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Believe You Me – It is Still About the Economy Stupid

In recent weeks the country has been consumed with the news about an IDB/Barbados government survey administered by some schools to 11 year olds without the consent of parents. Yesterday Member of Parliament for St. Michael North West Neil Rowe was charged with rape and is scheduled to appear in Court this morning to formally…

In recent weeks the country has been consumed with the news about an IDB/Barbados government survey administered by some schools to 11 year olds without the consent of parents. Yesterday Member of Parliament for St. Michael North West Neil Rowe was charged with rape and is scheduled to appear in Court this morning to formally answer to the charge. Not to forget his month the number of murders surpassed prior year.

These issues should not make us lose focus of the perilous state of the economy. Despite the narratives being pushed by talking heads about improved credit ratings, reduced debt and the security blanket BERT II affords, there is reality that has not changed. The Barbados economy is almost entirely dependent on tourism and to a lesser degree international business. How many Barbadians are aware there is a negative outlook for the global economy by the IMF for 2023 with growth predicted to slow to 2.7%? To quote the IMF – “2023 will feel like a recession for millions around the world”.  

Yesterday one of the blogmaster’s favourite talk show moderators Dr. Kristina Hinds hosted an interesting program which focused on the BERT II plan. The blogmaster suspects many Barbadians would have preferred to discuss other matters. A important distinction was made by economists on the panel to separate fiscal management and performance of the economy. The 2018 debt restructure executed to reduce debt to GDP, implementation of BOSS programs, BERT II etc are fiscal initiatives designed to stabilize the economy by creating “fiscal space” (the most used economic term since 2018) that hopefully enable a climate for the economy to grow. 

The stark reality after all the pretty talk, the Barbados economy is over reliant on tourism as are several countries in the Caribbean. The political and economic challenges being played out in one of our key tourism markets do not augur well to spur growth in the local economy. What have we done in recent years to engineer a more resilient economy given the many learnings coming out of the pandemic? The blogmaster is not unsympathetic to the enormity of the task to breath life into other sectors of the economy to create economic opportunities AND foreign exchange. That said, there isn’t the urgency to explore, adopt and execute non traditional projects. Take for example the slow rate of execution of of a Renewable Energy Plan highlighted several times in the media by BAPE President Trevor Browne.

BAPE has the unfortunate responsibility to advise that unless urgent and fundamental changes are made to the current progression of the Barbados Sustainable Energy transformation, the brilliant vision of converting Barbados to 100 per cent sustainable energy by 2030 is doomed to join these other outstanding conceptual masterpieces in the recycle bin.

BAPE call for urgent changes to energy plan

If energy is critical to having a measure of control on a key cost driver in the economy as well as create NEW economic opportunity, why are we not executing with haste a relevant energy plan? There is a deer in headlights approach to managing our affairs that is depressing. If Barbados is to transform to a model small island developing state (SID), a reputation it enjoyed in the 70s and 80s, the Social Partnership will have to wheel and come again. Believe you me!

41 responses to “Believe You Me – It is Still About the Economy Stupid”

  1. GreenMonkey Avatar
    GreenMonkey

    Gail Tverberg is a retired insurance industry actuary from the USA who has been following the energy and resource extraction industries since she first became aware of what was described as the “peak oil” problem in the 1980s.

    Her thesis in a nutshel, as I understand it is:

    1) Economies need affordable energy to grow and the cheaper the energy the faster the growth. When energy prices get too high, economic growth stops and recessions, depressions follow.
    ,.
    2) Hydrocarbons (i.e..coal, oil, natural gas) sources of energy that fueled economic growth since the start of the industrial revolution are becoming more and more expensive (because the cheapest, easy to access and/or best quality sources are always extracted and utilized first).

    3) World economies are now finding themselves on a see-saw. As energy inputs to economies grow all prices increase and therefore demand drops and economic growth slows or economies fall into recession. This causes a reduced demand for all goods and services including energy. and consequently energy prices drop too. As economic recovery occurs law of supply and demand forces energy price increases (to the delight of the oil companies and shareholders), because as their profits go up they start to recover the reduced profits or losses they took when oil prices were low. Unfortunately, the subsequent rise in energy prices once again brings on an economic slowdown/recession and the cycle repeats.

    4) It is a mistake to assume that alternative energy sources we currently have (or likely to have access to in the near future) such as wind, solar and even nuclear energy can step in to fill the shortfall from declining hydrocarbon availability. We still live in a world where economies are built on hydrocarbon energy sources and the cheapness and affordability of those sources have enabled us to create and install solar panels, windmills and nuclear plants which in themselves have too low an energy returned on energy invested return to be considered economically viable without a strong hydrocarbon base. Alternative energy is the icing on the world’s energy cake and unlikely to ever become the cake itself.

    This is an extract from the most recent post on Tverberg’s blog Our Finite World:

    Why financial approaches won’t fix the world’s economic problems this time

    Posted on October 18, 2022 by Gail Tverberg

    Time and time again, financial approaches have worked to fix economic problems. Raising interest rates has acted to slow the economy and lowering them has acted to speed up the economy. Governments overspending their incomes also acts to push the economy ahead; doing the reverse seems to slow economies down.

    What could possibly go wrong? The issue is a physics problem. The economy doesn’t run simply on money and debt. It operates on resources of many kinds, including energy-related resources. As the population grows, the need for energy-related resources grows. The bottleneck that occurs is something that is hard to see in advance; it is an affordability bottleneck.

    For a very long time, financial manipulations have been able to adjust affordability in a way that is optimal for most players. At some point, resources, especially energy resources, get stretched too thin, relative to the rising population and all the commitments that have been made, such as pension commitments. As a result, there is no way for the quantity of goods and services produced to grow sufficiently to match the promises that the financial system has made. This is the real bottleneck that the world economy reaches.

    I believe that we are closely approaching this bottleneck today. I recently gave a talk to a group of European officials at the 2nd Luxembourg Strategy Conference, discussing the issue from the European point of view. Europeans seem to be especially vulnerable because Europe, with its early entry into the Industrial Revolution, substantially depleted its fossil fuel resources many years ago. The topic I was asked to discuss was, “Energy: The interconnection of energy limits and the economy and what this means for the future.”

    In this post, I write about this presentation.

    SNIP

    The world economy starts hitting major obstacles when energy supply stops growing faster than population because the supply of finished goods and services (such as new automobile, new homes, paved roads, and airplane trips for passengers) produced stops growing as rapidly as population. These obstacles take the form of affordability obstacles. The physics of the situation somehow causes the wages and wealth to be increasingly concentrated among the top 10% or 1%. Lower-paid individuals are increasingly left out. While goods are still produced, ever-fewer workers can afford more than basic necessities. Such a situation makes for unhappy workers.

    World energy consumption per capita hit a peak in 2018 and began to slide in 2019, with an even bigger drop in 2020. With less energy consumption, world automobile sales began to slide in 2019 and fell even lower in 2020. Protests, often indirectly related to inadequate wages or benefits, became an increasing problem in 2019. The year 2020 is known for Covid-19 related shutdowns and flight cancellations, but the indirect effect was to reduce energy consumption by less travel and by broken supply lines leading to unavailable goods. Prices of fossil fuels dropped far too low for producers.

    Governments tried to get their own economies growing by various techniques, including spending more than the tax revenue they took in, leading to a need for more government debt, and by Quantitative Easing, acting to hold down interest rates. The result was a big increase in the money supply in many countries. This increased money supply was often distributed to individual citizens as subsidies of various kinds.

    The higher demand caused by this additional money tended to cause inflation. It tended to raise fossil fuel prices because the inexpensive-to-extract fuels have mostly been extracted. In the days of Paul Volker, more energy supply at a little higher price was available within a few years. This seems extremely unlikely today because of diminishing returns. The problem is that there is little new oil supply available unless prices can stay above at least $120 per barrel on a consistent basis, and prices this high, or higher, do not seem to be available.

    https://ourfiniteworld.com/2022/10/18/why-financial-approaches-wont-fix-the-worlds-economic-problems-this-time/

  2. dreamstarworld Avatar
    dreamstarworld

    Britain has just elected its #ThirdPM in 3 years with the last one lasting [44] days – making history with the “FIRST” #BlackChancellor that was eventually thrown under the bus & now the 1st Billionaire Asian PM – “UNELECTED BY THE PEOPLE” who assumes office in a matter of moments, at probably the worst time since #WW2… And somehow, “DELUDED”, FANTASY ISLAND BRITS believe that slimy #RishiSunak (WEF Stooge) will somehow be able to guide this “TITANIC MESS” through the dark, cold, murky waters of a global monetary, DEBT-RIDDEN, stagflation, wartime CRISIS period into the sunlight shores of the Caribbean… #ThinkAgain 4 it all ends in tears!!!
    https://youtu.be/AZ9ycHsXOls

  3. dreamstarworld Avatar
    dreamstarworld

    If you haven’t sold your stocks & bought “GOLD” & other precious metals – #YouAreToast… Everything is going to “HELL” in a pan cart…
    https://youtu.be/WtIQm5i6Inw

  4. dreamstarworld Avatar
    dreamstarworld

    All the #FinancialProphets (PROFITS) are “ALL” saying the same thing…
    https://youtu.be/M_HnPpYkruM

  5. dreamstarworld Avatar
    dreamstarworld

    #TheOracleOfOmaha is also issuing a dire warning that mirrors #TheGreatDepression of 1929… This time could very well be cataclysmic..
    https://youtu.be/1uMFR69vC3w

  6. dreamstarworld Avatar
    dreamstarworld

    Finally, #ChinaIsOnTheBrink!!! This VT points out the seismic fractures in the Chinese economy & its power structures… China goes – the whole world “IMPLODES”!!!
    https://youtu.be/QSkKG5bthSA

  7. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Terence
    A bushman is not without honor …except on BU.
    (You will get the triple negative),

    But Bushie has been warning ever since de damn whacker ‘get tek way’, that our donkeys are as good as grass – and that this coming winter will be crunch time GLOBALLY.

    Now we have minor prophets like Buffett, who are looking at the ACTUAL early stages of the chaos, being highlighted … now that it is essentially TOO LATE.

    BTW
    What will you do with the gold that you accumulate?
    eat it?
    burn it for warmth?
    hide behind it from the tempest?

    LOL
    There is ONLY one salvation Boss…..

  8. David Avatar
    David

    Interesting comment from Green Monkey.

    How many are aware that investment portfolios; mutual funds/401k etc depend on high yields from stock/equities from the petroleum sector as the world is pushing hard for 100% RE adoption. A conundrum or is it a contradiction.

  9. John A Avatar
    John A

    Well those of us who have said the same thing over a year ago were deemed ” doom and gloomist” or anti BLP by the fowls.

    Look here are the facts as we face the 2023 winter season.

    Oil is predicted by sites like Oil Source and JP Morgan to be at $100 usd a barrel for December and the first quarter of 2023, due to winter demand and the fact Opec has lowered production.

    Secondly the £ is at a serious low now right on the door step of when many UK travellers would be getting ready to book their holiday.

    Thirdly air fares are at the highest they have been for years and carriers are in short supply for many reasons.

    Now these are just the basic reasons we will be challenged with. I have not even touched on the international markets and where they stand. Nor have I mentioned the fact that our very own economy has not recovered to 2019 levels yet, even though we continue to spend like we are pre covid.

    But ignore all of that let’s focus daily on all the superficial nonesence that we love to get caught up in. Lets not bother to discuss that although covid raised its head in 2020, we have done nothing to reduce our Fx demand in areas like oil and food. I mean dem was nuff talk but what really have we done post 2019 to improve our dependency on the good old USD?

  10. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    Our changing world 🌍

    Rishi Sunak Makes History as UK’s First Prime Minister of Color.

    Born in southern England to parents of Indian heritage, he has spoken of a childhood split between the Hindu temple and
    cheering on the local soccer team.

    A milestone for a polyglot nation that has become more ethnically diverse in recent decades, albeit one roiled by occasional anti-immigrant fervor.
    Mr. Sunak, who rose swiftly from newbie member of Parliament to become chancellor of the Exchequer at age 39, was born in Southampton, on the southern English coast, to parents of Indian heritage who emigrated from British colonial East Africa six decades ago.
    His father was a family doctor; his mother ran a pharmacy. On his official website, Mr. Sunak says that among his first experiences in business was working in his mother’s small shop. “I grew up watching my parents serve our local community with dedication,” he writes.

    Yes, some U.K. folks are echoing “zilch”.

  11. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @David 11.17
    Neither.
    Because of the great many products from oil, it isn’t going anywhere soon. As the price increases, fringe properties/methods come into play. OPEC imo, is playing chicken, extracting the most, while fiddling supply (hence price) to keep the fringes at bay.
    Once the tobacco firms and some nearly extinct chemical giants were the dividend darlings.

  12. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    A 30-year-old man was shot this evening at Salmond, St Lucy.

    Police said the incident occurred around 4:45 p.m. The victim received two gunshot injuries and was transported to the hospital for medical attention.

  13. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    Tomorrow!!

    “ If Barbados is to transform to a model small island developing state (SID), a reputation it enjoyed in the 70s and 80s, the Social Partnership will have to wheel and come again. Believe you me!”

    Xxxxx

    The three geographical regions in which SIDS are located are: the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS).

    SIDS were recognized as a special case both for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    The aggregate population of all the SIDS is 65 million, slightly less than 1% of the world’s population, yet this group faces unique social, economic, and environmental challenges.

    SIDS face a host of challenges including for many, their remote geography. As a result, many SIDS face high import and export costs for goods as well as irregular international traffic volumes. Yet, they must rely on external markets for many goods due to the narrow resource base.

    For SIDS, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)—the ocean under their control—is, on average, 28 times the country’s land mass. Thus, for many SIDS the majority of the natural resources they have access to comes from the ocean. Factors like small population size, remoteness from international markets, high transportation costs, vulnerability to exogenous economic shocks and fragile land and marine ecosystems make SIDS particularly vulnerable to biodiversity loss and climate change because they lack economic alternatives.

    Climate change has a very tangible impact on SIDS. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate turned the 2017 tropical cyclone season into one of the deadliest and most devastating of all time, destroying communications, energy and transport infrastructure, homes, health facilities and schools. Slow onset events such as sea level rise pose an existential threat to small island communities, requiring drastic measures such as relocation of populations, and the related challenges this poses. These challenges are compounded by limited institutional capacity, scarce financial resources and a high degree of vulnerability to systemic shocks.

    Biodiversity is an important issue for the livelihood of many SIDS, as industries like tourism and fisheries can constitute over half of the GDP of small island economies. However, the importance of these natural resources extends beyond the economy; biodiversity holds aesthetic and spiritual value for many island communities. For centuries, these communities have drawn benefits from biodiversity in the form of food supply, clean water, reduced beach erosion, soil and sand formation, and protection from storm surges.

    Strong biodiversity not only generates revenue through industries for SIDS, it also helps prevent the incurrence of additional costs that can result from climate change, soil erosion, pollution, floods, natural disasters, and other destructive phenomena.

    We need permanence…

  14. John2 Avatar
    John2

    John A

    What is the samething that u were saying over a year ago ?

    I only started calling you gloom and doom around about spring / summer this year

    A prediction is just a guesstimate taking certain conditions into consideration and can be adjusted as conditions change

    You alway come on the side of the worst case situations

    Ok oil is forecasted to be $ 100 by Dec etc etc. don’t you thing that fitch and imf etc don’t know of these predictions when they make their?
    Yet recently fitch forecasted 3% growth for Barbados next year

    3 or 5 % (can’t remember which right now) growth in 21

    9-10% on top of that this year as forecasted and trending in the first half and we are very close to making the list of 2019

  15. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Now if it is about what the guy fro BAPE is saying This is the second article I have read from him

    IMO what he is saying that it is not as simple as placing panels on every roof in the next 6 months and our energy problems are solved
    In his previous article he explained and gave some examples of places to explain how and why they failed

  16. dreamstarworld Avatar
    dreamstarworld

    @ Bush Tea

    “What will you do with the gold that you accumulate? eat it? burn it for warmth? hide behind it from the tempest?”

    On a serious note, beloved – the use of gold as transferable collateral comes in 0.5g, 1 g, 2g, 2.5g, 5g right up 400 troy ounce gold bars & as an investment hedge out of stocks, bonds, treasuries et al it can be investment capital into farmland & production in Latin America, bulk buying of raw materials, non-perishable food commodities & up siding everyday essentials – along with investment into small, medium & large scale on-the-ground food business enterprises in Africa…

    For sure, you cannot eat stocks, bonds et al but as Scripture opines: “AS LONG AS THE EARTH REMAINS – THERE WILL BE SEEDTIME & HARVEST”… (Gen. 8:22)

    In 2012, when Wifey & I lost our angel, we bought 6 gold coins which today is worth about 6 grand a piece & considering the appreciation value on the initial investment cost – we now wish we had bought 50 of the coins…

    Thankfully, Karatbars Int’l was an answer to prayers & over a 6-year period (2013 -2019) many like us accumulated gold by putting our cash into small grams of gold which will be worth a fortune when the market goes belly up (just as it was in 1929) during the Great Depression…

    So, don’t knock historical precedent as the saying goes: “WHAT GOES AROUND – COMES AROUND” – sometimes in greater measure for those who learn the lessons…
    https://youtu.be/dKajdKR3tlM

  17. GreenMonkey Avatar
    GreenMonkey

    97% Owned | Creation of Money | Debts Explained

    97% owned present serious research and verifiable evidence on our economic and financial system. This is the first documentary to tackle this issue from a UK-perspective and explains the inner workings of Central Banks and the Money creation process. When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it’s essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked, questions like; where does money come from? Who creates it? Who decides how it gets used? And what does this mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when the monetary, and financial system, breaks down?

    “And the real money in the world to be made today is not by producing anything at all. It’s simply by forms of speculating – basically, making money from money That’s the most profitable and by far and away the biggest form of activity, of economic activity, in the world today”

    https://youtu.be/3lLXgl2CHDE

  18. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David
    “If energy is critical to having a measure of control on a key cost driver in the economy as well as create NEW economic opportunity, why are we not executing with haste a relevant energy plan? “
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    One gets the impression that the BAPE is just calling for a ‘plan’ for the energy changes being contemplated.

    Surely there HAS to be such a plan.
    So why would the government not just share it – and end all the speculation?
    What could be so secretive about these ‘plans’ that we can’t be made aware of them?

    Even Bajan brass bowls can’t be so silly as to undertake such a big and important change without some kind of plan in hand ….. can we?

    BTW David…
    Can you PLEASE explain to Bushie the great urgency in converting all Bajans to the new ID cards is such a rush?

    Ok – no issue with upgrading to new technology and all that – BUT have you noticed the money, urgency, and PR efforts being put behind this change? What is the RUSH?
    Why the Hell can’t the change just be another ROUTINE upgrade where all new ID card issues are done with the new cards as changes become due?

    If Bushie was not a brass bowl, the bushman would be tempted to think that this is yet another IDB type “pilot project” (like the shiite school survey) to test how a small and malleable population can be ‘carded’ and tagged and shepherded, and made to bend over….

    Perhaps you should do a review of the many CONCERNS raised globally about the PERNICIOUS POSSIBILITIES that present themselves for authorities to exploit populations when they are digitally documented.

    Where there is no vision, brass bowls’ donkeys are in grave danger….

  19. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “we bought 6 gold coins which today is worth about 6 grand a piece & considering the appreciation value on the initial investment cost – we now wish we had bought 50 of the coins…”

    i can attest to that, gold and or silver/other resources means you always have the means to eat, or invest…..can’t go wrong.

  20. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    From what a lowly blogmaster is reading from the tea leaves the migration to the new ID card is part of a plan to enhance how Barbadians will be guided to do business regarding an enhanced payment system/gateways. The problem is that full disclosure is required so that Barbadians understand the plan.

    Regarding RE, besides the sloth by government it seems externals calling the shots.

  21. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @David, respectfly brother but a electronic smart ID really need not have anything – beyond the more secure ID interface – to do with any interchange or electronic payment system.

    So the BushGriot is quite lucid and correct in his assertions re the apparent haste!

    Suspicious and lacking transparency indeed.

    I don’t want you prolix your point but we have been steeped in electronic/digital payments for many years now and this matter takes us into the realm of the futuristic design to have us ‘chipped beneath the skin’ so that we are identified as a digital object, almost.

    We already have that essentially via our smart phones of course but that ANY govt is saying to its subjects that they MUST have a digital electronic ID card in order to be FUNCTIONAL in the payment and business ecosystem should be seen as bogus BS!

    Lata.

  22. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    Did you read what the blogmaster posted? Does the New ID card have a chip? Is it the intention of the government to find ways to work around the traditional banking system? Discuss for 5 marks.

  23. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David
    OF COURSE it has a chip.
    Else it is a waste of time. Even cricket balls have chips now….

    @Dribbles….
    The problem with smart phones has been the FACT that those in the know keep changing the damn units as well as the SIM cards.
    Also, when asked to give a cell phone number for reference , scamps (like Bushie) are wont to give ‘borrowed’ numbers or …temporary prepaid account info. 🙂

    With your new TRIDENT (Pitchfork) card, there will be no changing of SIM card or buying of new units…. your electronic tag will be PERMANENT …at last. Just short of being implanted.
    No chip is really even needed, that UNIQUE IDENTIFIER NUMBER will be able to pull ALL your various electronic activities together, and to map out and. control your lives in ways that brass bowls would NEVER imagine.

    LOL
    If Bushie wanted to do this on a Global scale, WUH …the bushman would relish the opportunity to do a pilot project in a brass bowl place where the people are so gullible that they think that the IMF is a blessing…..

    …and that the IDB are altruistic philanthropist …

    LOL
    ha ha ha

  24. David Avatar
    David

    More Calls for Action on Gun Violence/3 Shootings/5 Injured

    https://starcomnetwork.net/blog/2022/10/25/more-calls-for-action-on-gun-violence-3-shootings-5-injured/

  25. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @David, the Bushman Griot responded and answered your query again quite pellucidly.

    I imagine that you awoke on the right side of the bed this morning which was the WRONG side …😎🤣. as in the opposite side to where most chips are placed on the standard ‘branded credit card’ or for that matter a national ID card!🤦‍♂️

    As Bushie said ..of course it has a chip. I know you were mekking bare mock sport with that comment because there NO universe where it would be sensible or practical to even get out of bed and perceive that ANY NEWLY issued electronic document would NOT have an integrated chip.😎

    Come on, man. The cost and methodology to issue an ID card with an IC is now almost as ‘cheap’ as issuing the ubiquitous blank plastic of 20 years ago (whether with mag stripe, optical stripe etc). In fact when security and interface for travel and other such business is considered it’s actually ‘cheaper’ to issue a chip card.

    Come on @David you KNOW this stuff! Stop playing de fool, do!

    Now as to whether “Is it the intention of the government to find ways to work around the traditional banking system?” I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA!

    For the ‘love of crypto’ I can’t see why they should or would as that is NOT a business in which they should be playing (leading any foray) , attempting to have citizens circumvent or anything else. Thus I have no idea where you are going with that!

    I gone.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    You give the Blogmaster too much credit. Minister Straughn is on record stating the government is looking to partner with payment systems to make it easier to facilitate doing financial transactions and also address the unbanked. Tried unsuccessfully to filter that report.

  27. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    Ok @David, I would have to defer to the minister’s presumed knowledge and ‘homework’ study presented in that report. However, I would be deeply impressed that a well reasoned consultative process determined that using a national ID document (with all the inherent security concerns) was the ideal method to bring those who are so called ‘unbanked’ into the digital age !

    As we know there are some cities in Europe which are almost ENTIRELY cash-less users … you have to be in the system and using your token (card, phone or other) to connect to life (retail, travel etc).

    One can laud the Bajan authorities for moving aggressively into that world but to tell me that it HAS TO BE DONE via the national digital ID is absurdly different to what was once accepted knowledge as I knew it.… so I would love to see that report’s conclusion on WHY it’s ideal “to make it easier to facilitate doing financial transactions” via the National ID!!!

    In my estimation that would be tantamount to madness as it would be absolutely much simpler and SAFER to issue a ‘companion’ smart card to those ‘unbanked’ persons!

    Maybe life has changed more drastically than I realized and encryption security and such is now impenetrable! Ah well.

  28. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Good job there in there in the port
    That custom officer/s should be rewarded

  29. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Let me put two cents in…..
    “The FDIC’s survey also asked a group of unbanked respondents why they did not have a checking or savings account. The most common responses were “do not have enough money to keep in an account,” “don’t trust banks,” “avoiding a bank gives more privacy,” “bank account fees are too high,” “bank account fees are unpredictable” and “lack of convenience.” As for “lack of convenience,” traditional banks are commonly not located in certain neighborhoods, but alternative financial services companies are plentiful in those neighborhoods””

    Indeed, if one does not have money without a digital ID, it is unlikely they will have more money after getting a digital ID.

    If I was in Barbados and continually short on funds I would not get a digital ID. It certainly would not help me but would make me more ‘trackable’ to the government.

    I suspect the desire to help is not the motivation behind these changes. Everything done is tainted.

  30. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Innocent untill

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/10/25/rowe-can-stay/

  31. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    Here is one of the articles.

    https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/digital-ids-could-be-e-wallets-straughn

  32. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @John2
    Good job there in there in the port
    That custom officer/s should be rewarded
    ++++++++
    For doing their job?

  33. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    Ok @David, cool. But you know that he is talking bare goobly-gook… sounds pretty, pretty but really says very, very little.

    As I noted previously to have an e-wallet app on your digital ID is NOT an ideal scenario as you are effectively using your unique national ID card to actually be a repository for Apps … ideally that should not be done.

    But when the minister is quoted as saying “There are persons in this country today who do not have bank accounts and it is their right not to have a bank account […] but within the context of the digital ID, there will be a functionality that contemplates the creation of what effectively will be the digitisation of the currency“ that is bare boiler plate blather on smart card tech and is being used to either mislead or misinform and sounding real pretty in doing so.

    When he goes on to say “So the cash that you have in your pocket or that you are keeping at home, we will be capable, if you so desire, of being able to have a form of a digital account that is not linked to a bank account, but is the same way that you digitise in a real sense the cash you have in your pocket. [..] That functionality is there where it is almost like an e-wallet where you have cash in your wallet and that wallet now becomes digital and that is contemplated under the new regulations,” that’s more profound gibberish gobbly-gook!

    So WTH does he mean “able to have a form of a digital account that is not linked to a bank account “ or “almost like an e-wallet where you have cash in your wallet” Did anyone ask him to put that in SIMPLE and REAL English???

    You either have a bank account with access to your funds or you DO NOT. There is no in-between option to ‘have a form of a digital account! …. So what the govt is doing, plain and simple … is they are giving ‘unbanked’ citizens a govt account from which they can securely access govt deposited funds with this new digital card .. if so then freaking well say so and cut out all the subterfuge.

    That’s all well and good but for all practically purposes to have that facilitated via the Nat ID card is not necessary nor as I noted, really ideal … buy doable yes.

    The smart Nat ID card will surely be used to securely validate with 2-factor authentication and encryption etc that you are who you say you are but in order to go beyond that and have access to an account you will HAVE TO HAVE an actual account … that’s fairly simple.

    So clearly there would be no reason for the average already banking and tech connected Bajan to want or need such an e-wallet app or connection on their NATIONAL ID CARD. Why would they!!!

    All that said, I am quite comfortable with a smart ID with its much higher security feature set using stored biometrics to facilitate one-to-one ID matching with your fingerprint or iris scan and all that wonderful stuff but to market the card because it will have an e-wallet app seems crazy (or deceitful as a fox) to me!

    Lata.

  34. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Sarg.

    And why not?

    They wouldn’t be the first employee that got rewarded for doing a good job

    It’s not like it was one gun / five bullets that were discovered . With what going on in Barbados over the last few years that’s a lot of fire power taken out before they got on the streets. Let’s hope now the police get similar success in getting who they were intended for ( the big boys) .

  35. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    Who knows where technology will take us? Innovation always opens the door for robust feedback.

  36. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Yesterday was a nice day.

    Canada’s central bank continued its campaign to wrestle high inflation into submission on Wednesday, raising its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent.

  37. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Do Barbados government ministers follow news reports from the UK,USA and Canada ?

  38. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Sarge
    For doing their job?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    LOL @ Sarge… You play that you don’t know that bout hey, yuh cud get a ‘most honorable’ for even LESS than doing yuh job – like radical vaccine orders for example…

    A fella that actually doing he job deserve a lil something….

  39. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Barbados Central Bank predicts 10% GROWTH 2022 and 5% 2023

  40. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @John2
    They wouldn’t be the first employee that got rewarded for doing a good job
    +++++++
    Let me know if they made any arrests, there must be a name and mailing address attached to that merchandise unless it was sent to…..

    To whom it may concern
    No Fixed address
    Bridgetown, Barbados

  41. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Sarg

    I get my news fim the media so you probably get it before me
    You should ask Ms connections for that info you would get it before anyone on BU

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