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Prime Minister Mia Mottley Releases IMF Staff Report Promised

The report has no surprises, it confirms that the Barbados economy is in a poor condition and deserved to have received greater airplay on the just concluded political campaign trail . – David, blogmaster

Earlier this afternoon,  Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley met with her economic team, the Governor of the Central Bank and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to receive a briefing on the economic challenges facing the Barbados economy.

Following the meeting, the Prime Minister authorised the release of the Barbados Staff Report for the 2017 Article IV consultation prepared by the International Monetary Fund.  Click here to download the report.

151 responses to “Prime Minister Mia Mottley Releases IMF Staff Report Promised”

  1. 45govt Avatar
    45govt

    I missed the headinG “INNATE CORRUPTION AND OVERMANNING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR”

  2. Fractured BLP Avatar
    Fractured BLP

    Well one day on the job

    Madam PM has had 7 press conferences already but she aint tell the press she start firing people already.

    Heard she already fired the the debt reprofiling people who the DLP had working along with the Central Bank of Barbados staff.

    Wasn’t Debt Profiling a promise of the BLP ???

    With this alleged first day firing

    Madam PM has just signed her first EXECUTIVE ORDER !!

    Welcome……..Ma TRUMP !!!!

  3. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Let’s hope that so-called ‘economic’ team is not the same one from a few days ago.

    The DLP lost the economic debate, in the minds of the people, at this moment

    That does not say that the BLP won it

    Hope this PM will have the good sense to do the right thing, early!

  4. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Fractured…hope ya got enough sleep..

    No sensible new government would keep the same destructive forces in place to sabotage change, if it is change that is necessary, you do not keep those around who fought change for 10 years.

    If nothing else Mia needs rope, how she uses it is another matter.

  5. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Mia already has rope ..the huge promises of give aways
    All wait and see how she uses that rope to find the necessary funding for these give away
    Free education
    Tax breaks
    Increase wage for civil servants
    Fix sewage problem
    Increase in pensions
    Pay down the debt
    Improve transportation service
    Improve Sanitation
    Pay external and internal debt

  6. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Boy amm i looking forward to this new change of economic prosperity fueled by a past policy of vodoo economics
    Oh btw energy prices world wide are soaring barbadians can also factor that into the price change which will lead to higher prices at the gas pump along with the proposed increase set out in the Blp manifesto when the NSRL is removed
    Interesting times ahead

  7. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Is it a reasonable thing to assume Mottley is to be addressed as ‘madam’

    Is that good advisement? Would she be encouraging such?

    What are the possibilities that she would prefer Mister Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley?

    A tradition started by the Pharaoh, Hatshepsut, 1507 – 1457 BC

  8. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Aren’t the males not addressed as PM this and that…even after they have long been released from the people’s parliament…no need to change now, the only change we want to see is the new PM keeping her word to the people…

    As we can see, yardfowls will never forgive them for the humiliation of May 25th 1018…a history making day of massive proportions…they will be watched consistently for payback…which eases the pressure on us…lol…so what’s in a name when those types of dynamics are all now in play.

    The accompanying theatre will be priceless.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    Here is a recommendation for you- read the IMF report. Educate yourself. Inform your narrative. The DLP suffered a humiliating defeat because it did not listen to the people and it failed to deliver.

  10. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Gotta get this date right, it is too important for errors.

    As we can see, yardfowls will never forgive them for the humiliation of May 25th 2018.

  11. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    In reality yes…the people stripped the exgovernment as they rightfully deserved, but…they will never blame the same people/population who they now need to reassemble a political party again if there is any hope left, though slim to nonexistent today, for them to be returned as a government, even they know that, so the brunt of blaming will fall on the new government, now seen as the bane of all their self created troubles.

    Oh the IMF report will be read, soon come before the day is done, when reading the information must be digested, disseminated and analyzed.

  12. David Avatar
    David

    For those who do not like to read here here the 9 headings to give context to the IMF Staff report:

    1. Barbados is contending with large fiscal deficits, high debt, and low

      reserves.
    2. The economy is slowing in response to a large fiscal adjustment and weak confidence.
    3. Notwithstanding a narrowing in the current account balance, reserves continue to

      fall.
    4. Fiscal performance improved but the deficit remains large and the debt is high.
    5. The government embarked on an ambitious fiscal consolidation but it is likely to fall

      short of its objective.
    6. Reforms of SOEs have stalled, partially reflecting weaknesses in the oversight

      framework.
    7. Financing challenges intensified with the decline in funding from official creditors and commercial banks.
    8. Financial soundness indicators suggest a healthy banking system despite weak credit

      growth.
    9. The political discourse around economic issues intensified.
  13. racehrse Avatar
    racehrse

    Is AC resurrected as Mariposa? At least MM will be her own minister of finance, unlike the former PM who probably failed math!

  14. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Well Well

    This is not the first, and will not be the last ‘humiliation’

    1961, 1976, 1986, 1994,1999, 2003, 2018. That’s a lot!

    Barbados has a rich political history of humiliation.

    David will say whether we got any wrong. However, this is the largest, by a country mile. But it is consistent with a well-established pattern.

    The system was always in danger of producing a constitutional crisis, as we forecasted.

    Were roles reversed, the BLP would have been defeated similarly. This may happen next time, absent a miracle!

    The 1986 ‘humiliation’ spawned the NDP

    It will be a massive job to keep this 30 together for the full term.

    Events will ensue with the potential of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. Be careful

  15. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    “Were roles reversed, the BLP would have been defeated similarly. This may happen next time, absent a miracle!

    Events will ensue with the potential of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. Be careful.”

    Exactly….it is as clear as day.

  16. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    Barbados needs a full-scale purge amongst the judges, bureaucrats and other civil servants. Barbados is highly overpopulated and lots of civil servants need to go, best emigration to the banana plantations in Costa Rica or into the gold mines in Guyana. The present number of hotels and offshore vehicles cannot nourish so many.

    Fractured, Mariposa, I have a job for you in my residence to clean the water tank, also the garden needs some touch. Working conditions: Mo-Sat 6 AM to 6 PM, 1 USD per hour. Welcome to the plantation!

  17. Tee White Avatar
    Tee White

    In having a serious discussion about our economy, Bajans need to amalyse it in its totality. We need to clearly understand how the BD$ 10 billion worth of value created in the economy is produced and claimed. The economy is much more than just the government’s finances. We should be aware that the IMF carries out its analysis of the Bajan economy from a neo-liberal point of view, in which the interests of the owners of capital and debt are sacrosanct while the interests of the Bajan workers who create all the value in the economy can be easily dismissed.

    In the first instance, the IMF report focuses on the government’s finances and not on a comprehensive picture of the economy. The government’s revenue accounts for under 30% of our country’s GDP. How can we have a proper understanding of our economy and the options we face by ignoring 70% of it? In addition, the unspoken positions of the IMF jump out from its analysis. On pages 4 and 5, the authors state that debt servicing drove the deterioration in the financial accounts but put forward no proposals on directly stemming the debt payments, such as a moratorium on debt payment, an audit of the debt to see if any of it might be odious and hence due for cancellation etc. The debt is presented as something sacrosanct that cannot be touched but which must be the priority payment from the government’s budget.

    Instead, the IMF goes after its usual targets; the working class and the poor. To address the fiscal deficit, the IMF’s proposals include cuttting public sector pensions, reducing transfers to state owned enterprises and containing the wage bill (Page 11). Bajans would do well to carefully study the experience of Greece to get an idea of the social cost of these euphemistically worded proposals. Against this analysis of doom and gloom, which according to the IMF requires a broad attack on the standard of living of ordinary Bajans, the IMF report declares on Page 4 that “tourism continues to do well”. Bajans should ask themselves how it is possible that a sector of the economy which is estimated to contribute indirectly to 40% of the country’s GDP cold be doing well but such harsh measures against the people of Barbados are justified. On page 13, the IMF themselves acknowledge that their proposals would ‘initially adversely affect growth’. So you complain that the economy is in trouble but your proposals are likely to further harm growth?

    A further give away of the attitude of the IMF authors towards the people of Barbados is their constant comparison to what they term as regional standards. This is another euphemistic term to signify that Bajans belong to the second category of human beings, like the other people in the Caribbean. We have no right to demand a decent standard of living fit for the 21st century like any other human being on this planet regardless of the country they live in. To the IMF we deserve only what is fit for the second class human beings. We have got above our station in life and will need to be put back in our place. Bajans need to get involved in studying and understanding our economy so that we don’t allow people to take advantage of us.

  18. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Well I have read the IMF report with clarity which indicates that the blp plan is not in synce with reality for the economy
    The election is over results accepted moving forward into the reality of the new phase of a blp govt whose plans and reccomendations confounds and confuse .
    The blp supporters in the early phase of a new govt would now prefer to runaway from the plans

  19. 45govt Avatar
    45govt

    What is this, a losers’ yardfowl convention?

  20. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @Tee White

    “neo-liberal point of view”: The problem is that 95 % of all Barbadians are socialists who do not value freedom but a free ride for school, meals, UWI. If you look at the many restrictions in this tiny economy (on forex, duties etc pp), you soon figure out that Barbados economy is closer to Venezuela than to developed countries.

    “experience of Greece”: Greece is simply a society like Barbados. Unwilling for any true reform in the public service.

    “Bajans should ask themselves how it is possible that a sector of the economy which is estimated to contribute indirectly to 40% of the country’s GDP cold be doing well but such harsh measures against the people of Barbados are justified.”
    Most of the money of the tourist sector never reaches Barbados thanks to many grand tax concessions.

    “further harm growth”: means to cut down the bloated civil service which sucks the island since independence.

    Barbadians are no second class citizens LIKE the rest of the Caribbean as you claim. In fact, the people in most other Caribbean nations and territories simply work harder and longer than Barbadians who are used to come to work at 9 AM and leave 3 PM plus 2 hours break between.

    Ask yourself why Singapore is on the top and Barbados down.

  21. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    A first read of key issues shows what we have been saying on here all along..

    Though the exgovernment lived to disagree with IMF..they rushed headlong to have a fire sale of taxpayer owned assets…dumb to say the least..you do not sell state assets when that desperate…..when ya dont know how to negotiate sales to benefit the people.

    “Further delays in privatization will lead to a continued decline in …….”

    We already said the tax base MUST be broadened to increase revenue collection …..read….MORE BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES….many, many more.

    “broadening the tax base while increasing the overall progressivity of taxation.

    Strengthening the business climate and competitiveness would support economic growth.

    Eliminating reliance on the Central Bank financing of the government deficit would make monetary policy consistent with maintaining the peg.

    Authorities’ views. The authorities broadly agree with the staff as…..”

    This report must be read and understood in its entirety, quick reads without comprehension skills will not solve the island’s problems.

  22. David Avatar
    David

    @Tee White

    Appreciate your push to have us include a wholistic look at the situation. What are some of the options a new government should consider? Clearly the DLP failed in their several attempts.

  23. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Mia’s government has no choice but to stop enabling the few in the business community into believing they are the only ones should have a monopoly on big business…the tax net has to be widened significantly, more job creation in the population, at least 2 thousand more black owned businesses with the ability to spread through the Caribbean and beyond….tax generation…

    .., as things stand the current decades old, insular business climate and practices are stagnating and counter productive to the people’s progress….preventing the island’s economic recovery and growth. ..we did not need the IMF to tell us that.

  24. David Avatar
    David

    The blogmaster’s high level position is that it is one economy, one sectoc- it is BS to be engaging in public sector versus private sector vitriol anad vice versa. MAM has indicated she will add NGOs and attempt to breath life back into the social partnership. We will see how she fares with it. Jamaica has added to the social partnership Barbados introduced to good effect.

  25. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Everything IMF said in the report does not have to be followed to the letter, use your own initiative, intelligence and skills instead.. using .those natural talents produces greatness and success.

  26. Fractured BLP Avatar
    Fractured BLP

    “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” is the best known quotation of the 19th century British politician Lord Acton. He borrowed the idea from several other writers who had previously expressed the same thought in different words”.

    All Bees and Dems on this BU blog and indeed all Barbadians need not ” FEAR ” the 30 – 0 General Elections 2018 results !!

    All we need to do is compare the examples of ” ABSOLUTE POWER ” exhibited by the following persons, before they became leaders of their respective countries:

    • Donald Trump never paid his taxes !

    • Mia Mottley admitted in Parliament that her company is always in arrears to the Crown for taxes !!

    An example of the POWER to flout their country’s LAWS !!

    • Donald Trump bragged about GRABBING women . . . . IES !!

    • Mia Mottley has experience in BITING women . . . . IES !!

    An example of the POWER to violate one’s PERSON !!!

    • Donald Trump promises to build a WALL between Mexico 🇲🇽 and the USA 🇺🇸 !!

    • Mia Mottley promises to build 3 ISLANDS 🌴 off BARBADOS 🇧🇧 !!

    An example of the POWER to excite the minds of the NAIVE amongst them !!!

    So while the USA 🇺🇸 have DONALD TRUMP for 2 more years !!!

    Barbadians are , this morning, welcoming MA TRUMP …….for God knows …..how many years ????

    Stay AWAKE…..BARBADIANS !!!

    ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY !!!

  27. Tee White Avatar
    Tee White

    Given that the current debt is estimated by the IMF to be just under BD$14 billion, can anyone point me to a data source which would provide a breakdown of:

    What money was borrowed when, from whom and by whom?
    What the money from each loan was used for?
    How much principal and interest have been repaid on each loan?
    How much is outstanding on each loan?

  28. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    There is nothing wrong with breathing life into anything or showing the private sector the error of their ways….but while doing so…..increase black owned businesses ….to generate tax revenue….it is to the benefit of the economy and country….individuals and families….

    The decades old wrong mentality that only certain people on the island can succeed in business while all others must be marginalized and sidelined or that only certain families should pass on businesses generationally….has not worked out….it is based on the selfish westminister system of only the few can succeed while everyone else is suppressed….it is oppressive.

    Widen and broaden horizons for everyone…it is called FREE ENTERPRISE which is alien to Barbados because of narrowminded governments.

    Venezuela does indeed have that same problem of stagnating socialism…which is selfishness in disguise.

    The US has many many issues…but allowing free enterprise to flourish is one of the more positive ones….

  29. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David

    Really, is Jamaica to be a model now?

    We are aware that the civil servants have not had a raise for a long time.

    These unending demands cannot be the way of the future

    We would prefer job retention in the short term, then!

    More urgent priorities should take precedence.

  30. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @David
    MAM has indicated she will add NGOs and attempt to breath life back into the social partnership
    +++++++++++
    Isn’t this “social partnership” over used? The social partnership under Owen included the old BS&T group which is now in the hands of T & T. They may signal their intentions to play their part but the ultimate decision makers are elsewhere and the bottom line will be the only thing that counts. Owen was able to play to the patriotism of the Bajans who were formerly in control and they relinquished certain benefits in the name of the country, if current attitudes of the T & T group prevail of I don’t see it happening now.

  31. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Pacha…I am reading the report in increments…most of it can be ignored and even better ideas generated to benefit so tiny an island…government ministers need to start using their own instincts, skills set and initiatives, those are free and wont cost the island a dime.

    I may be wrong, but Mia strikes me as a female with sharp instincts….which she can now be put to good use as she has yearned for so many decades…again I give her the benefit of the doubt.

  32. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Again I revert to the modern day entrepreneurs who are computer programmers…they are many others with other careers….and who generate taxes in the billions of dollars…annually.

    I repeat. ..the island had the opportunity in 2010 when they had over 50 exhibition/scholars….who, if they had been treated well…would have singlehandedly rescued the islands economy….but because of a backward government…that was a unique opportunity and very wide tax base that was lost….to other countries.

  33. Doc Martin Avatar
    Doc Martin

    @David May 26, 2018 7:36 AM

    An injunction much needed if we are going to rescue this discussion from the yardfowls who still think that a particular party will solve our problems. “There is none so blind as he who cannot [or want to] see”.

    We also need to rescue it from those who are so accustomed to waddling in mental sewage that even when you offer them the opportunity of an “intellectual bath”, accompanied by Oil of Olay, will cringe at the thought of coming out of the “sewer” and having the dead skin of idiocy and irrelevance removed.

  34. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Mariposa and Fractured still haven’t learn. That attitude is the reason for the empty Opposition benches.

  35. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Well Well

    Maybe, she is new to you – MAM

    They are others who know her personally, over many years, seeming to have a different view.

    We both have an up-front seat, let’s see. I have to give her a chance to see how she responds to present problems. Within 3 months we’ll have a firm idea.

    Our own instincts, are that the people of Barbados expect that which is impossible. And they want it now. A lot of irrational promises have been made.

    And there will be an attempt to massively ‘taper’ the promises, over time, but beginning immediately.

    That could normalize the political pendulum.

    As far as these kinds of IMF reports are concerned

    We’ve read so much of these that we feel just a look at the introduction is enough to know the whole thing. These are fairly standard. There’s nothing outside the norm, unexpected, given the known circumstances.

    In any event this is ancient history. We should focus on immediate conditions, today’s position, and the future.

  36. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    As a matter of fact, one such scholar said to me only yesterday, if Mia keeps her promise about the taxes, they will shift their taxes to Barbados…because it is an option.

    Being a scholar herself….Mia should be able to understand the implications of such a move × by thousands of likeminded bajans generating huge incomes offshore.

    Enuff….yall are welcome.

  37. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    “They are others who know her personally, over many years, seeming to have a different view.”

    Well she certainly did not have a destroyed DLP riding her ass before….or the blogs to monitor her and give her assistance so she dont fall into the same trap or worse. as DLP….and bury her if she does.

    ” In any event this is ancient history. We should focus on immediate conditions, today’s position, and the future.”

    And that is exactly what Mia should stay totally focused on..

    I have a lot of rope to give,

  38. Tee White Avatar
    Tee White

    @ David
    In terms of government responses to the current situation, I think we need a clear picture of the state of the economy in order to be able to judge our options. There are many areas of concern that I think will need to be addressed.

    In the wider economy we need a clearer picture of what is happening with that other 70% of GDP. How much is ending up as wages and salaries and how much is ending up as profits and interest to private interests? Once we have this data, we can have a discussion with Bajans about the options. These might include temporary cancellation of tax concessions in the tourist sector, imposing special taxes where it appears that some people are taking excessive amounts out of the economy etc.

    With regard to government spending, we need extreme transparency on this. Secrecy with regard to spending of public money creates an environment for corruption. I have been trying without success for the last couple of years to find out a simple question as to whether the Barbados government makes any payments to airlines under a guaranteed revenue agreement and if so to which airlines and how much to each. And of course there are the numerous examples of corrupt business deals between politicains and members of the local and foreign elites.

    You are absolutely correct that the so-called private sector versus the public sector is nonsense but at the same time we have the problem in the public sector of the appointment of people based on their political affiliation rather than their competence. In the private sector, there is the equivalent of appointing people on the basis of who you know and particularly in the tourist sector, there is the problem of bringing in foreign employees on a racist basis.

    Like other commentators on here, I agree that the IMF proposals on continued privatisation are senseless as once you’ve sold these assets you can’t sell them again. We need to look at boosting local production and not only in tourism. For example, we should be looking at supporting small businesses and co-operatives to set up and survive. I find it odd that we have a course training young people to get involved in agriculture and when they qualify we send them to Canada as migrant agricultural workers, instead of helping them set up co-operatives here, giving them access to land and supporting them to produce for the local market.

    There are many more ideas that we can flesh out and I’m sure that others can offer but I think at the moment the key thing is to get accurate information about the workings of the entire economy, including the government’s finances, and to agree that the aim of the economy cannot continue to be to meet the interests of the local and foreign elites but has to be reconfigured to meet the needs of ordinary Bajans for a decent 21st century standard of living which incorporates social justice.

  39. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Lmao, well well you know naffin bout me.🤫🤣🤣

  40. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Well Well

    Politics are not so based.

    Remember, that a lot of DLP people voted BLP.

    That means even more pressure to keep promises.

    In politics 7 days is an eternity.

  41. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Those who are trying to twist everything into unidentifiable knots, when it is more practical and prudent to blend it all into identifying the basics, then applying as required to the economy……thereby making positive changes to benefit the population as a whole….will remain the stagnating forces on the island, they are still trying to keep a dead system in place…while the majority population is surging ahead…

    Those still living in the 17th century….will be trampled…as they deserve..

  42. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Likely ministers?

  43. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    Enuff…ya know I can’t resist.

    Pacha. ..ah know, even more pressure for Mia to perform and keep her ministers and fellow lawyers in line….the voters will be merciless. …as they should be and should have been for decadew, but it fell into place anyway.

  44. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    “These might include temporary cancellation of tax concessions in the tourist sector, imposing special taxes where it appears that some people are taking excessive amounts out of the economy etc.”

    For 5 years …cancel concessions, let the hoteliers earn it, review in 5 years, see how their products benefitted the island and people…before returning 5 years concession…which should be given in increments based on performance….read, income generated. ON the island.

  45. Firuz Avatar
    Firuz

    Deaf, Dogmatic, Dishonest, Decietful, Debt, Decay etc. etc. That’s what the D in DLP came to mean.

    IMF report is best suited as an Ice breaker to start the conversation on rebuilding and expanding the economy. This is one time that all Barbadians should be involved in the discussion in a positive and constuctive way. But if they are some, who still hurting from the defeat lash out…..resist the urge to hit back. What they really need is an embrace even if they are covered in shit. Realize that some of them are terrified at this moment, and fear makes people do very stupid things.

  46. Doc Martin Avatar
    Doc Martin

    @Tee White: May 26, 2018 8:24 AM

    Like David, I appreciate your attempts to raise the level of the debate. Just a note of warning though. You keep accusing the IMF of prejudice, ill will etc. Yes the IMF prescriptions if / when followed slavishly, can do/have done unspeakable harm to many countries. However, I am concerned that you are obfuscating the discussion with your own philosophically polarized views:
    +++++
    A further give away of the attitude of the IMF authors towards the people of Barbados…This is another euphemistic term to signify that Bajans belong to the second category of human beings, like the other people in the Caribbean.
    +++++
    How on earth can you read this charge into the IMF reports? I read it and I don’t see that! Do you really think that the technical staff at the IMF hate Bajans? Or Jamaicans? For what reason? Come on! The truth is that you already have taken the position that the IMF is “bad” and therefore, that colours your interpretation. In psychology we call this “stereotyping”. Elsewhere I called it “labelling”.

    Let’s think for a minute. If a company asked you to do a review of its marketing strategy and you said in your summary report: “The current marketing efforts lack focus and therefore, the company is unlikely to achieve the market share objective…” would you expect them to argue that you are biased, don’t like the people working in the company or the managers? This would be nonsense! On the other hand, what should be the company’s response? Should they even pay you?

    This labelling thing (whether you are B or D, left or right) and used for this purpose (obfuscating the facts) is foolishness. This is why we can’t get out of the rut we are in!

    Compared to others on this blog, I think you have much to offer…if you just deal with the objective facts and figures. But remember: “If all you have is a hammer, then everything seems like a nail!

  47. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    No one has to follow IMF blue print, I agree with Tee White….do your own research as a government, identify the immediate issues that are threats, follow your instincts , apply skills, knowledge, intelligence and experience….negotiate with IMF, only if you must to benefit the island and everyone in it.

  48. Well Well & Cut N' Paste At Your Service Avatar
    Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service

    I must mention that it always appear to be persons on the blog intent on keeping the majority population in Barbados permanently oppressed, either by force of habit, reflex or the usual evil intent wrapped in selfishness and greed….resist that shit.

  49. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Skills
    Lawyers: PM Mottley, AG Marshall, Toppin, Bradshaw, Holder, Hinkson, Symmonds, Payne, Abrahams, Thorne
    Economists: Caddle, Straughn
    Pastors: Atherley
    Educators: Clarke, Forde[C], King
    Printers: Prescod
    Engineers: Sutherland
    Doctors/Dentists: Duguid, Browne
    Travel Agents: Weir
    Soldiers: Bostic
    Unsure: Gooding-Edghill, Rowe, Humphrey, Phillips, Husbands, Griffith, Forde[A], Jordan

  50. David Avatar
    David

    @Doc Martin

    On an open platform like BU and others in social media views from the dull and the intelligent will contend. The skill- like the panhandler- is to filter the gold from the silt, split the signal from the noise. In this regard the scroll/delete button is an asset.

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