey, it is a burdened by a JACKASS at the top.
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Estwick is famous for his edict..”time longer than twine”.Mia has promised that the first order of business next year is the entry of Scotland Yard,The FBI and the Mounties to go after the 5 corrupt legal friends and those ministers notorious for their corruption.Perhaps a story out of Trinidad in which a lawyer accused of attempted murder of his sectreatry in 2001 is found guilty one more time in 2017 ought to teach these miscreant offenders of public trust,that the arm of the law is long and strong and that day does run til night ketch it.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170602/news/lawyer-guilty-of-trying-to-kill-secretary/1
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Frustrated Businessman:
Why not call a meeting with Akanni and in the name of the tri-partite agreement,where one section is about to destroy our country,draft a letter and submit it giving the govt x days before joint legal action i.e. shut down, will be taken.
We know what we are facing,ole talk will not get us any where…..time is of the essence.
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@ Vincent at 12:02 pm.
Exactly what are you hoping to achieve by shutting down this country ? And what is time the essence of?
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Vincent,
I think it is time for you to get a bush bath and join Bushie in an afternoon sip of his favourite brew. LOL
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Bernard
I can only presume you disagree with the submission of OSA last night and that you agree with the the present fruitless budget, hence you will not see any need for urgency.
You are entitled to your views a bit like Nero fiddling as Rome burns….I am in the departure lounge and doubt I will be around to enjoy the mess you will find yourself in.
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Now that the impasse between Govt. and the stupid Bankers has been resolved , nary a word from any of the BLP operatives on this Blog.
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Kudos to the two young gentlemen and one young lady on Brasstacks today between the ages of 18-22 who have a remarkable grasp of the economy even better than this govt and praise must also go out to Prof Michael Howard who was sighted by one of the young men as having been his tutor and thanked him for his vast knowledge.
Our youth are not all delinquents….very refreshing.
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Budget passed!
Sinckler is reported to have said ” Sinckler sought to warn Mottley that he was holding countless files ”
Same spit different election campaign.
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It is not the urgency that is the issue. It is the ineffectiveness of shutting down this country that concerns me. Shutting down this country in the present state that it is in would compound the problem.
In the social sciences there is seldom an either or . There are always other alternatives. I prefer to advise solutions with the long term benefits for my country. What we do today can affect the economy for several generations. -
Bernard
What is your alternative?
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@ Vincent Haynes,
Whom do you think will suffer most from shutting down Barbados ?
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The leader of her majesty’s opposition Mia Amor Mottley in her reply to the budget Presentation delivered a stinging Contribution of a new nothingness,most of it was warm over soup from 2014,lot of hot air,nuff huff,puff,fluff and bluff,lot of talk about who driving what type of car like only thieves from 1994 – 2007 is to drive certain cars. A lot of stupid talk about Maloney,this body and that body etc. Bare frost no beer,nothing absolutely nothing of substance but alot of empty promises
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Carson
The word is FROTH, …………..frost is that thing you encounter in cold climes.
The Prime Minister ain’t deny that he sign the Cahill Energy deal FIRST nor did he or anyone that followed deny the Sam Lords Commission agreement, did they?
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@ Vincent Haynes at 1:17 PM
If I told you ,are you in a position to implement ? I do not engage in exercises with a low probability of effectiveness.
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Stuart, Sinckler and Sealy = Three peas in a pod. No use.
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The BLP knows how to play politics with people. I’ve heard it said before in politics perception is greater than reality and the BLP panders to the popular sentiments against what is right. In politics there comes in time when you either have to do what is right or what is popular because what is popular resonates with the populace but is it right?. Or you are task with choosing one of two roads either the road where duty lies or the path where advantage lies and the BLP seems to always choose the latter.
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Carson
What about PM signature on greasy Cahill agreement?
What about the Sam Lord’s Commission Agency agreement? -
Carson
What about the 200% cost over-run at the St. John Polyclinic?
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Bernard
It takes 6 months to implement IMF deal….I have no doubt that OSA has the paper work ready.
Hants
Less pain than the present budget.
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” Prime Minister Freundel Stuart tonight challenged Opposition Leader Mia Mottley to
repeat a set of scurrilous charges she made in the House yesterday on the outside.”
https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/06/02/stuart-clashes-with-mottley-during-budget/
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Voodoo economics or the white man’s poison. Take a look at this documentary it explains how we have stumbled into the trough.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2017/05/debt-machine-170515074319495.html
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@ Hal AustinJune 2, 2017 at 9:42 AM
“I am waiting for our media to start a discussion now that Arthur, after 14 years as prime minister and nine years in Opposition, has seen the light. Once we have had that, we will move on to the silly narrative about foreign reserves.”Hal, what Arthur is proposing (establishing a basket of currencies to link the Bajan dollar) is nothing new; neither from you nor from Arthur himself.
Such a proposal was made by ‘others’ when he, Arthur, was PM and Minister of Finance.Although such a proposal has its longer-term benefits such as making Barbados more attractive to tourists out of UK and Europe especially those looking for cheaper deals, for FDI and generally lowering the cost of doing business to foreign investors the immediate impact would be that of a permanent devaluation of the Bajan dollar vis-à-vis the current nominal 2:1 peg to the greenback.
It was purely overriding political considerations why Arthur refused to make the adjustment when he held office.
A 20 to 25 % downward adjustment in the external value of the local Mickey mouse currency is not easy to sell; unlike the internal devaluation which will result from the recently imposed levies which the current MoF announced this week.
Sacrificing or slaughtering the sacred cow mistakenly worshipped as the Bajan dollar) to the god of economic commonsense would be like committing partisan political sacrilege and attempting electoral hara-kiri in the land of brass-bowls and academic buffoons.
The recently imposed internal devaluation will not make Barbados any more competitive as a tourist destination neither would it lower the cost of doing business to investors.
The more ‘efficient’ way to achieve both objectives to earning/saving forex and to improve economic competitiveness is to unlink the Bajan dollar from the US$ and let it float against a basket of tradable currencies as you proposed or adjust the peg downwards to say 6 0r 7 BD$ to 1 US $ to make it reflect its true economic value based on the country’s level of productivity and international competitiveness.
Only then would Bajans really take serious steps towards earning their living in a very competitive world if they want to continue to enjoy the big conspicuous consumption lifestyle instead of depending on other people’s money (read Chinese) to ensure the enslavement of future generations as happened physically with their ancestors.
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Miller,
It is not new, but it expands the national debate which is very restricted. About Arthur’s term of office, he was prime minister and minister of finance during the Great Moderation, the period of the greatest expansion in global economic history. What many Barbadians thought was prosperity was simply the result of the old saying that a rising tide…..
Then there is the question of if fiscal contraction can be expansionary. Yes it can under certain conditions.
Then there is the matter of debt to GDP growth? There have always been great debates in economics, but the so-called 40 per cent threshold is not taken seriously any of the leading economists. It is irrelevant.
A greater argument is the Reinhart/Rogoff 90 per cent threshold, which two has been confuted, notably by Paul Krugman.
Two things: the Greenback is overvalued, so, it follows, the Bajan is also overvalued. The difference is that the world wants to invest in the US, buy US treasuries ie lend money to the US; but none wants to do so to Barbados.
Then there is the stubbornness of the minister of finance, Chris Sinckler and the prime minister, Freundel Stuart.
We have debate the issue around printing money to pay civil servants, in which BU’s David thought civil servants had to be paid; we now have foreign-owned banks going on strike, sabotaging the economy, and this government can do nothing.
First, it is at times like this wee miss the BNB; second, it proves that the banks are operating a cartel; and, third, with a stronger credit union sector they would be able to step in to the breech.
Bad macroeconomic policy-making, a badly informed public, shy and silent academics, and politicians who prefer to attack personalities rather than policies, we as a nation are the worse off. -
Chris brought documents and read from them refuting a lot of dangerous accusations being made. For example Mr. Mottley allegedly said that Richard Sealy,Minister of tourism was trying to influence the builders at Sam Lord’s Castle to use Precast to favor a certain individual as the Chinese wanted to use block work maybe not her exact words but Chris produced letters to show that the company in the USA had designed the building to use precast as opposed to block work
Why is Mr. Mottley so allergic to the truth?
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It seems popular for politicians and politically connected folk to say some Hail Marys and pay penance for either sleeping on the floor or bringing water from the standpipe.The fact is that is your personal affair and if you are so stupid and want to broadcast it looking for sympathy,I consider you to be a fool,aJA even.So when Lowe said last night that he slept on the floor,I recall the several Cadet and Regiment camps when I had to,like my colleagues from Kolij and Lodge sleep on the ‘ground’ on a plastic or rubber sheet with no pillow at Fortescue and at Walkers and in the church lads Brigade camps sleeping on the ‘ground’ on the field at Codrington College and Silver Sands.If Lowe trying to justify the 5 million dollar in his mother’s piggy bank account,don’t try to pin it on sleeping on the floor.Man up and pay it back into the consolidated fund.You wimp.
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Visa Waiver Agreement Takes Effect
Effective today, Thursday, June 1, citizens of Barbados and the People’s Republic of China, can now enter each other’s territory freely with an ordinary passport and no entry visa.
The Visa Waiver Agreement, which was signed on March 24 this year, allows citizens holding ordinary passports of both countries to travel visa free for a period of 30 days.
Since the signing, both countries have completed the technical and administrative procedures necessary to implement the agreement, allowing citizens to now take full advantage.
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The older Owen Arthur gets the more stupid he is becoming.
This is the same stupid man who a few years ago said that when he came to power as they like to call it, he found that the IMF had an office in Govt. headquarters and he chased out because whatever problems Barbados had , Barbadians could fix them.
Now he is saying go to the IMF.
A real nuisance. The only bigger idiot than him is MIA AMOR MOTTLEY.
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GO TO THE IMF
RUBBISH. This sounds like the same “advice” which he gave to the Jamaican Govt. many years ago. And to this day nearly 40 years later the Jamaica Govt. cant not get out of the IMF stand by arrangement.
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Dont remember any of the leaning BLP reporters on talk radio ever asking MIA if she would take advice of taking barbados to the IMF if she became PM or is that some kind of a top secret that should only be shared with the public if she should win,
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IMF Official Describes St. Kitts and Nevis’ Growth Performance as …
https://www.investstkitts.kn/imf-official-describes-st-kitts-and-nevis-growth-performa…
May 5, 2017 – KITTS, MAY 5TH, 2017 (PRESS SEC) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commends St. Kitts and Nevis’ strong economic performance … -
St. Kitts and Nevis population < 60,000.
Area 100 sq. miles
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angela Skeete June 2, 2017 at 5:13 PM
EXCELLENT
Let these Jokers including Seetru Arthur know what the IMF does to countries.
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We need AC back at least the commentary had some substance then this Carson C. Cadogan yardfowl!
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As the young people would say, THE DLP POP DOWN!!
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VOTE DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY
All you jokers on BU living in Barbados need to make sure that your information with the ECB is correct and up to date.
Those of you writing from Mars, Moon, or Timbuktu this does not apply to you as nothing you say makes a difference.
THE PARTY THAT TOOK BARBADOS FROM A VILLAGE TO A NATION.
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Carson
From a village to a Nation and back poverty AGAIN, that the DLP.
$500M in taxes in 9 months = $1,850,000.00 taken from the citizens for each and every day of the next 9 months.Solution: GET THEM OUT EARLY
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Hants
Our size and pop is closer to SKB than JCA.
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GETOUT EARlY
No matter how early or late they go. Them bills still got to be paid. The Barbados economy was hoodwinked by the BLP lead by OSA.voodoo economics fueled the economy and fooled the people .Now it is time to pay the piper.The piper demands their money be paid by any means necessary
The question the blp yardfowls ought to ask Mia how does she plan on paying the piper -
Armando Rodriguez June 2, 2017 at 6:45 PM
“From a village to a Nation and back poverty AGAIN”
Ask MIA AMOR MOTTLEY if she is living any worst than in 2007.
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@ Carson C. CadoganJune 2, 2017 at 4:24 PM
“The older Owen Arthur gets the more stupid he is becoming.
This is the same stupid man who a few years ago said that when he came to power as they like to call it, he found that the IMF had an office in Govt. headquarters and he chased out because whatever problems Barbados had , Barbadians could fix them.”Carrion, yes it is ‘See-thru OSA’ the “same stupid man” whom the same numeracy-challenged stinking liar begged to take on the role as head of the National Economic Council.
It seems the talk-shop council has now become ‘so excessively’ superfluous that it should be one of the first non-performing blighted appendages to be disbanded as part of the public sector restructuring process to improve national productivity.
Yes the same Arthur who foolishly raised to his electoral demise the proposal of a planned programme of privatization and divestment which Fumble and his goons has now commandeered, through sheer economic survival and to which you and ac the demonic angela Skeete are now ‘stricken’ disciples.
What can you say of a fool who in the most simpleton of fashion admits that imposing additional burdensome taxation would have recessionary and contractual effects on the economy whose primary tax collection efforts are based on the ‘buying-and-selling kind of transactional activities?
Wouldn’t such depressingly punishing tax impositions remove disposable income from the spending waters in which the VAT fishing net is thrown?
Why make an already downward spiraling situation worse by imposing heavier weights to sink the economy further into deep uncharted water?
Isn’t Stinkliar, the unique ‘incomparable’ MoF, nothing more than the equivalent of a quack doctor recommending tobacco smoking to a man with a bad case of tuberculosis?
Now look what the administration of the financial affairs of Barbados have come to!
Nothing more than a pappyshow with a black gorilla of a fool pretending to be the chancellor of the exchequer in a fast ripening banana republic!
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“Visa Waiver Agreement Takes Effect
Effective today, Thursday, June 1, citizens of Barbados and the People’s Republic of China, can now enter each other’s territory freely with an ordinary passport and no entry visa.”
Wondering if this is a good thing. With a population of 1.4 billion versus 270, 000 and the number of super wealthy chinese, this could turn into a nightmare if thousands of chinese take advantage of this waiver. People overstaying the 30 day period; sale of passports; citizenship by investment etc.
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@millertheanunnaki June 2, 2017 at 7:18 PM #
“What can you say of a fool who in the most simpleton of fashion admits that imposing additional burdensome taxation would have recessionary and contractual effects on the economy whose primary tax collection efforts are based on the ‘buying-and-selling kind of transactional activities?”
…………………………………………………………….And did he not say, Miller that the economy will still grow?
Unbelievable that such a person could be a minister of finance!
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Unbelievable that such a person could be a minister of finance!
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Boss…
What is unbelievable is that such a person is not under psychiatric care…Standing up in public and lying over and over and over again… and then ranting and raving as he did last night must SURELY alert someone who cares about him that he needs help….
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@Carson C. Cadogan June 2, 2017 at 8:20 AM “Just remember “the jockey has become too heavy for the horse.”
How about getting a bigger stronger horse then, instead of looking ’bout for a lil peeny, bony jockey?
You don’t get tired of defending foolishness?
Stupssseee!!!
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LOL @ Simple Simon
Bushie was here wondering what that ZR would get you home to do your summary of the days blogging…
Hope you and that driver not finding reasons to drag…. 🙂 -
I like to follow the KISS rule, and I doan mean wid de ZR man.
But I just couldn’t let the Prime Minister’s too big jockey nonsense go unchallenged.
Lemme go and hug up my good hard working ZR man. He deserves it.
Which is more that I can say for nuff nuff ‘o dem who sit in the big House.
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Spend nigh ten years starving out the damn horse, and then have the nerve to complain that the jockey too big?
I leave the hifaluting talk to others.
I believe in getting straight to the point.
If our politicians worked half as hard as our ZR men we would not now be in this shite.
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