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COVID 19 Action Plan Coming Soon – All for One, One for ALL

On the 11 April 2020 Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressed the nation to update on COVID 19. One of the decisions made was to establish a Jobs and Investment Council that includes former ministers of Finance Arthur and Sinckler. She also promised to address Barbadians soon on what an economic plan for the country will look like.

COVID 19 is a pandemic which continues to stymie ALL the economies of the world.  Sensible individuals have to admit that it will take a herculean effort by ALL well being Barbadians to push start the economy.

The past is the past.

We are here now.

We have to dust off our backsides and look the future in the eye with conviction.

Let us join hands and show we care about Barbados.

“What need in the country now …“- Mia Mottley

 

380 responses to “COVID 19 Action Plan Coming Soon – All for One, One for ALL”

  1. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    yeah, yeah and ALL OF THAT, but when were you planning to tell THE PEOPLE who elected YOU, pay your salaries and all of ya ministers, consultants and hangerson….THAT THE SITUATION IS EVEN MORE SERIOUS….than ya letting on and that ya cant blame the PLAGUE for everything.

    when are ya going to tell them that as it’s NEW TERRITORY for not only the world in this ERA…but even more challenging for SMALL DEPENDENT ECONOMIES and don’t care how many Chris and Owen ya have hop on board that they are not as CAPABLE AS THEY SHOULD BE …and will have to LEARN AS THEY GO ALONG …just like every country..

    the bigger countries with all their PRINTING POWERS have found themselves in QUICK SAND…so where do you think you are when you refuse to allow the people to ESTABLISH their CREATIVITY to get them out of DEPENDENCY and rebuild their economy and country FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS…

    …….while lazy, selfish minorities continue to live off their backs..

    this is the separation of wheat from chaff…

    …ya can never find the religious freaks when ya need to see them post something useful.

  2. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    Diagnosis:

    The manufacturing industry is dead. Agriculture on a low level. The offshore financial business is crippled. All that is left is tourism. Our foreign exchange reserves consist entirely of stolen or borrowed money.
    The profitability of tourism is too low to guarantee a secure income for all inhabitants because of the enormous overpopulation.

    It has been clear for many years what we need:

    A structural reform of the civil service with far fewer civil servants, lower pensions.

    A structural reform of the institutions, i.e. simplification of the court system, closure of the Senate and other superfluous institutions.

    The privatisation or closure of state enterprises.

    The reduction of imports from non-CARICOM countries.

    The strengthening of local agriculture.

    OR

    The devaluation of the Barbados dollar. With devaluation we achieve the same goal as with structural reform and the strengthening of local agriculture, because then the inhabitants of the plantation called Barbados can simply no longer afford imports.

    What will happen:

    higher taxes, especially on petrol and for tourists

    more debt.

    Any questions???

    However, it is not our Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, who is to blame for this plight, but the DLP and the trade unions, which are fueling people’s unjustified expectations of a carefree life without effort. They are blackmailing the government and driving the country into the abyss. If Mia Mottley were to implement the reforms I have proposed, the DLP would, as in the Corona crisis, be stirring up panic to incite the people against the government.

    Chris “Decimal” Sinckler and OSA are also guilty. They stand for 20 lost years, for tax excesses and for incurring debt. Two national villains and antiheroes.

  3. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    To build a successful economy in Barbados post COVID-19 we will need first to build a social consensus about what defines success.

    The definition that appeals to me is an economy in which everyone has adequate food, water, and shelter— while at the same time preserving the natural environment and an ecology of biodiversity. In order to provide adequate food for the entire population we must have local food security: the capacity to produce and distribute enough food locally to meet the nutritional needs of everyone. In order to provide adequate water we must rebuild our water distribution infrastructure and conservation culture. In order to preserve biodiversity and the environment, we must rebuild our waste management infrastructure and culture.

    In order to make the required investments in water and waste management infrastructure (and for a myriad other reasons) we will require an export sector which earns foreign currency. This sector needs to be diverse so that it is resilient— it is a strategic mistake to be looking for a single magic bullet to replace the tourism industry because that will simply replace one vulnerability with another.

    For a small island developing state such as our own, a strategic approach to export sector development needs to exploit whatever natural competitive advantages that we have. For the sugar industry the competitive advantages were our climate and the Spanish Inquisition which drove Jews with sugar cane technology to settle here. For our tourism industry our competitive advantages were our delightful climate and our cultural history which made us hospitable and accustomed us to serving other people. You might have noticed a common element; our primary competitive advantage since 1627 has always been our climate.

    Our new export sectors should continue to leverage our climate as a competitive advantage. This means that our investments in better waste management environmental protection and ecological sustainability are the most critically important.

    Let us take a look at examples of leveraging our climate in more productive ways than mass market tourism. Lenstec is a high tech manufacturing company making intraocular lenses for cataract and refractive surgery that has operated in Barbados for 25 years and employs 200 Bajans in jobs that are far more meaningful than making beds or waitressing. The company is headquartered in Florida and has sales offices in Europe, but their manufacturing is located here. Why? Barbados has a reasonably educated and trainable workforce, but so do dozens of other countries. Barbados has good communications linkages with the rest of the world, but so do dozens of other countries. Lenstec chose Barbados because of our climate… both the physical climate and the social climate. Gildan is a global clothing manufacturer headquartered in Canada with revenue in the billions. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh, Haiti, Honduras and elsewhere with more than 50,000 employees— however the corporate structure and administrative hub for their printwear and branded apparel business is based in Barbados and employs hundreds of Bajans. Most of us would not envy the low wage Gildan employees in Haiti or Bangladesh, but the jobs in Barbados are in high tech administration and marketing. Why did Gildan choose Barbados? Because of our climate… both the physical climate and the social climate.

    COVID-19 is a global crisis, and Barbados must not let this crisis go to waste. One of the profound social changes that it has catalyzed is the normalization of working from home for many technical and managerial professionals in Europe and North America. So why should these recently untethered employees continue to suffer the climate of Montreal or Chicago or Manchester when they can relocate to Barbados and continue to work from home?… just that their home is now a much nicer place to live. Come to think of it, why should the Black diaspora in the USA continue to put up with the racism of Trump and the police when they can move to Barbados and continue to work from home?

  4. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @TronApril 22, 2020 8:11 AM
    Devaluation is simply another recipe for austerity. It achieves nothing that is productive or positive, it is simply a way of punishing the vast majority of Bajans.

    It will also reinforce the class and racial divisions which have plagued Barbados for 400 years. The upper class will continue to be be those who have the capacity and connections to earn foreign currency: those who are already rich and mostly White.

  5. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @PLT

    Devaluation is simply another recipe for austerity. It achieves nothing that is productive or positive, it is simply a way of punishing the vast majority of Bajans…(Quote)

    Plse put an economic case for the above argument (ie justification), including references and authors, if any, who support the above claim..

  6. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    PLT…that is all they have left, the climate…AND NOT FOR TOURISM…that is dead, dead, dead for the foreseeable future..

    they don’t want the people to have the marijuana TO JUMP START THE ECONOMY…..they much prefer arrest and continue to criminalize them for the plant, it is so clear, that people from coast to coast are CRYING SHAME ON THIS GOVERNMENT…

    they much prefer see the marijuana in the hands of racists, thieves and parasites…..public nuisances just like themselves…rather than to see their own people grow empires and wealth..

    “when they can move to Barbados and continue to work from home?”

    a great idea for those living in the Diapora from the Caribbean, but Barbados has a bad track record of mistreating their people who have a wealth of experience and live abroad, because according to their MANTRA…wunnuh tink wunnuh could come bout here and change anyting, wunnuh best go back where wunnuh come from”

    the we gathering scam was out of necessity than anything else, but with all of that misdirection they would much rather keep the status quo of a bunch of lazy minorities living off the people and lording it over them while continuing to STEAL ALL THEIR WEALTH AND OPPORTUNITES, LEAVING GENERATIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE IN POVERTY…

    … that is all both governments have ever done…oppression, racism and colonialism has always been their game AGAINST THEIR OWN PEOPLE , without any deviations…SO I DON’T THINK THAT PLAN WILL WORK…unless they get rid of those blights and curses they allowed to follow the people for the last 80 years…..with NO COMPROMISE..

  7. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Ah even forgot to mention the WE GATHERING scam has also gone the way of the DOH DOH BIRD…because of the PLAGUE and the very unfortunate and continuing deaths of many Caribbean people in US and elsewhere….what a thing…

    that would be 4-0…against plotting, planning and scheming…

    man makes elaborate plans and the Divine…smiles.

  8. David Avatar
    David

    @Peter

    The blogmaster likes your holistic view. It is a good jump off point to start a constructive discussion. It was disappointing to listen to Minister of Water Resources Abrahams appearing helpless to explain to Barbadians the water scarcity situation as one example. If we know that we will have issues with aquifer replenishment then what are the options/solutions.

  9. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ peterlawrencethompson April 22, 2020 8:38 AM

    Your analysis is very lopsided. If you want to promote the unproductive, bloated state sector, you should say so quite frankly, instead of using colonial stories and stereotypes.

    Devaluation does not distinguish between blacks and whites, but between the performers who earn foreign currency and the slackers in the public sector. Among the performers are especially the black businessmen and -women, the blacks in the offshore financial business and the many blacks in the tourism industry.

  10. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ PLT

    Still waiting for your ECONOMIC case against devaluation. Is there anything I can do to help you dig our these authorities on devaluation?

  11. ks Avatar
    ks

    When this Pandemic eases and we climb out of our “curfews”, we will be so happy to get back “out” that we may forget the lifesaving work of those who fought with their lives, on the front-line Eg: nurses, doctors, other hospital workers, police, waste collectors, ambulance workers, grocery workers, other essential workers, etc…..

    The world will most likely revert back to self-serving media stars eg. actor & actress, Hollywood divas, singers & other big-screen & TV celebrities, sports stars, & political front-pagers, as our headliners …. and I bet Hollywood already working on a “Covid” movie!

    BUT… I won’t be watching any Academy Awards, ESPYs, Grammys, Emmys, Toni, BAFTA, Golden Globes, etc….. as they glitz-up themselves, to parade on red carpets and big stage.

    I would watch however, similar shows for Doctors, Nurses other health care support workers, police, waste collectors, ambulance workers, grocery workers, all other essential workers, etc….. those under-paid people who really deserve our praise!

    In fact, if the media folk do proceed with their “Shows” …. it should be mandatory that none step on a Red Carpet, or go on a Stage, UNLESS they lead/chaperone an “Essential COVID Worker” … allowing the ‘worker’ to receive the exposure, and not the so-called “star”!

    There…. uh said it…. now uh feel much better!

  12. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @PLT,

    Well spelt out. you will need to bullet point that tho. we live in a fast food culture and that often means nobody has time to read for too long. so we like short brief points. the fine reading is for the policy makers and those who will implement.

  13. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @Hal

    please make your case for devaluation and will the dollar float against your basket of goods or are u devaluing to the EC currency?

  14. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Greene

    It is @PLT that is calling for a devaluation, not me. I happen to think the Barbados dollar is overvalued and, further badly managed. But that is not new.
    I have asked @PLT for an ECONOMIC case for devaluation. I cannot reply to an argument that is not made. @PLT’s (8.24) is not an economic argument, but a social one, many parts of which I agree with.
    I am not going to anticipate what is in his mind. If @PLT spells out his case then we can debate.

  15. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    It is @PLT that is calling for a devaluation, not me.

    ++++++++++++++++++

    Where did PLT call for devaluation?

  16. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ Hal Austin April 22, 2020 9:27 AM

    Devaluation is only an alternative to structural reform. It reduces the pressure on currency reserves and stimulates private initiative.

    It is a fact that Barbados has had the lowest economic growth in the entire Caribbean since 2008, namely none at all. Structural reforms are impossible in Barbados in the civil service for two reasons: first, they affect politicians and civil servants who want to reserve their many privileges. Haven’t you noticed that all commentators, including Greene and PLT, shy away from the word “structural reform in public services” like the devil from holy water?

    The Barbadian way is therefore: low productivity, a state apparatus with a large surplus of people, tax increases and debt. All talk of agriculture is just gibberish. They’ve been talking about diversification since independence. It’s never worked.

    Everything will get worse. We had zero economic growth from 2008 to 2018. Now we have a monster recession. We’re back where we were in 1990. Forty years lost, not just a lost decade.

  17. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ PLT

    @ Sergeant

    Hal Austin likes these sterile pseudo-intellectual debates. Do not follow him down that rabbit hole.

  18. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Sargeant

    Apologies. @PLT opposes devaluation. As I said to him: Still waiting for your ECONOMIC case against devaluation….(Quote)
    I am still waiting.

  19. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “It is @PLT that is calling for a devaluation…”
    +++++++++++
    I am NOT calling for devaluation, I argued against it. I am quoting no economists or authorities, but arguing from first principles. Devaluation privileges those like myself who are able to earn foreign currency. Those who are able to earn in euros, Sterling, or US or Canadian dollars are not the people who need help to weather the economic crisis… so why add to their privilege and relative wealth while imposing pain on the vast majority of Bajans?

  20. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Vincent

    I am disappointed that you call the argument for and against devaluation a sterile pseudo-intellectual argument. That is at the heat of the discussion in Barbados. Where is the rabbit hole?
    It seems to me to be poor form for someone to make a bold and misleading statement which they are not prepared to defend publicly, either because it is sterile and pseudo-intellectual or the ECONOMIC case is weak.
    @ Vincent, join the discussion. If you think devaluation is a recipe for austerity, plse inform the blog. To help you, I do not. There is nothing pseudo-intellectual because I am not that clever. But I know nonsense when I read it, that is the luxury of retirement and time to read.
    I can say, and am prepared to defend, an argument that the case against devaluation is WRONG, both economically and intellectually.

  21. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    TronApril 22, 2020 9:54 AM
    “… PLT, shy away from the word “structural reform in public services”… ”
    +++++++++++
    Unlike devaluation, I am strongly in favor of structural reform in public services; it is a necessary, but insufficient, component of a sustainable economic future for Barbados. You assert that “structural reforms are impossible in Barbados in the civil service” but I am not that pessimistic. I think that with a hiring freeze on the public service (with the exceptions of teachers, police and skilled health care workers) that lasts for about a decade it should be both possible and effective to shrink the bureaucracy by 50% by attrition . When the staffing levels in any bureaucratic department fall too low to deliver the necessary services then they have to outsource to the private sector in an open and transparent competitive process.

  22. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ PLT

    I made a Freudian slip. But, as you have made clear, you are not quoting or referencing any economic authorities. So, it is not an economic argument. End of story.

  23. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    PLT,

    “who need help to weather the economic crisis” and WITHOUT access to foreign currency.

    Do you mean the politicians and the civil servants by that? They are paid in local currency.

    The taxi drivers and all other people in tourism industry are able to earn forex, also people working for the offshore financial sector.

  24. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ peterlawrencethompson April 22, 2020 10:11 AM

    SORRY for that misunderstanding!

    PLT,

    Of course, devaluation is NOT necessary with such reforms.

  25. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Tron
    I am not talking about Civil servants who earn Bajan dollars, nor do I refer to taxi drivers who used to be able to earn foreign currency but now since the death of the tourist industry are earning next to nothing in any currency. I am talking about people who work for international agencies or the offshore financial sector or who deliver products/services directly to a global clientele.

  26. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal AustinApril 22, 2020 10:12 AM
    If you think that it is necessary to appeal to economic authorities to make an economic argument then I fear that your education has left you with severe brain damage 😉

    If you have a substantive argument to make in favour using devaluation to achieve the further relative enrichment of the minority Bajans who are able to earn in foreign currency then I am all ears. Learning new things is my second favorite activity in life.

  27. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Hal Austin

    In case you have missed the cue, David is inviting comments on the relevance ,efficacy and composition of the Post COVID – 19 Think Tank on Jobs and Investment.
    I hope this is not an attempt to hijack the moot.

  28. John A Avatar
    John A

    We have already had a major internal devaluation over the last decade. With inflation over the last 10 years averaging 3% a year and wages flat over the same period, what wunna think you had but a devaluation?

    Because the rate to the USD has remained the same does not mean a devaluation of buying power has not occurred. Don’t confuse a devaluation with a currency realignment.

    This is an old argument not worth rehashing. What we need is to restructure the economy where tourism represents no more than 50% of our income. We need a diversified income based on agriculture, alternative energy and import substitution. Anyhow even that I tired talking bout, as after nearly 2 years In power this government has not addressed any of the issues outlined. They are only now as a result of the virus, talking about food supply. Problem is we can’t eat talk!

  29. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Continue …

    It will be interesting to hear the plan the Jobs and Investment Council come up with next week. It will say to us if a pradymn shift has taken place.

    We need short, medium and long term interventions to stabilize and transform the country. Our measures should align with a regional plan as it relates to certain interventions.

  30. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ John

    To kick start this debate let us appeal to History. How was the Barbados economy /society rebuilt after the Cholera and 1918 Flu pandemics?

  31. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David.

    You got 3 past MOFs ALL of whom had years to reform the economy in good times and did nothing. Now you pulling the very same bunch including sinkler together and expect a revolution of thought! Stupes.

  32. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    This maybe a concern but the committee has others from across civil society. The policy measures will define if we will allow the crisis to go to waste. It is also fortuitous Prime Minister Mottley is the current Chair of Caricom.

  33. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @John AApril 22, 2020 10:29 AM
    “We need a diversified income based on agriculture, alternative energy and import substitution.”
    +++++++++++++
    I understand what you are getting at here, but we need to be more analytical. We need agriculture to feed ourselves, but we do not have any competitive advantage that I can see which would enable us to make agriculture an export industry. So that restricts it to import substitution. Alternative energy will reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuel, but we have no practical way to export energy; so that too is restricted to import substitution.

    Import substitution is necessary, but it is not sufficient. We have debts to pay in foreign exchange. This means that we need foreign exchange earning capacity in addition to import substitution or we will default.

  34. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ David BU

    That Council needs to draw up very speculative scenarios of how devastating the disruption of commerce,manufacturing,banking and Finance etc will/has been.
    At this distance it would be prudent to plan on the basis that the World economic system would resume without missing a heart beat. One cannot plan a society /economy on the basis of perennial crisis. There are crises because they take place very infrequently. They are not staples of life.

  35. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Vincent

    Exactly! What are the critical sectors for self preservation and revenue. If I was Mia I would tell them this is wunna agenda.

    TOURISM MUST BE NO MORE THAN 50% OF THE ECONOMY IN 5 YEARS

    ALTERNATIVE ENERGY MUST REPRESENT 50% OF THE GRID IN 5 YEARS.

    FOOD IMPORTS MUST DROP BY 50% IN 5 YEARS. NOTHING THAT CAN BE GROWN LOCALLY MUST BE IMPORTED UNLESS A PRODUCTION SHORTFALL EXIST.

    A STUDY WILL BE TAKEN TO ARRIVE AT WHAT ITEMS CURRENTLY IMPORTED CAN BE MADE LOCALLY. IMPORTS OF THESE CAN CONTINUE BUT WILL ATTRACT A DUTY OF 50% INSTEAD OF 20% AS IS NOW THE CASE.

    Of course none of this will ever happen, but if you really want to face the post covid economy this and more will be required.

  36. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    Vincent Codrington April 22, 2020 10:35 AM
    The Cholera epidemic of 1854 wiped out a quarter of the population of Barbados. There was no economic recovery until Bajans went to work on the building of the Panama Canal 1904-14.

  37. David Avatar
    David

    @Vincent

    Agree with the thrust of your last comment which is why the blogmaster indicated short term plans will have to be factored by the committee.

    Something we need to consider as well is to redesign the public and private sectors to become more “symbiotic” how policies are formulated and operationalized. There is too much agro at a time we need to optimize all resources.

  38. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Have we got all the names of the CoVid-19 economic council, and its remit. Or only the names announced by the president on April 11?

  39. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @John A April 22, 2020 10:50 AM
    In 2018, the contribution of tourism to the Barbados economy (direct and indirect) was 34.9 % of GDP. https://knoema.com/atlas/Barbados/topics/Tourism/Travel-and-Tourism-Total-Contribution-to-GDP/Contribution-of-travel-and-tourism-to-GDP-percent-of-GDP

    We need to be aiming at replacing over two thirds of that contribution with other forex earning activities and import substitution, so that tourism contributes (directly and indirectly) at most 10% of GDP.

  40. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @John A April 22, 2020 10:50 AM
    My take on those numbers is more drastic:

    TOURISM MUST BE NO MORE THAN 10% OF THE ECONOMY IN 3 YEARS

    ALTERNATIVE ENERGY MUST REPRESENT 98% OF THE GRID IN 10 YEARS.

    FOOD IMPORTS MUST DROP BY 50% IN 5 YEARS. NOTHING THAT CAN BE GROWN LOCALLY MUST BE IMPORTED UNLESS A PRODUCTION SHORTFALL EXISTS.

    A STUDY WILL BE TAKEN TO ARRIVE AT WHAT ITEMS CURRENTLY IMPORTED CAN BE MADE LOCALLY. IMPORTS OF THESE CAN CONTINUE BUT WILL ATTRACT A DUTY OF 100% INSTEAD OF 20% AS IS NOW THE CASE.

  41. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ John A

    Do you not think that if the PM had such an Agenda ,she would need a council of Advisors. The PM and Cabinet are the Executive. You mekking mock sport or what? Such an approach could only be one of asking for a review of the Agenda by the Think Tank.

  42. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal Austin April 22, 2020 10:58 AM
    “Have we got all the names of the CoVid-19 economic council, and its remit.”
    ++++++++++++++
    No we have not. It will be a special advisory group, in other words a toothless talk shop. Ms Mottley said that “it will be a broad-based council reflective of the social partnership…” in other words it will have exactly zero new ideas.

  43. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ PLT at 11:08 AM

    It may surprise you but we tried that strategy. Agriculture is seasonal and subject to adequate rainfall ,like BWA.We still need to keep our external food supply lines open. We cannot live in a permanent crisis situation.

  44. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    PLT at 11:19 AM

    Exactly my position. It is superfluous.

  45. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Dqavid BU

    Re optimizing the Public Service

    That is a notion that is based on pure speculation. And is repeated ad nauseam by Tron. I would like to know on what premises have you come to this conclusion.After all previous reduction in size have the quality of public services improved? Did the cost to the taxpayer decrease?. Where is the evidence in numbers?. I save my Acts of Faith for Church not Economics. Please stop the mantras. The members of the Ministry of the Public Service are not dummies.

  46. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ PLT

    Go easy. You cannot criticise a committee that does not yet exist. But don’t change a habit of a life time.

  47. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “You cannot criticise a committee that does not yet exist.”
    +++++++++++
    😆😆😆😆😆😆 Your illogic is in rare form today.

  48. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    “I can say, and am prepared to defend, an argument that the case against devaluation is WRONG, both economically and intellectually.”

    I would like to see an (your) argument in support of devaluation. From yesterday, I was calling for the proponents of devaluation to educate the rest of us, Vinny and John A,for the sake of argument, please help in advancing the case for devaluation. My wait on Hal and Tron may be in vain.

    The edited statement OF PLT is line with my thinking.

    Edited.
    “Devaluation privileges those who are able to earn foreign currency. Those who are able to earn in euros, Sterling, or US or Canadian dollars are not the people who need help to weather the economic crisis… so why add to their privilege and relative wealth while imposing pain on the vast majority of Bajans?”

  49. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @PLT

    Plse give me a master class in logic. What views do the members of the committee represent? What is the committee’s remit? What policy proposals have they made?
    Don’t tell me, you can tell from the answers blowing in the wind. Reason, dear boy. Reason. @PLT, I suggest you compare the biographies of Herodotus and Thucydides.
    Thucydides was banished from Athens during the war with Sparta; he was persona non grata and he spent his time writing the History of the Peloponnesian War. Read it and then read Herodotus’ the Histories. Herodotus was celebrated. Which study has made the greater contribution to history? There is no disgrace in waiting.
    I will add for nothing: the president has two highly qualified junior economic ministers, three highly qualified consultants, a university department, access to White Oaks, a central bank, and an army of economists in the civil service. What we urgently need are good policies, not more committees.
    @PLT, as the old people used to say, hold strain and criticise when there is something to criticise; not what you think ought to be criticised.

  50. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Go easy. You cannot criticise a committee that does not yet exist
    &
    What we urgently need are good policies, not more committees
    +++++++
    Aren’t you making PLT’s case for him?

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