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There are some events that change all of our lives so dramatically that we remember what we were doing when the national event occurred. For most of our grand-parents, it was hurricane Janet which devastated the island in 1955. Since our independence, we have been spared such life-changing national tragedies, until now.
This Christmas season, we should prepare our families for the impending national disaster that will likely affect us all, because we are now out of all good options.
Our politicians have borrowed so recklessly that we are now one of the most indebted nations on this planet. The rating agencies do not think that we can repay what we have borrowed. So they have already warned all international banks and investors that lending to Barbados is extremely risky – they are unlikely to get their money back. That is what all of those downgrades were about.
The Government must put on a brave face in order to inspire confidence. However, many nations have failed before us, so we need to prepare ourselves for what is clearly foreseen. The scriptures advise: “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” (Proverbs 22:3)
Since we are now at the brink of economic ruin, we need to prepare for a level of austerity that is outside of our living memory. Like a desperate addict in his parents’ house, the Government is selling off our prized assets. The Hilton Hotel is reportedly being sold at a loss, just to get enough money to afford a loan payment. Soon, everything of value will be gone, and they will be forced to surrender us to the IMF.
The IMF’s measures will be particularly harsh – for us. We do not have to wonder about them, because they have warned us for years about the bitterness of the medicine that we citizens will be forced to swallow. Few of us will be able to afford our mortgages, most public workers will be sent home, the maintenance of our infrastructure will plummet, and our dollar will devalue.
The IMF punishes citizens for electing politicians who take out unaffordable loans on their behalf. It is analogous to punishing parents for allowing their 5-year old son to drive their car, and then he gets into a serious accident. What did we expect would happen?
We have elected our children to rule over us. We have given them access to our national bank, and they have spent all of the money on shiny stuff that they then had the temerity to put their names on. When they had spent all of our money, they then maxed out the national credit card an put us all in an unsustainable debt so that they could buy more shiny stuff.
Our children will surrender us to the IMF so that their trough can be filled. The BLP and their spawn want to surrender us to the IMF as soon as possible. The DLP will have to surrender us to the IMF after they have sold everything of value in Barbados. Solutions Barbados is the only adult offering to steer Barbados away from the IMF to a level of prosperity hitherto unknown in Barbados.
Our 4 point plan has been published for over 2 years for rigorous public scrutiny. It comprises: lowering taxes, improving the management of government services, depoliticising the public service, and eliminating corruption. It should be clearly stated that our plan is not some theoretical untried plan, but it is proven.
Of course you can expect our children to kick up a fuss when they realise that we are taking back our credit card and bank account, but it is high time that parents took back control. If we do not, then we must all prepare ourselves for the impending doom into which our children will take us.
Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and the founder of Solutions Barbados. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com
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