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UNEMPLOYMENT Fund is Broke, Time for Straight Talk Chairman Leslie Haynes

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The following was posted as a comment by Walter Blackman to the Walter Blackman’s Political Insights blog – David, Blogmaster

Based on the link to the NIS investments, provided by NorthernObserver, all BU readers can now sing from the same Hymn sheet – see link https://www.nis.gov.bb/investments-2/

Here are the facts, and the questions to be asked:

The unemployment Fund is broke. Not a cent is left. No bonds, no cash. Nada. Zilch. Rien.
Where will the money come from to pay current and future unemployment benefits? Remedial action has to come down the pipeline very soon.

Government owes (i.e the politicians misused our money) $2.8 billion to the National Insurance Fund, and $0.1 billion to the Severance Fund. There is no cash in the Severance Fund. Where is the money currently coming from to pay the workers’ severance that employers are refusing to pay?

Is the law being broken with respect to the payment of unemployment and severance benefits?

The only way Government can repay the money owed to the NIS is through taxation. Who will the Government tax to get the $2.9 billion for the NIS?
The Baby Boomers have started to retire and will do so by the thousands every year until 2033. How will their retirement benefits be paid? Something has to be done very soon

At the beginning of 2015, the NIS was paying roughly $40 million per month (just think about the multiplier effect this has on our economy) in NIS retirement pensions. That amounts to $480 million per year, and $960 million over two years.
We can therefore understand what the Chairman of the NIS meant when he said: “there are sufficient funds there that we can see this through at least for the next two years.”

However, the Chairman went on to say: “So there is no cause for concern.”

Every BU reader can now look the Chairman of the NIS fully in the face and say: “We do not agree with your assessment of the NIS, Mr. Chairman. There is great, great cause for concern, and in fact, we are very, very concerned. Next time you speak, please tell us what is the Board’s solutions to the massive NIS problems we face.”

…what are the Board’s solutions?

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483 responses to “UNEMPLOYMENT Fund is Broke, Time for Straight Talk Chairman Leslie Haynes”

  1. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Northern

    We have raised the issue of MMT on BU before. I suggest you follow the young Democrat radicals, especially Ocasio-Cortez. It has also been raised in relation to the Mottley government, as an alternative to her awful default.
    We do not discuss economic theory in Barbados.

  2. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    More than 300million went towards the leaking basket call tourism
    What about all them berthing fees which were sunk like an anchor
    I suspect when all monies accounted for that were meant to save tourism the number would be closed to 1billion when the Covid expenses are applied for the visitors
    Any how bajans idiots

  3. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Just going for the laugh.
    MMT
    Mia Motley “trick-uh-nomics”
    Mark Maloney tourism
    Rocking and mocking
    I ain’t joking
    Mia is choking

    Some plagiarism went on there

  4. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @JohnA
    I prefer pecuniary production, to other more descriptive terms, and I see an expansion, only in the short-term of course, (didn’t income tax begin as a method to fund war), of statutory bodies to employ the recently unemployed. After all, I am sure they include party faithful who didn’t require public employment until this time. I think governments everywhere should employee at least 80% of the population, and in lieu of that, all should be granted a guaranteed income.

  5. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Northern

    Wait you move to Qatar?lol

  6. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    A parent is responsible for a child. A next of kin cannot be made responsible for a relative even if it is a parent. The parent makes a decision to have a child. A child does not make a decision to have a parent.

    That is one of the most stupid suggestions I have ever heard.

    The most that can be done is to seize the assets of the abandoned person and appoint a guardian to take care of them and their finances. If they are in government facilities, their assets should be used to pay their way rather than be left for the absconding offspring.

    Donville Inniss had proposed this when he was Minister of Health. Nothing came of it.

  7. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    TLSN,

    I also have the option to live where Hal lives. I was born there. I CHOOSE to live here.

    But Hal is not comfortable at all. Just recently he was worried that he, being black, would be left in the cold outside the COVID ward to die. I guess that would also apply to his mulatto children. I don’t have that worry. I have other concerns. But not that biggie.

  8. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @HA
    So you are likely well versed in MMT? Maybe you could provide the blog with periodic updates? It’s beyond my capacity.

    I know you would be well aware, your reigning monarch would not be, were it not for her uncle’s pursuit of a DIVORCED woman. In fact, said Queen ruled against her sister’s marital wishes for a similar reason. Even her eldest son? And 3 of her 4 offspring are divorced. Divorced persons were once seen as social outcasts, a life limiting event. Particularly harsh on the wife. Similarly, for those who declared bankruptcy (defaulters). Times change, attitudes change. While it is not a goal to aspire to (default), it happens. In 1960 it may have been awful, even horrendous. Today, it’s a default. They deal more in reality, than national pride. There is an extensive list of countries, it’s no longer an exclusive category
    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/sovereign-debt-crisis/sovereign-debt-defaults-restructuring/

  9. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Dirty litte fraud Lorenza…yall are the ones getting exposed from coast to coast for one thing or another, ignorant little slave, do you see my name anywhere out there….show me.

    don’t know how Mia expects to want to shut down the press from defending Black people on the island, but can’t touch any international platforms, she can try though, many are waiting for her to show how big she is..

    ..the nerve of telling Black people not to protest their family’s hunger and thefts of their salaries and severance pay by nasty, racist hoteliers, let her try to stop that information from hitting international circles…,,oops…plus tard….

    don’t worry Fowl, ah got something even better…….2021 will be hoot.

  10. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    But Hal is not comfortable at all. Just recently he was worried that he, being black, would be left in the cold outside the COVID ward to die. I guess that would also apply to his mulatto children. I don’t have that worry. I have other concerns..(Quote)

    ??????????

  11. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    (Quote):
    The most that can be done is to seize the assets of the abandoned person and appoint a guardian to take care of them and their finances. If they are in government facilities, their assets should be used to pay their way rather than be left for the absconding offspring.

    Donville Inniss had proposed this when he was Minister of Health. Nothing came of it. (Unquote).
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    And that is a ‘universally principled’ position which can be morally, socially and legally justified.

    That is what prevails in the UK, your soon-to-be divorced mother-country.

    Why should any able-bodied person who refuses to acknowledge or care (directly or indirectly) for their aging relatives be entitled to have access to or inherit the worldly possessions of those same old or sickly relatives after they go to their final resting place?

  12. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Caswell in today local newspaper C described the leading Union and govt in three words
    Hypocrites ..sell outs..and traitors towards workers
    This govt would be remembered as all of the above downgrading and rejecting workers at every chance possible while rewarding business who thief from its workers and govt

    ######:big works at play

    .

  13. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Government trying to cover this up is pure wickedness….taking advantage of those who accepted slavery condictions, racism, exploitation, discrimination, disenfranchisement, setting up Black people to remain in generational poverty AND THEFTS OF THEIR MONEY AND FUTURE from the 1970s, and believe she can still get away with these crimes against ONLY BLACK PEOPLE…

    “Describing the current labour relations climate as the “lowest” in his 62-year lifetime, Franklyn contended that with the trade union movement “neutralised”, Barbados’ traditionally “docile” working class was not expected to fight back.

    “It is [Mottley]’s actions that have caused this. The workers are just reacting to her behaviour… This is a labour party that has no regard for labour, forgetting that it was the masses who put her in power in the first place and it is her actions that have caused the problems in the country. The workers are only reacting to it and she is trying to throw blame away from herself when the buck stops at her,” Franklyn argued.

    “What the Prime Minister has complained about will continue to happen, and God forbid that the police would try to force the people into submission, because from there things will erupt.

    “The best thing for the police to do when they see the people demonstrating is to let them do it peacefully, because it will not go down well because people are hurting.

    “People are coming into my office and just crying. You have parents out there with children and they have nothing to feed them with, and if that is not addressed something will happen. So the Government has to take measures to prevent any kind of uprising because they are the ones that have caused it,” the labour leader added.

    “Wildcat” demonstrations have so far been launched by employees of Caribbean Aircraft Handling at the Grantley Adams International Airport; the Savannah Hotel in Hastings, Christ Church; The Club Barbados Resort and Spa in Vauxhall, St James; and the Accra Beach Resort in Rockley, Christ Church.

    The common bone of contention has been the non-payment of severance payments and other outstanding entitlements owed.”

  14. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Ryan Straughn: CoVid has had an impact on government projections for financial year 2020/21. Don’t say! What a wonderful piece of economic insight. Give the man a Nobel Prize.

  15. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “That is what prevails in the UK, your soon-to-be divorced mother-country.”

    ah can’t wait to see it happen, the entertainment will be priceless.

  16. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    I wonder when the recently displaced workers will get their money???

    After all is legally theirs. Held back by WHITE BAJANS employers which they have no right to do. In this they are encourage by the Barbados Labour Party Govt.

  17. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    We now have Gordon Seale complaining that the government is putting jobs before hoteliers debt. What? This government is prioritising jobs before the debt of the wealthy and well-connected. How terrible?
    In a moment of generosity, he suggested that the redundant should claim unemployment benefits until hotels become profitable again. I am not sur e if this includes the Bds$300m bailout.
    He also called for an extension of the period for claiming severance pay. Nowhere does he mention those employees living hand to mouth with mounting bills and threats of being made homeless. Of course, that is small beer. Black live do not matter.
    Mr Seale, who owns two hotels, claims BEST is hurting the hoteliers and he is losing a combined average of $450000 a month. Of course, he can always sell the businesses, or enter a sale and lease of the freehold.
    It will be interesting to see what this incompetent government does about this perverse idea. If you can’t stand the heat, you know what to do.

  18. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @HA
    https://www.nationnews.com/2020/11/22/tough-times-ahead-tourism/
    Has Seale changed churches, or singing to a different audience?

    And what does this mean, in the middle of the BT article I am guessing you got your info from
    “Dame Sandra noted that the resources would only be made available if tourism numbers and revenues remained below the levels required for the industry’s survival.”
    https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/12/09/seale-says-hotels-need-urgent-help/

    Have you read BEST?
    https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/download/barbados-employment-sustainable-transformation-programme/

  19. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    This is the “thank you “ we get for removing the NSRL and giving them a break of one billion dollars of VAT and other taxes. Yesterday they were all marching , with big smiles on their faces. We could not question anything that this administration was doing. We reap what we sow. The Democratic Labour Party and the Barbados Labour are incapable of managing the country , in any progressive manner. For fifty years they have fooled the masses ,giving them scraps while they looked out for the rich.COVID has taken off all our clothes .Mottley is in naked surrender mode because they put her in power. The Duopoly will now have to determine whether it will go back to the drawing board and start to correct the injustices and atrocities it has committed since November 30 1966.
    It is now confirmed we did not lose a decade -we lost almost six .
    The struggle continues
    Peace

  20. David Avatar
    David

    The blogmaster read what Seale stated then compare with the what was posted ad there is a gulf in the interpretation.

    Seale knocks BEST plan
    THE BARBADOS Employment and Sustainable Transformation (BEST) plan is not an attractive option for many hoteliers, as it is likely to see them sinking into greater debt.
    This is according to former president of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA), Gordon Seale, who said yesterday that Government made a miscalculation when it forged ahead with the plan, instead of extending unemployment benefits as well as the period for triggering severance.
    He said some owners might have to cede majority shareholding of their hotel to Government by the time the COVID-19 health crisis was over.
    Seale, who owns two major hotels, was guest speaker at a luncheon lecture hosted by the Barbados Yacht Club.
    He contended that hotel owners had very little by way of alternatives at this juncture, and it was therefore baffling to hear the narrative that hoteliers were being provisioned for at the expense of labour.
    Looks after labour
    “The BEST plan looks after labour while the hotels run up debt. Furthermore, after running up debt, the hotel still has the severance liability around their neck. The conversion of preference shares into common shares after dilution of ownership, especially for the financially weak hotels, could result in the change of ownership, possibly to Government,” he said. The BEST programme is designed to see Government pumping $300 million into the hotels in exchange for preference shares, which were convertible to ordinary shares if not repaid within a specified time. This was done on condition that the participating hotels retained staff for retooling and retraining until occupancy picked up again.
    With the loan, the hotels are required to pay staff 80 per cent of their insurable earnings.
    20 per cent more
    However, Seale argued there was much more to these considerations than met the eye. He contended that hotels were being asked to pay 20 per cent more than what the National Insurance Scheme would have incurred had the unemployment insurance been extended.
    “I have a real problem when I hear people saying that the hotels are getting everything.
    Under the BEST programme, in addition to paying the wages, owners had to pay 80 per cent of the service charge paid by the guests. The year that was used to calculate this was the best year on record, which was 2019.
    So, in the worst year ever, we are being asked to pay 80 per cent of the best year ever. This is 20 per cent more than the National Insurance was being asked to pay in that 26 weeks that went by.” He added: “What should be made clear is that this is not free money or subsidy as is often referred to in the public. It is cash injection which must be repaid with interest and carries demands in terms of numbers of employees and secured by companies having to issue shares to Government every two months.”
    He said it was a challenge finding functions for staffers to perform with many hotels at under ten per cent occupancy. He also told those in attendance that no hotel had set aside funds this year to pay for severance en masse, noting this was more onerous for companies that were “good employers”, retaining members of staff for many years.
    A challenge
    “To put that into perspective, in our two hotels we employ about 480 people. So imagine having 480 staff and 40 guests; it is really a challenge regarding how you can utilise those staff. So, in other words, the scheme is funding losses and is diluting ownership of the hotels. “How can anyone who understands the programme claim that Government is looking after the businesses at the expense of labour?
    Government is happy that hotels have to cover this liability and the workers are happy that they are getting 20 per cent more than they would have from National Insurance. What about the investors whose investments are seriously at risk?”
    he queried.
    Last month, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced that several tweaks would be made to the BEST programme to allow for more buy-in, noting at the time that only 20 hotels had subscribed to the initiative.
    “In fairness, the programme has only been in operation for only a couple of weeks and the BHTA has written to us, asking us to tweak the programme because there are others who may want to come in but are finding it difficult,” Mottley said then. (CLM)

  21. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @WS
    “giving them a break of one billion dollars of VAT and other taxes”
    who is them? The public and quasi-public bodies who weren’t remitting VAT?
    Ahhh…see, you don’t know. And neither do I.
    Another example why so much in Barbados boils down to a lack of transparency and accountability.
    If the GoB writes off taxes, why are a list of the beneficiaries NOT published in the Gazette? Surely when the tax payers are forgiving money rightfully owed to them, this is a matter for the public record? But Alas, no Official Gazette has been published since Jan 2020. And you can bet, it will not include such a list, whenever it is published again.
    By hiding it, we get can generate maximum talk, for nobody has any proof, merely conjecture. It is said “we like it so”.

  22. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    It takes a certain kind of chutzpah to claim that the government is putting the jobs of low paid people before the wealth of the hotel owners.
    Gordon Seale is a man with his own ideas, but to make this suggestion shows it has not been thought out. It IS the job of government to minimise unemployment, not stabilise the profits of small hotels.
    But then suggesting that the redundant should have an extended period on the dole until hotels return to profitability is a continuation of the BLP/DLP policy of transferring wealth from the poor to the relatively wealthy.
    As I said a few days ago, there is a reason why Barbadian politicians do not talk about equality and the distribution of wealth, opting instead to talk bilge about patriotism and the flag. Trump has done this in the US and Boris has done it in the UK and Macron is trying to do the same in France.
    It is the position of the political coward. Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose apart from your shackles. The BWU capitulated to the president by giving her 36 hours breathing space. She was playing for time.
    They should have said no. And if Toni Moore did not agree, then drive her out of the union. By the way, I am told that a previous post was a misinterpretation. The person making that claim should point out the errors.

  23. David Avatar
    David

    By your logic (?) the government should allow the hotel industry to collapse. No revenue stream since March, fyi.

  24. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal @ NorthernObserver
    This is obviously a cop out by the BWU. While Toni Moore was surreptitiously plotting her political future in cahoots with Mottley, the workers were being ignored. Moore has allowed the Labour College to become dilapidated and was focused on other things. There is no way, that the BWU can claim it was unaware of the plight of workers at G4S and other places.
    Having said that, Mottley should now tell G4S, or whatever they are called, to either fo what is right or get to hell out of the country. If she does that I would back her one hundred percent.
    As for the hoteliers and Gordon Seale,I hope you guys and others are paying attention to where the meeting was held.
    I am pro worker and always will be. Read the comments by readers in today’s Nation and you will see that there has been a systematic destruction of workers rights. The BLPDLP has been complicit. Jordan himself knows about how the workers were being treated. He was a point man in the tourist industry. Like Moore and Rudy Grant , another point man , they were all looking to feather their political nests.
    The free lunches ,fancy free dinners and cocktail circuit , all have a price. That’s what they like -perks. And the hoteliers know this. COVID makes us wear masks but it has ironically unmasked the political hypocrites.
    This is no time for pseudo intellectual BS.
    I say publicly to the PM: If this G4S or whatever don’t come to its senses , kick their ass out of Barbados. You will have my support.
    The struggle continues.
    Peace

  25. David Avatar
    David

    As the comments from readers in the Nation indicate union representation by ALL unions and governments of the workers in security has been neglected. It is known by all. Covid 19 saga and the dynamic of Moore joining the BLP has given the workers a platform to attract attention to their concerns.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Curious to know if Leroy Trotman, Bobby Morris, Evelyn Greaves and a few others were in cahoots with the DLP leadership when they joined the DLP.

  27. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    I am not a logician, but the hotels should be forced to let the market decide if they survive or fail. Government’s jobs is to create jobs, and that can be done without the support of incompetent hotel owners.
    My concern is not the profitability of hotels, but the ability of ordinary people to put food on the table and pay their bills. Anything else is a bonus.
    You can bet that if a hotel fails there will be an army of would-be buyers lining up to get their hands on it. This is what capitalism is all about.
    @ William, following the CoVid lockdown in the UK, the government gave supermarkets over £1bn in waivers. But CoVid was a God send for the supermarkets, with people bulk buying, from toilet paper to electronics. You must have seen the long queues on TV. Yet government largesse.
    Ask them to pay more taxes and they complain.

  28. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    (Quote):
    THE BARBADOS Employment and Sustainable Transformation (BEST) plan is not an attractive option for many hoteliers, as it is likely to see them sinking into greater debt. (Unquote)
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    What’s the difference between ‘BERT’, ‘BOSS’ and ‘BEST’ and the many other iterative plans ‘initiated’ by the previous DLP administration (under the de facto PM and MoF Sinckler) which were deemed necessary to restructure and transform the Bajan economy since the 2008 recession?

    The only ‘real’ difference is the ‘official’ presence of the IMF involving external borrowings to prop up a lifestyle glaringly unaffordable based on the country’s capacity to earn forex.

  29. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted devastating effects on the U.S. economy, with job losses especially concentrated among women, minorities, and low-wage workers.
    Economists have described the uneven and unequal economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession as a “K-shaped” recovery, characterized by divergent recovery trajectories for the affluent relative to those of less means.
    While considerable attention has been devoted to examining the preexisting disparities in labor market outcomes that left some households more vulnerable than others to the COVID-19 recession, less attention has been paid to the role of wealth in determining a household’s ability to buffer the pandemic’s economic shocks.
    Wealth (defined as the difference between a household’s assets and debt) provides a critical safety net to households during economic downturns.
    Wealth holds several advantages over wages as an economic resource: In particular, income from wealth is taxed at much lower rates than income from work, and wealth can serve as a source of savings to absorb temporary setbacks such as a loss of employment income….(Quote)

  30. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    “ David December 9, 2020 8:09 AM

    @William

    Curious to know if Leroy Trotman, Bobby Morris, Evelyn Greaves and a few others were in cahoots with the DLP leadership when they joined the DLP.” (QUOTE)
    Of course they were. Why would you or anybody else think I would say differently.?Have you ever read on your blog or anywhere else where I criticized Toni Moore for running for the BLP? I don’t care about the BLP or DLP, they have always been in bed with the unionists going back to Sir. Grantley.
    You need to stop this BLP DLP comparison , by now you should know there is no difference. And that’s where you and I part company.
    BTW, I was in a meeting, as an active member of a trade union. We were fighting Barrow on collective bargaining. We asked the BWU for support. Frank Walcott told us that “ flying fish don’t swim
    with sharks” In other words , he would not support us. The BWU was too big.
    I hate to tell you this but I must : William
    Skinner did not start taking an interest in what goes on in his country yesterday. You need to take your puerile responses to my posts somewhere else. All you do is sit there and remind people of what the DLP did 2008- 2018. I got news for you -the people kicked their sorry asses out almost three years now. Go and read the papers, they don’t have a seat in parliament and just got their backsides kicked in a by election. Furthermore well known members are fleeing to the BLP. And one of their former ministers may go to prison on corruption charges. Now that I have brought you up to date. Let us deal with Barbados to day. No more time for your foolishness.
    The struggle continues
    Peace

  31. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks William, it seems we are dealing with a systematic issue or one that will always be in play given the culture of the region of trade unionists getting involved with political parties.

  32. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    Let’s be real. There are many businesses that are making more profit now. They have laid off workers; have one person doing the work of four or five; paying him/her the same wages. They have cut overheads and are technically making a bigger profit. We have to be careful . During one of the world wars, a prostitute bought up all the bombed out buildings in a European country. Immediate after the war she became a very wealthy real estate tycoon.
    I would not be surprised if there are fancy insurance policies covering all these “ losses” businesses complaining about.
    We need to keep vigilant in protecting what little the working class has.
    I’m afraid that as the old people used to say: Too much education is a funny thing” I say education never beat common sense.
    When I listen to Abed, Seale and all of them, I get the impression that they have NEVER made a profit.
    The struggle continues
    Peace

  33. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    Check the terms of their business insurance, in particular the key worker and business interruption insurance. You are on to something there. The chaos of the Mutual all over again.
    By the way, now that G4S has been sold to the Yanks, how does that change the Barbados dynamic? Does Toni Moore even know her members have new bosses?

  34. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Which businesses making more money now? Based on the balance sheets being published of late this is not the case. Generalizations will not help the argument in this case.

  35. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    Somebody needs to whisper in Mottley’s ears that she will probably be PM for at least fifteen years or at minimum ten. It may be even twenty. She should be bold and imaginative before she squanders the massive goodwill.
    It is time for her to show her experience; intellectual stamina and much heralded ability.
    She needs to move from ordinary to exceptional very quickly.
    She needs genuine progressive advisers.
    The struggle continues.
    Peace

  36. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    Any good accountant will tell you there are two reports. The one for the public and the other one that robs the treasury .
    You lose $100 and you all over Broad Street looking to borrow. Another man loses twenty million and he buys a seventy five million yacht.
    Try covering a meeting at the yacht club; they complain and then go sailing in their yachts.
    Time to get real.
    I don’t generalize nor fantasize.
    The struggle continues
    Peace

  37. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    Ignore the financially illiterate background noise. We are in a mess because it is a cultural feature of Barbadians to get involved in things they know nothing about, usually on the basis of having a degree in law or some nonsense.
    LIAT is not the only business which our ignorance has led to local investors losing money. The Mutual is still the benchmark. Look at G4S, a company with an annual turnover of £7bn a year and 500000 global employees on its books. It also has a pension fund with a deficit of over £500m.
    What does the BWU know about G4S? What research do they do on these overseas firms? In a more financially sophisticated country, locals would be putting together a plan to buy out the local business – encouraged and backed by the government.
    But once we get a monthly pay packet we are happy. Anyone, in particular white people, can always tickle our bellies and we will giggle.

  38. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Mottley is on record that she will do two terms. We will have to see how that materializes.

    Even a buffoon knows that hotels that have been closed or seriously impacted by Covid has suffered negative cash flow. In addition the properties have to be maintained. Last but no least businesses in Barbados have undergone financial stress suffered during the so-called lost decade.

    It is a pity some here cannot debate issues without being disparaging. What is shows is an immaturity that does not align with being a codger. Some of us live here and therefore privy to what is happening in the market. There is a place for generalizations and then one has to be specific.

  39. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    (Quote):
    Skinner did not start taking an interest in what goes on in his country yesterday. You need to take your puerile responses to my posts somewhere else. All you do is sit there and remind people of what the DLP did 2008- 2018. I got news for you -the people kicked their sorry asses out almost three years now. Go and read the papers, they don’t have a seat in parliament and just got their backsides kicked in a by election. Furthermore well known members are fleeing to the BLP. And one of their former ministers may go to prison on corruption charges. Now that I have brought you up to date. Let us deal with Barbados to day. (Unquote).
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    You ought to be a bit ‘careful’ before you are ‘accused’ of giving out umbrellas to ‘shade’ Bajans from the scorching heat of reality.

    It is almost 1 year that the “Don” of porn has been convicted for a serious felony charge yet not one of his associates aka co-conspirators in the same matter which originated in the Barbados jurisdiction has even been charged far less tried in a court of law.

  40. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    We are dealing with those who think that things happen “ just so”. Tourism had three straight bumper years 2016-2019. We need not mention all the great years they had before. Refused to honor their obligations and now we got bankroll them.Where is our tourism product today. Did you ever see a massive Bajan buy of prime time TV ads? Why after sixty years in the market potential travelers believe Barbados is a part of
    Jamaica?
    Tell them to produce individual audits of all overseas agencies and what sell did their offices made of the country.
    A lot of hocus pocus BS.
    Excuses , excuses . I the meantime St. Lucia is promoting local cuisine and in real terms out performing our product.
    I going to bet you a few dollars that very few knew that G4S , was or is just another absentee plantation owner.
    They want us to seriously believe they did not know the anti- worker practices of this company?
    This is donkey years that those sectors of workers have been openly exploited
    This whole episode stinks to the heavens.
    The struggle continues .
    Peace

  41. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    What does 3 years bumper season mean? What would have occurred after to stress said industry? Be specific please!

  42. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    There is a Bajan logic that goes: we are members of the global financial network; but when the EU or OECD tells them if they are members of the club they have to behave in a certain way, they cry racism.
    If they want to be members of the club, they either obey the rules or get out, they are told. They claim we are independent, you cannot tell us what to do.
    Fine. Then they go to international bodies and ask to borrow money and are told there are conditions to the loan, follow the rules. Then they claim racism, why can’t they lend us the money without conditions, as they do to X and Y?
    It is always someone else’s fault, never theirs.
    By the way, do you notice how people who profess to be experts on all countries, cry special knowledge when it comes to Barbados? We are on the ground, so we know something you do not.
    They never say what this special knowledge is, it is just a hint, what I call the Owen Arthur economic expertise. In the one or two times I have met him, he never gave straight answers, but hints that he knew something you did not.
    It is an old Bajan trick. We do not like debating; we prefer to shout, heckle, abuse, or just whisper advice. I remember earlier this year, posting from Barbados and being told I did not know what I was talking about.
    A few weeks ago I also mentioned squatters occupying land illegally and the Water Authority attaching a water supply to the squatters and someone came on and said it was nonsense.
    I have also had a situation in which a senior civil servant dealing with a certain projected told me about and when mentioned it on BU I was told I was wrong.

  43. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Miller who wrote ” not one of his associates aka co-conspirators in the same matter ”

    It is about making ” the deal ” with the DoJ and runinng back home to Canada.

    https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/file/1133316/download

  44. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    I have gone past that living where and on the ground nonsense. My Comrade try hard to ignore them. You are a born and bred Barbadian and that’s all that matters.
    Just write what you feel. All I suggest is that you try hard to don’t reply with names/ cussing even if others do and don’t instigate it either.
    We’ve been around too long to indulge in such. But you said your mother told you about being hard ears. At least she never said hard head. Lol
    The struggle continues.
    Peace.

  45. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    Unless I can’t read , even BLPs on BU have stated that the only industry that performed under the DLP was tourism. We had records in 2019. The two previous years were also considered great years. You should know there have been several bumper years since tourism took over the economy when it replaced sugar. Use your BB sources anc get the necessary statistics.
    It seems that you have bought into junk that : hoteliers, Abed , Haloute, COW, Bizzy and all those cry babies never made money or profit . Not surprising you always defend the business class.
    The struggle continues
    Peace

  46. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    Many thanks. I do not use obscenities and do not encourage it. I however like people to be accurate with the actualite. I am sure I am not the only one to notice the number of inaccuracies that have been normalised on BU.

  47. BAJE Avatar
    BAJE

    @ William Skinner

    IT IS PRETTY OBVIOUS TO BLIND MEN THE LIKES OF STEVIE WONDER AND RAY CHARLES THAT YOU DETEST BOTH THE DLP AND BLP AND QUITE RIGHTLY SO BECAUSE OF NON PERFORMANCE IN LIFTING OF THEIR OWN BLACK MASSES ON THE 2 x 3 ISLAND WHILST ALWAYS BOGGED DOWN IN CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM.

    KEEP SPEAKING THE TRUTH OTHERS WHO WANT TO ATTACK OR MALIGN HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDA IN MAKING EXCUSES FOR STATUS QUO REMAINING IN PLACE WHILST QUICK TO POINT TO DLP PAST TRANSGRESSIONS THAT BLP GOVERNMENT HAS NOT PROSECUTED ALMOST 3 YEARS LATER AFTER MISLEADING THE NAIVE VOTING PUBLIC.

    I HAVE NOTICED THAT OF ALL THE LOCAL PEOPLE WHO ARE STRIKING AND CRYING OUT FOR WAGES/SEVERANCE NOT ONE IS WHITE OR AN INDIAN.

    ALL THE POLITICIANS FROM BOTH DLP AND BLP WHO HAS BEEN ELECTED SHOULD BE ROUNDED UP AND SHOT FOR BETRAYING THEIR OWN PEOPLE CAUSING I SUSPECT MANY EARLY DEATHS DUE TO STRESS AND FINANCIAL HARDSHIP FOR MANY BLACK BAJANS.

    YOU HAVE SAID NOTHING THAT CAN BE REFUTED BUT MANY ON THE ISLAND DON’T LIKE TRUTH AND FACT, THEY ARE LIKE THEIR BLP PRIME MINISTER WHO DON’T WANT THE OUTSIDE WORLD TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN BIM. STARTING TO SOUND LIKE NORTH KOREA OR CUBA.

  48. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Baje

    In your note to @William, you have spoken a truth you do not hear in Barbados, or even on BU, and that is the impact of long unemployment on health and longevity.
    We avoid these uncomfortable truths, dance around them, keep silent, look the other way. We have a country with 40 per cent unemployment, 40 per cent, and not a single word by politicians or trade unionists. In any other country that would have led to riots.
    But in Barbados it is so normal that people shoot each other, instead of confronting the system. Things are so corrupt that we have wealthy hoteliers asking for more taxpayers’ money to shore up their failing businesses, but, even more, that the low-paid and unemployed should get less.
    Yet people demonstrating such savage, brutal behaviour can still be described as, and behave as if they really were pillars of society.
    These are people who should be isolated by all decent people, the worst of whom are the silent church and their hypocrites in dog collars. Not a word from these hounds. We have lost our moral anchor. We are a failed society. When those hungry people rise up, it will end in tears.

  49. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    In the second quarter of 2020, white households—who account for 60 percent of the U.S. population—held 84 percent ($94 trillion) of total household wealth in the U.S.
    Comparatively, Black households—who account for 13.4 percent of the U.S. population—held just 4 percent ($4.6 trillion) of total household wealth….(Quote)

  50. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    The blogmaster did not ask you to cite what the politicians have stated.

    When we say the sector did well in the years you mentioned what do you mean? Does it mean all tourist related businesses in the sector did well? How was the revenue/PROFITS distributed in the sector? Do you know? The businesses mentioned in the media of recent do you know their financial status or have you assumed?

    When we say Barbados has a per capita income north of 15K does it mean we have no poor people in the country, again a mean average? Do you get the point dear William?

    Peace.

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