Prime Minister of Barbados David Thompson
The Financial Times reported today of Moody’s warning to the USA concerning its burgeoning budget deficit. Unbelievable some would say. It seems Barbados is not the only country coming under the microscope from the international credit rating agency. In a nutshell the triple A rating which the USA has routinely enjoyed maybe under threat. Truth be told BU will believe the markdown when it happens.
Almost two years since the collapse of the global financial market and as predicted the lag indicators are beginning to take hold in the Barbados economy. In the lead productive sector tourism, revenue has contracted, unemployment has bent upwards passed 10%, foreign direct investment has significantly dwindled …The financial state of the global financial market continues to challenge all governments around the world. To accentuate the problem is the fact Barbados has a new government which has to acclimatize to the workings of government operating in a complex global environment.
On the weekend Minister David Estwick announced at a constituency meeting his concern at the ailing economy and indicated he would recommend a wage freeze to Prime Minister David Thompson. Prime Minister David Thompson has subsequently been reported in the media as supporting Minister Estwick’s call. It makes it a no-brainer for anyone to suspect that the Barbados economy must be tottering on the brink of disaster. To be honest the calls by Minister Estwick backed by his boss conjured up a sinister reminder of the dark days of the Sandiford government when the 8% cut to the public purse was administered. Prime Minister David Thompson will have to work his magic and some to remove his DLP government from the shadow of the Sandiford administration of the 90’s.
The reaction to Estwick’s announcement has been fast and furious by the usual suspects. Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley has made a strong statement condemning any plan to freeze public sector wages. The unions have roundly condemned the suggestion. Even David Commisiong has been quoted in the media asking why. In fact he has suggested the government is mouthing IMF recommended policies coming out of the last IMF consultation. To back-up a bit, the Barbados Workers Union boss Leroy Trotman suggested his union would not be drawn into a public position on the matter, protocol requires that wage negotiations are done behind closed doors he was quoted to say.
BU is obviously concerned about a deteriorating Barbados economy. Of equal concern is a situation being played out which sees a key member of the Social Partnership of Barbados (government, private sector, union) violating the spirit of the protocol by going public, a ploy (flying a kite) made famous by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur. The coming days and weeks will make for interesting theatre as the several actors perform in their expected roles. What is evident, the Barbados economy appears to be headed for the rocks.
Captain Thompson is the ship sinking?
Hant understood. The whitehouse, US congress, business leaders and those on their payroll like economist are not fooling the citizens, we know it aint so. However “freewilly” is forcasting the “end” of America, not sure what he means by that.
Anyway to David Thompson. The news out of England reads…..
U.K. CHARGES FOUR LAWMAKERS IN EXPENSE SCANDAL
Time to come clean on what you told us about the BLP during the election campaign.
@Adrian, you REALLY don’t understand what freewilly means by the ‘end of America’….. or you just refuse to believe it?
… he mean that just now wanna @$$ heading for the grass….
…play that you ain’t know….
no wage freeze….re-introduce a price control dept, increase VAT by 5%…
you people wanted change, now accept the damn change you got
i knew this was going to happen after the DLP won…
Prime Minister Thompson, it looks like the honeymoon is done. Barbadians who have become fat and lazy by depending on the same old economic model are knocking themselves out in the current economic climate.
A pity the BLP seems to be in a little disaray because there is an opportunity for them to make-up some ground now.
“…i knew this was going to happen after the DLP won…”
So what!!
Bush Tea said years ago that it was going to happen ANYWAY!!
Wise management during the time of plenty may have given us some options during the crisis….instead we had mismanagement and thievery.
Agreed that that is now history. But wanna BLP fowls could really hush!
…only making the PDP look viable…
The DLP meanwhile clearly has no plan…. and no sign of one after 2 years. Probably overwhelmed with the reality of responsibility.
…besides, when has a lawyer been known to be decisive? I had hoped that Thompson would have been different but alas…..
What is needed?
A national plan.
A call to arms.
….clear and realistic objectives.
…. leaders who lead from the front and by personal example.
And having agreed on a national plan, forceful, fair and decisive actions to support the agreed plan.
Ok we can wake up now! IT AIN’T going to happen. We just don’t have the testicular spheres to exercise such leadership.
…and so it is going to be quite bad….quite soon.
What the Government needs to do is to cut out all non essential expenditures e.g. Constituency Councils (the sort of thing you have when a country is flush with money), all the parties, maybe reduce the number of MP cars etc.
Unfortunately it is always the little man that has to pay for everything. So if they do unfortunately decide to freeze Public Service workers salaries (which could reduce spending and slow down the economy even further and have knock on effect on the private sector), the Government should lead by example and take a wage cut. That may give the impression that they are on the side of the people.
Its time to make some tough decisions, rather than popularity decisions, such as reintroduction of a bus fare for students until things get better, even if its 50c, if they want to deter them from using the PSVs. However, they would need to identify those children really in need an issue bus passes or something. Those parents who can afford it can pay. May seems harsh but it will be cheaper for us than an across the board increase in VAT to 17.5%.
The Government just needs to be honest with us and ensure all members of the Government are on the same page. It’s starting to appear that there is some underlying divide in their party or lack of control. They need to get there act together and come up with a recovery plan for the economy and quickly. Make it convincing and get the majority of people on board. I think people will be more prepared to tough it out if they can see light at the end of the tunnel.
Public servants and the public service on the whole is being used and abused by the DLP operatives. I should know, I work for a Government dept. we make a lot of purchases in fact we purchase from all sectors of the island. Before we elections we were able to share the pie with 2/3 players in a particular area but not now, what has happened in the last 2 yrs is that people have throwned their weight and we are dictated to by top management, whom are also dictated to about who to buy from, hence in some instances people with no experience have started companies and have been raping our accouts dept. they charge higher prices and in a lot of cases are down right inefficient. Let me give some examples, since we are a govt. dept that is always critised by the public and the politicians for not making money when they have us in this position.
Chemicals – new supplier over twice as expensive, quality not as good.
Lumber & hardware – limited to one supplier, prices not always cheaper.
Tyres & Batteries 50% increase in prices limited to one supplier. (they have ignored tender)
food stuff – cheaper supplier has been greatly reduced new player prices over 30% higher.
Customs broker – previously three now only one, VERY INEFFICIENT in fact in have started business lately and knows NOTHING about customs brokering. Freight higher, broker fees higher, and slow, inexperienced and inefficient costs us hundreds of dollars in storage. What would have taken others 2/3 DAYS takes him up to 3 weeks, we have had him for over a year and have had to pay storage on every shipment.
That is why the Government departments, and Statutory depts are inefficient and lose money because for political dictating.
So much more I could say, not to mention how weak and scared management at this place is.
Undertaker……..
Undertaker
If what you are saying is true, and I have no reason to doubt you, then that is a VERY SERIOUS matter. The whole idea of wage/salary freeze can be the downfall of not only the DLP but the country alltogether. Before a freeze, there must be a freeze of increases in the essential services and in prices on food stuff. Water rates, electrical rates, property tax, telephone rates, plus increasingly higher prices in the supermarkets and other food places, now we are hearing the poultry people talking about an increase. Couple this with a rise in unemployment and the granting of work to non-nationals over the locals, this ALL spells a recipe for disaster for this country. Yes, we are in great trouble but ad hoc methods should not be used to get out. These methods need to be carefully thought out before action is made.
I must commend Min Lashley for the work he is doing but I would like to caution this government about the backlash that can occur from the sale of these houses. Many of the new house owners are proud to “turn their own key” but what wqill happen if the economy gets worse and many of these same people are either out of work or simply can’t pay? There would be mass foreclosures in Barbados and there are non-national vultures who are standing by to snap up these houses. When this happens these people are going to be back in the same boat or a now leaky one, while a few poarasites in barbados will be smiling all the way to the bank.
The foll are excerpts from:
“SILENT WEAPONS FOR A QUIET WAR”
which sad to say, is the MO that’s at play worldwide. The Many are controlled by the Few.
“Economic Shock Testing”
In recent times, the application of Operations Research to the study of the public economy has been obvious for anyone who understands the principles of shock testing.
In the shock testing of an aircraft airframe, the recoil impulse of firing a gun mounted on that airframe causes shock waves in that structure which tell aviation engineers the conditions under which parts of the airplane or the whole airplane or its wings will start to vibrate or flutter like a guitar string, a flute reed, or a tuning fork, and disintegrate or fall apart in flight.
Economic engineers achieve the same result in studying the behavior of the economy and the consumer public by carefully selecting a staple commodity such as beef, coffee, gasoline, or sugar and then causing a sudden change or shock in its price or availability, thus kicking everybody’s budget and buying habits out of shape.
They then observe the shock waves which result by monitoring the changes in advertising, prices, and sales of that and other commodities.
The objective of such studies is to acquire know-how to set the public economy into a predictable state of motion or change, even a controlled self-destructive state of motion which will convince the public that certain “expert” people should take control of the money system and reestablish security (rather than liberty and justice) for all. When the subject citizens are rendered unable to control their financial affairs, they of course, become totally enslaved, a source of cheap labor.
Not only the prices of commodities, but also the availability of labor can be used as the means of shock testing. Labor strikes deliver excellent test shocks to an economy, especially in the critical service areas of trucking (transportation), communication, public utilities (energy, water, garbage collection), etc.
By shock testing, it is found that there is a direct relationship between the availability of money flowing in an economy and the psychological outlook and response of masses of people dependent upon that availability.
For example, there is a measurable, quantitative relationship between the price of gasoline, and the probability that a person would experience a headache, feel a need to watch a violent movie, smoke a cigarette, or go to a tavern for a mug of beer.
It is most interesting that, by observing and measuring the economic modes by which the public tries to run from their problems and escape from reality, and by applying the mathematical theory of Operations Research, it is possible to program computers to predict the most probable combination of created events (shocks) which will bring about a complete control and subjugation of the public through a subversion of the public economy (by shaking the plum tree).
“THE ARTIFICIAL WOMB”
From the time a person leaves its mother’s womb, its every effort is directed toward building, maintaining, and withdrawing into artificial wombs, various sorts of substitute protective devices or shells.
The objective of these artificial wombs is to provide a stable environment for both stable and unstable activity; to provide a shelter for the evolutionary processes of growth, and maturity – i.e., survival; to provide security for freedom and to provide defensive protection for offensive activity.
THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF A NATION – DEPENDENCY
The primary reason why the individual citizens of a country create a political structure is a subconscious wish or desire to perpetuate their own dependency relationship of childhood.
Simply put, they want a human god to eliminate all risk from their life, pat them on the head, kiss their bruises, put a chicken on every dinner table, clothe their bodies, tuck them into bed at night, and tell them that everything will be alright when they wake up in the morning.
This public demand is incredible, so the human god, the political, meets incredibility with incredibility by promising the world and delivering nothing. So who is the bigger liar?, the public?, or the ‘godfather’?
This public behavior is surrender born of fear, laziness and expediency. It is the basis of the welfare state as a strategic weapon, useful against a disgusting public.
ACTION/OFFENSE
Most people want to be able to subdue and/or kill other human beings which disturb their daily lives, but they do not want to have to cope with the moral and religious issues which such an overt act on their part might raise. Therefore, they assign the dirty work to others (including their own children) so as to keep the blood off their own hands. They rave about the humane treatment of animals and then sit down to a delicious hamburger from a whitewashed slaughterhouse down the street and out of sight. But even more hypocritical, they pay taxes to finance a professional association of hit men collectively called politicians, and then complain about corruption in government.
RESPONSIBILITY
Again, most people want to be free to do things (to explore, etc.) but they are afraid to fail.
The fear of failure is manifested in irresponsibility, and especially in delegating those personal responsibilities to others where success is uncertain or carries possible or created liabilities (law) which the person is not prepared to accept.
They want authority (root word – ‘author’), but they will not accept responsibility or liability. They hire politicians to face reality for them.
SUMMARY
The people hire the politicians so that the people can:
(1) obtain security without managing it.
(2) obtain action without thinking about it.
(3) inflict theft, injury, and death upon others without having to contemplate either life or death.
(4) avoid responsibility for their own intentions.
(5) obtain the benefits of reality and science without exerting themselves in the discipline of facing or learning either of these things.
They give the politicians the power to create and manage a war machine to:
(1) provide for the survival of the NATION/WOMB.
(2) prevent encroachment of anything of anything upon the NATION/WOMB.
(3) destroy the enemy who threatens the NATION/WOMB.
(4) destroy those citizens of their own country who do not conform for the sake of stability of the NATION/WOMB.
Politicians hold many quasi-military jobs, the lowest being the police which are soldiers, the attorneys and the C.P.A.s next who are spies and saboteurs (licensed), and the judges who shout the orders and run the closed union military shop for whatever the market will bear. The generals are industrialists. The ‘presidential’ level of commander-in-chief is shared by the international bankers. The people know that they have created this farce and financed it with their own taxes (consent), but they would rather knuckle under than be the hypocrite.
Thus, a nation becomes divided into two very distinct parts, a DOCILE SUB-NATION and a POLITICAL SUB-NATION. The political sub-nation remains attached to the docile sub-nation, tolerates it, and leaches its substance until it grows strong enough to detach itself and devour its parent.
“ENFORCEMENT”
FACTOR I
As in every social system approach, stability is achieved only by understanding and accounting for human nature (action/reaction patterns). A failure to do so can be, and usually is, disastrous. As in other human social schemes, one for or another of intimidation (or incentive) is essential to the success of the draft. Physical principles of action and reaction must be applied to both internal and external sub-systems. To secure the draft, individual brainwashing/programming and both the family unit and the peer group must be engaged and brought under control.
FACTOR II FATHER
The man of the household must be house-broken to ensure that junior will grow up with the right social training and attitudes. The advertising media, etc., are engaged to see to it that father-to-be is pussy-whipped before or by the time he is married. He is taught that he either conforms to the social notch out for him or his sex life will be hobbled and his tender companionship will be zero. He is made to see that women demand security more than logical, principled, or honorable behavior. By the time his son must go to war, father (with jelly for a back bone) will slam a gun into junior’s hand before father will risk the censure of his peers, or make a hypocrite of himself by crossing the investment he has in his own personal opinion or self-esteem. Junior will go to war or father will be embarrassed. So junior will go to war, the true purpose of the war notwithstanding.
FACTOR III MOTHER
The female element of human society is ruled by emotion first and logic second. In the battle between logic and imagination, imagination always wins, fantasy prevails, maternal instinct dominates so that the child comes first and the future comes second. A woman with a newborn baby is too starry-eyed to see a wealthy man’s cannon fodder or a cheap source of slave labor. A woman must, however, be conditioned to accept the transition to “reality” when it comes, or sooner.
As the transition becomes more difficult to manage, the family unit must be carefully disintegrated, and state controlled public education and state operated child care centers must become more common and legally enforced so as to begin the detachment of the child from the mother and the father at an earlier age. Inoculation of behavioral drugs can speed the transition for the child (mandatory). CAUTION: A woman’s impulsive anger can override her fear. An irate woman’s power must never be underestimated, and her power over a pussy-whipped husband must likewise never be underestimated. It got women the vote in 1920.
FACTOR IV JUNIOR
The emotional pressure for self-preservation during time of war and the self-serving attitude of the common herd that have an option to avoid the battlefield — if junior can be persuaded to go — is all of the pressure finally necessary to propel Johnny off to war. Their quiet black mailings of him are the threats: “No sacrifice, no friends; no glory, no girlfriends.”
FACTOR V SISTER
And what about junior’s sister? She is given all the good things of life by her father, and taught to expect the same from her future husband regardless of the price.
FACTOR VI CATTLE
Those who will not use their brains are not better off than those who have no brains, and so this mindless school of jellyfish, father, mother, son, and daughter, become useful beasts of burden or trainers of the same.
Did you see this?
Tourism, long believed by economic pundits to be the sector to pull Barbados out of the global economic recession, is already showing tremendous signs of improvement in 2010.
Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) preliminary figures show a 5.3 per cent increase in arrivals as at January 29 over the previous period in 2010, while official 2009 figures show that tourism officials met their target with the sector waning by 8.6 per cent. Early 2009 predictions were for a performance in the region of -8.5 per cent.