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Does White Oak Have a Plan B?

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The Mia Mottley government forced a debt restructure on locals holding bonds. The government boasted about the speed it was completed although truth be told it was a Hobson’s choice.

On the other side of the debt restructuring transactions the external bond holders have so far been nettlesome at the negotiating table. Approaching 18 months and there appears to be a stalemate in the negotiation. The Mia Mottley government has been unable to deliver on a promise that the debt restructure transaction would have been closed by now.

Senior members of the BU family have taken umbrage to a recent comment by one of the government’s financial advisors Avinash Persaud.  Here is a pertinent quote.

What we have been trying to do is to get the best deal possible for Barbados, which means that it can’t be the quickest deal possible. If you play poker do you fold early? If you don’t need to borrow for four years you have a good hand. So, we are following the right strategy – No backing down

The blogmaster must agree at the idiocy of the statement when viewed through the eyes of a good poker player.  A good poker player will fold based on the game situation. It does not have one Rh to do with early or late in the game.

The blogmaster appreciates there is an element of table craft that will be exercised by actors sitting around a negotiating table. One must however critique the judgement of Persaud to feel embolden to have issued such a statement at this juncture in the negotiation.

Despite a bevy of officials recruited by the government with job descriptions to cover finance, communications, public relations and media liaison –  the public is left to speculate as to the current state of negotiations with the external debt restructure transaction.

Given the perilous state of the Barbados economy and the time it is taking to close the debt restructure deal with external creditors – the more aware citizens excluding the yard fowl variety – have started to examine the increasing downside risks threatening the Barbados recovery program. The blogmaster counts himself among those who is now very concerned that the high price White Oaks team has been unable to resolve the wedge issues.

It is time to go to plan B.

Do we have a plan B?

 

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322 responses to “Does White Oak Have a Plan B?”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    @fortyacresandamule

    To what extent is Grenada success feathered by being a member of the OECS you think?

  2. John A Avatar
    John A

    @William

    That is a good question for 2019 to ask. I would of said in the 60s or 70s they might of been a clearly defined capital class, when funding might of been hard to find by some. The things is though with billions in the banking system now owned by the everyday man that has changed. Also we have to remember the credit unions too are awash with money as well, which nobody seems to want to borrow except to buy cars.

    I would today refer to it as those willing to risk capital in ventures and those not. The nots are the ones who will leave the money on the bank even if no interest was being paid. The others depending on what they can afford to lose, may venture into businesses.

    I remember once talking to an Indian business man who had done well for himself and family. He said to me that he told his children that anytime they resorted to putting money on the bank, they have failed as an entrepreneur. The comment was harsh maybe but his point was put the money you have to work for you, as the day may come when you want to retire and stop working for it.

    We really need to teach risk taking vs return to our younger people and encourage them to venture into business. If they fail at first don’t condemn them but encourage them to try again. Gone are the days we can turn to government or insurance companies to feather our retirement.

  3. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    @Theo re your 12:08 pm post. Thanks. To all the persons out there who believe that I should no exercise my freedom of speech, I must quote James Baldwin, substituting Bim for America. ‘I love Bim more than any other country in this world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.’

  4. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    HEATHER DEAR

    BY ALL MEANS EXERCISE YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH
    YOUR PROSE IS BEAUTIFUL

    PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT WE ALSO love Bim more than any other country in this world, and exactly for this reason, WE insist on the right to criticize her perpetually AND PERENNIALLY.’

    WHEN YOU START TO LICK DOWN DE WALLS GEORGIE WILL BE THERE TO HELP

    THERE IS NOTHING I LOVE MORE THAN LICKING DOWN WALLS

  5. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    We seem quite comfortable analyzing the black political class and there are some calling for the services to the most vulnerable to be discontinued.
    I am saying that we have a parasitic local capitalist class that is to all intents and purposes untouchable.
    How can can we even make a single step forward without looking at all sectors.
    This is not throwing out the good to be perfect. This is about truth and the importance of holding all sectors accountable.
    The last time I checked one billion in foreign money is equivalent to two billion in local currency. You and others seemed convinced that the local traditional corporate sector should not be put under serious scrutiny.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    If you are a student of Chomsky you would not be in the dark why there will always be tension between the haves and the haves nots:

  7. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    You and others seemed convinced that the local traditional corporate sector should not be put under serious scrutiny (Quote)

    Evidence, or are you just misrepresenting my expressed views?

  8. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ fortyacresandamule July 27, 2019 3:22 PM

    How you tell the tale of Grenada’s suffering shows all too clearly that the small pepper islands in the Caribbean are not viable as independent states. Barbados is now going through the third IMF programme (+ 1 indirect IMF programme with the CS credit 2013).

    This will not be the last IMF programme. Due to the disastrous history we should prepare ourselves for a future where the finances of Barbados will collapse every 10 years and a new programme will be needed.

    If we had a world government (I am a great supporter of globalism), Barbados would have been under international administration long ago, because the locals simply can’t get it right. But we can’t just dump this failure on the local culture, but should simply admit that due to numerous external factors it is very difficult to manage a small island in nowhere for a long time without bankruptcy.

  9. fortyacresandamule Avatar
    fortyacresandamule

    @David. I don’t think being part of the OECD has anything to do directly with Grenada’s success apart from being a member of a single monetary and custom union.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    @fortyacres

    Your comment appears to be a contradiction.

  11. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    You started off by advising me not to condemn the good to be perfect. You then went on to describe the white merchant class as failures and then suggested that blacks are afraid of entrepreneurship. I consider that to be grossly inaccurate. There are many successful black businesses and persons. They have always been despite the obstacles of the financial institutions etc.
    You suggest that a white merchant class that still controls a disproportionate amount of the real wealth as failures. You call them failures; I call them parasites.
    You then stated that the Trinidadians bought out Barbados. I say that Barbados was sold out by the greedy corporate elites.
    The Trinidadians first got their feet in when Trinidad was booming and our residential real estate was stagnant. Trinidad had an excess of cash. In many instances the crime in Trinidad was already increasing and they saw Barbados as a safe place to invest in houses and some medium size businesses mainly in tourism. This trend goes back over thirty years.
    The traditional corporate sector started to court Trinidadian investors back then and it then culminated years later with the sale of BST which once controlled the entire economy.
    It was not an attempt to misrepresent your submission. I tend to deal with historical truths. Many people do not know that the same BST at one point controlled almost all the plantations in the island. They controlled the retail import trade. They had controlling interest in all the distributive trade. They were in the hotel industry.
    They sold out Barbados my Brother.

  12. fortyacresandamule Avatar
    fortyacresandamule

    @David. Let me be more clearer.The point I was getting at is, despite the fact that Grenada is part of OECS, that has nothing to do with their success of late. If that were the case, other members within the group would have enjoyed similar success. It is no easy feat especially, for a small island, to average over 4% real GDP growth annually for over 6 year considering it is not starting from a low base.

    And what is driving this growth you might ask ? Did Grenada find oil? Nope. However, they claimed to have gas offshore in commercial quantity.Grenda growth rate is due to: increase private education investment (this account for 19% of GDP), increase in tourism arrival (both cruise and stop over), expansion in construction activities , and an increase in household consumption.

  13. David Avatar
    David

    Their HDI also tells a story. It moved from 146 in 2014 to 75 in 2017.

  14. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    “By Thursday, hundreds of families “unfaired” by the Urban Development Commission (UDC), will have their properties returned”

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/240933/deeds-returned

  15. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    With Grenada economic growth rate on the rise one would think that the rise would have a big impact on the daily economic lives of the people
    However the country stability has not been sufficient and enough to remove the punishing effect of high prices that impact the people lives across the country
    The economic progress only details govt policies which have helped to bring the country GDP to.palpable levels while the people of Grenada suffer the punishing effects
    For e.g the cost of living is a tale of worrisome yet to be measure in cost and positive progress for the people
    https://www.goatsontheroad.com/cost-living-grenada/

  16. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Sir William Skinner

    4:56 and again 5:23

    This is the deeply-rooted analysis befitting of a man of your caliber. And they ask why a knighthood was so bestowed. LOL

    For only the most perverse self hatred could prevent those who see themselves as intelligent from carrying these analyses to their logical conclusions.

    Enter the guillotine!

    For we are afraid that your professorial admonitions will not make it through the viscera of a calcified brain whose primary function is the protection of Whiteness from all slings and arrows, coming from all quarters.

    Such an end-stage brain can do nothing more than blame the victims of international White imperialism, but go no further.

  17. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    I am always at lost how international economist pushing their agenda with an analytical perspective which highlight how well a country progress relevant to GDP is doing but stay clear on how the people lives are being impacted by the these policies all driven by the IMF
    When one read or hear of Grenada sucess and growth it makes one belive that the social as well as the economic growth of the country is all well
    Nonetheless their is an imbalance which should give rise to how the people lives are effected by any govt policy that are hurtful and dangeous to people livelihoods
    Perception is a dangerous thing when left unchallenged

  18. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    John A
    July 27, 2019 10:05 AM

    The creditors will take a cut on their debt. One hundred percent of seventy five percent is better than ten percent of one hundred percent.

    They know that, all that is playing now is brinkmanship. They keep pushing, they get little or nothing. That is the economic reality.

    Although one does not need expensive negotiators to get that done. It is simple arithmetic.

    Good lawyers yes.

  19. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    William Skinner
    July 27, 2019 5:23 PM

    BS&T is a case of being run into the ground, when it should have prospered and expanded beyond the Caribbean. Poor management.

  20. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Gabriel
    July 27, 2019 3:26 PM

    The elimination of the Barbados National Bank was a huge mistake. The current banks have no skin in the game.

    But they will lend you $200k for a car loan at a high interest rate.

  21. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Crusoe

    Good lawyers and a willingness by both parties to settle quickly.

  22. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ John A

    Obviously you believe that institutional obstacles to black entrepreneurship have ceased. I assure you that the opposite is very true. I suggest you carry out some brief research about the closure of Black owned manufacturing and other entities over the last twenty years.
    We are so afraid of being called racists that we are prepared to just refuse to question the corporate social responsibility of those whom have built considerable fortunes of wealth essentially earned from exploiting the Black working class.
    We have convinced ourselves that this parasitic largely white capitalist group cannot invest and assist in rescuing us from economic ruin.
    There is a real difference in building on inherited wealth and actually creating wealth.
    Let us have a real discussion of whether we “ are all in this together “ . If we only have energy to be critical of ourselves and the Duopoly then we are intellectual frauds of the highest order.
    Again I ask a simple question: Is there a capitalist class in the country?
    I go further and ask: Does this traditionally white entrenched capitalist class have any obligation to our social and economic well being?
    Why are we afraid to demand that they invest more and stop being in my opinion nothing more than corporate parasites who pretend that they are impoverished and must have unfettered access to the treasury via tax breaks and concessions and other nefarious activity such as refusing to pay VAT into the treasury.

  23. fortyacresandamule Avatar
    fortyacresandamule

    @Mariposa. I agreed. I am no crusader of the GDP metric. Fundamentally, it is too flawed in concept, assumptions and measurement for my liking. In the end a very over-rated statistic.

  24. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Crusoe
    B S and T was not ran into any ground. It was nothing more than corporate espionage against the country. BS and T had extensive interest in other Caribbean countries. Don’t be fooled by corporate propaganda.
    B S and T had control over almost all the plantation estates on the island . It controlled the importation of chemicals and medicines in the veterinary industry. BS and T at one stage ,had in terms of relativity , a larger economy than than the government itself.
    B S and T sold out rather than invest in the new economy because it would have meant a dip in their profit margins in the short term. Before they sold out they had started to invest with the wealthy Trinidadian industrialists in Trinidad.
    B S and T can be justifiably blamed for the destruction of our agriculture industry.
    There is a reason why it was called Blood Sweat and Tears by progressive forces way back in the 60s and 70s.
    It’s time to deal with historical truths and realities.

  25. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    @William,

    No problem, I do not get caught up with monikers.

    On the subject, but surely not willing to dip into profits and selling out is in itself bad management and being run into the ground?

    Yes, I was aware of their large stakeholdings here and abroad.

    You say it can be blamed for the destruction of the agriculture industry.

    That is bad management. I am not seeing the distinction.

    From their monopolistic position, there is no way that the company should have declined as it did.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    You are close to the mark about BS&T.

    It is a company that emerged from the colonial days. Many of the principals grew old in the 80s and 90s and preferred a golden handshake as the business model required alignment to market demands.

  27. John A Avatar
    John A

    @william

    Businesses fail for many reasons be they black or white owned. They are many black successful business men now who have done extremely well for themselves. To paint a picture where black business has failed, is therefore not a fair statement to make on their behalf.

    I would bet it you took a look at who owns the bulk of the money on deposit they would be locals of every colour. The control of business in the island is in the hands of the Trinidadians and why is that? It is because we are too afraid of risk and prefer to put the money on the bank, or we could of bettered the Trini offer per share for BST.

    Our failing is therefore not a colour thing but is more a matter of the way we view business and risk taking. That is why we no longer own BST. Yes we can say those that ran it ran it into the ground, but the question still remains why didn’t we buy it and restructure it as opposed to letting it go?

  28. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Crusoe
    The company never declined because of any bad management. It simply refused to invest in the country it had raped. It had no allegiance to the social and economic development of the country. It was nothing more than an act of corporate espionage.
    Once again my apologies re referring to you as @Cruise. Respect is due.

  29. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    John A
    July 28, 2019 9:25 AM

    Do you blame people who refuse to risk money in business investment here, when the stock market is a joke, when the institutions that govern the market and impact recourse are inefficient and not trusted to get a fair result?

    What it reflects is a severe lack of trust in the regulatory regime and I do not blame them.

    Trade Confirmers, CLICO etc etc… and things have actually got worse, not better.

    In that light, only a lunatic would put money in the market.

    The only business investment will be in their family business and I get that.

  30. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    @ William,

    Once again, no offense taken at all.

    On the matter of BS&T , I understand your view. Serious that.

  31. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Stunning! But not amused how the blp acolytes would use Grenada as a measuring stick and a sucess story for WO when the reality on the ground shows that Grenada’s social network was left wide open to volatile global factors and continual poverty
    Can someone please explain how the social enviroment of a country can be separated from the country growth rate and the suffering of the people
    I am a poor person in need of being convince

  32. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ John A
    I have never painted any picture of black businesses failing. I asked you to do some simple research that will show that black manufacturing and other businesses have had very high mortality rates over the last twenty years. The point I attempted to make was that these failures had a lot to do with institutional obstacles that ruined them. Let me make that clear. I tried to point out that to state that blacks are averse to entrepreneurship is in my terms “ grossly inaccurate”.
    If there is $20 in the banks and two or three people have $19.50 and all the others have 50 cents combined, I guess you could say that everybody has money in the bank !

  33. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Part true, many of the Black businesses struggled because the next generation preferred to go the professional route read lawyers, doctors etc.

  34. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Why the back and forth on how the White economic class invest in Barbados
    Just for the record greed and self interest takes precedent
    What reminds me of what Maloney told the listeners recently and his intentions to do what pleases him

  35. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    @WS, Cruesoe and John A
    Good discussion…
    I like that fact that John brought the regulatory failings into the discussion.
    I would like to add that you will also hear a thousand reasons about why not to do business/invest with some businessmen
    We can discuss but we need to figure out how to break these strangleholds and old ideas

  36. John A Avatar
    John A

    @William.

    Let’s bring this home by looking at the PSVS now. When this was started years ago the units were owned by black Individuals who became small business owners. Who controls the same PSV sector today? The reality is Barbadians prefer the comfort of a pay cheque without responsibility, to the risk of business ownership it’s that simple.

    You want another example let’s look at the reconditioned car market. That too started by being owned by local black Barbadians. Who controls that market today?

    It is a matter of deciding if we are in business for a quick dollar or for the long haul. Business is a continuance and for growth to occur profits must be reinvested, that requires discipline.

    Today in summer for example when some children will be given $50 by their parents to go and enjoy a movie, others will have to work in a family business for a few hours for that same $50. Which child do you think will have the greater appreciation of the value of that money in the end?

    It’s starts with upbringing and the lesson that money must be earned and is not a God given gift as some believe.

  37. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William (5.23pm)

    My apologies not responding to you more immediately. There is a time difference between us. However, I shall respond to all your points with the respect they deserve.
    First however, let me clarify a misunderstanding about the role of White Oaks, the government’s default, and the way debt counselling is normally conducted.
    There is nothing new or exceptional about Barbados seeking debt relief. That happens every day, from households to sovereign states. But first the debtor must accept that s/he/it is unable to service the debt and urgently needs help. In other words, debt relief is an act of forgiveness.
    In other words, as we used to say, you cannot be wrong and strong. You cannot unilaterally default on your debt and then bark at the creditors that they must talk about a relief or you are not gong to replay them. Just take that principle to the small corner: you ‘trust’ ( taken out credit) from the local shopkeeper with a promise to repay at the end of the week.
    However, at the end of the week you do not say to the shopkeeper ‘I owe you money, but I am not repaying the full amount. Give me a discount or I won’t repay any at all.’ The same thing with sovereign states.
    It is right and proper that the debtor should get professional advice, but no one agrees a fixed monthly compensation for negotiating a reduction.
    How it is normally done is that the debt counsellor is either paid a lump sum for service, a percentage of the amount saved or a combination of the two. But that is paid after the event. For households and small businesses, the counsellor may want to securitise the fee, but for a state it must be taken on trust.
    @ William, I will now respectfully deal with all your points as promised. First, I did say do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We all have a von of t he perfect Barbados, but we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater when t comes to analysing how we got to where we are.
    The point is that objectively the traditional white business class is a colossal failure, no matter how it is measured. This is not opinion, but historical fact. If you measure e it from 1834 to 1951, or from 1951 to 1966, or from 1966 to 2019, the white Bajan business class has been a disgrace.
    I accept that in a small universe, the old plantocracy (inherited from slavery and the £20m compensation after the abolition), a people who set themselves up as middle men (there were very few women), exploiting the very people they employed – from domestic servants, to field workers and everything in between, can be – and have been – seen as oppressors. But can you call that a capitalist class? Are you not shoe-horning them in a pre-conceived idea of the competition between labour and capital?
    You said my statement that black people appear to be culturally scared of entrepreneurialism is inaccurate. Where is the evidence. Let us stick to Barbadian business history: N.E. Wilson, Simmonds (is that the correct spelling?) bank, Layne’s Civic, Rollock’s Five & Ten Model store, Martineau’s soft drinks, Harry’s Nitery, James A. Tudor, et al, along with the numerous bakeries, motor mechanics, self-employed carpenters, masons, etc, none this collection of small business people constitute a capitalist class.
    These were people struggling, like the men and women with there trays selling sweet breads and sugar cakes and peanuts, to put food on the table.
    The phrase ‘capitalist class’ implies more than source of income, or even ownership. It also implies a collective vision of the way society is organised. Are you telling me that Gardiner Austin, Hutchinson’s, Barbados Shipping and Trading and its affiliated organisations, Plantation Ltd, Cave Shepherd et al all see Barbadian society through the same lens? Remember, Engels used his family’s wealth to fund Marx while he wrote Das Kapital.
    What is more, and I have mentioned this on numerous occasions, in the 1950s and 60, noble men and woman huskers and small shop keepers, often went hungry in order to get their children in to ‘good’ schools. Their children is the generation that has betrayed Barbados, that has turned its back on their parents’ generation.
    So, what you called historical inaccuracy, I term a different interpretation of our social history. That is OK, it is simply the sociology of history, I won’t bore you with references, but that is why a Tory version of history, differs from a nationalist version, a labour version, a Marxian version, a post-colonial version, etc. Read R. G Collingwood’s The Idea of History. If you do not have a copy I can send you my old one.
    You are right, there have always been enterprising black business people, inspite of the racism of the financial institutions. Their descendants have not gone any where (remember a couple weeks ago I reminded you to follow the names?). But they were exceptions: the Bishops, Odles, Tudors, etc.
    When you talk about people controlling a disproportionate amount of local wealth, what do you really mean. These people own assets, not money. Have a look on You Tube at the interview that Sir Charles Williams gave Trevor MacDonald where he talks about owning land. Old plantation land. The property wealth on the West Coast is largely money laundering by foreigners. The real wealth accumulation in Barbados is by the New Barbadians.
    You also say that my claim that Trinidadians have bought out the merchant class is wrong, that Barbados was sold out by the greedy corporate elites. Not true, but that is an opinion. The merchant class sold out because they faced bankruptcy. Your explanation about a booming Trinidad and residential real estate is an explanation that lacks historical and economic accuracy. People can only buy if the owners are selling.
    As I said, there is no historical truth; there are factual accuracies and historical interpretations. @William, fundamentally, we do not have any conflicting analyses of social , political and economic developments in Barbados; our difference is mainly the post-independence distribution of power, the decline of the nation and who is to blame. I blame the parasitic black professional class, you appear to blame the white merchant class.

  38. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    https://mnetax.com/americas/cayman-islands
    https://mnetax.com/tax-laws-of-12-low-tax-countries-including-bvi-bermuda-bahamas-cayman-dont-harm-other-countries-oecd-led-group-concludes-35048

    Barbados gets favorable mention.
    It seems as if we have some very low-key people who are doing a good job.

  39. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    It was Black politicians that permitted – no pun – others to infiltrate the sector.

    The reconditioned market was sabotaged by black players when they started to underinvoice and other illegal moves that gave weight to the argument from the dealerships to impose tighter regulation.

    Bring the whole story.

  40. John A Avatar
    John A

    @Crusoe

    I agree with you the regulators proved to be a dismal failure here and the stock market some days doesn’t even trade enough to pay for a good lunch, more the reason we must learn to help ourselves.

    Let us agree that with inflation running say at 4% and savings at 0.05%, that those with money on the bank are getting poorer by the day. So it is not hard to figure out that if the money is left there for a prolonged period it’s buying power in real terms will be severely reduced. Yet knowing all that many will leave it there. Now in other countries what would happen is that family members would take up some of that and lend to younger members who want to start a small business. So instead of the young person going to the bank and borrowing say at 9%, that family elder would say I will lend you at 6%. Why isn’t that happening here? Why are we not willing to even help our own but prefer to keep the money on the bank at 0.05%?

    You see we have a serious fear of risks, yet we want a better return on our money. The 2 regrettably don’t go hand in hand. You are correct we must break this fear of investment many have, or as a people based on inflation alone we will continue to get poorer in real terms depending on banks for a return.

  41. WURA-WAR-on-U Avatar
    WURA-WAR-on-U

    We need to keep reminding that questionable DPP and the AG that Maloney should be charged for the death of that child…certain information is circulating involving him in all types of very recent things…hopefully if this corrupt government continues to allow this criminal to do as he likes in Barbados…HIM AND ALL OF THEM SHOULD END UP IN HANDCUFFS TOGETHER…right where they ALL belong..

  42. John A Avatar
    John A

    @David.

    Having said all of that above, then how can we blame other races for the demise of black business?

    You have just clearly defined what has occurred and why. Black politicians combined with black business men under invoicing. Who else can you blame for their relevant failures but our own people?

    We still must not place in the minds of our young men that they shouldn’t try at self employment. Let us focus on the success of men like Mr. Bynoe at Carlton and many others who have proven they are as good as any others out there. Let us try to emulate the positive and successful, as opposed to basking in the failures of some. Many black business men have done well and they deserve our respect for doing so. Let us acknowledge them and give them thw respect they deserve.

  43. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Vincent will probably suggest it is a maturation process we must experience as a race/class to move to the next level.

  44. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    This blogmaster with respect to Bynoe does not measure success using Bynoe as a yardstick. He unlike many others received a leg up from established players David Seale being one of them.

  45. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Hal

    It is good you mentioned the 5 and 10 as he was one of the fore fathers of what is today known here as discount retailing. We of course today have the $3 store and others, but their approach is nothing new as local black bajans had that down pack years ago.

  46. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David.

    How he got his start does not take from the man’s success. The fact that it came from David Seale should that also not negate Williams argument about how white business is viewed?

    Look at how many employees Bizzy Williams has turned into shareholders. Many of them with considerable wealth today as a result.

    We can always look for excuses for failure or we can look for the ingredients and discipline needed for success. It’s a personal decision all can make.

    I for one find it hard to walk forward while looking back.

  47. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    You attribute blame to the black professional class. You will note that I particularly said that we cannot do such without looking at the role of the white merchant or capitalist class and proceed to give them a pass.
    I maintain that to pretend that the white entrenched capitalist class is bankrupt or impoverished cannot be supported by empirical evidence. We would need to look at land ownership and who are still in control of shipping and related industries. You claim that property ownership on the west coast is largely foreign owned. I suggest that Barbados does not start and end on the west coast. Please reference how much land is owned by Cow Williams. I think that Williams (Bizzy) controls about thirty five companies. There is one major fast food enterprise with sixteen outlets owned by the Haloutes.
    While I agree with you that we have no real differences I cannot allow the thinking that blames a black professional , usually monthly paid , employee for the maladies dogging our socio economic construct.
    That is like blaming the slave for not escaping the master who has him in bondage.
    Thanks for your erudite response .

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    The bigger point is that he has a big brother in the establishment unlike a Neville Rowe for example. Why are we using retail and distribution businesses as badges of success? What about manufacturing and selling services to EARN?

  49. WURA-WAR-on-U Avatar
    WURA-WAR-on-U

    “What is more, and I have mentioned this on numerous occasions, in the 1950s and 60, noble men and woman huskers and small shop keepers, often went hungry in order to get their children in to ‘good’ schools. Their children is the generation that has betrayed Barbados, that has turned its back on their parents’ generation.”

    yep…the new negros armed with degrees…AND NO COMMONSENSE…sold out their ancestors and their own people…whom they victimize daily…traitors..of the worst type…

  50. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Quick question, are the shares given by Bizzy to employees easily converted to cash?

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