[vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1522621418320{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1522522119664{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”]Barbadians are finally waking up to the reality that we are on the brink of economic ruin.  Recommendations of currency devaluation and surrendering Barbados to the IMF are being made by prominent economists.  Even newspaper editorials are finally sounding the alarm after ignoring the warning signs for so long.

Barbadians are also waking up to the reality that this election will have grave consequences for their families.  Some prominent media persons appear to have resigned to the idea that it will be very bad, regardless of who is elected to form the next government.  They have repeated that lie so often that gullible voters are starting to be convinced.

It is now obvious to everyone that the DLP’s best efforts have failed to improve our economy.  After many have had to endure about a decade of trying to hold on, the DLP’s most recent plan is one where we must suck the proverbial salt for at least another 4 years.  It is as if they are begging the public not to vote for them.

As if that were not bad enough, the BLP stated that they would not be able to solve our economic problems during their first term in office.  So we are supposed to suck salt for the full 5 years of a BLP administration.  Again, it is as if they were just pleading with the public not to vote for them.

The BLP have several operatives who pretend to be non-partisan.  Their constant advice is to simply elect the BLP and then hold them accountable.  That is a lunatic idea because we have never been able to hold any BLP or DLP politician or administration accountable over the past 50 years.

Why would political operatives make such an easily disproven claim?  It appears that they were promised a place near the trough, where they can hope for spillage when the politicians feed.  So they will say or do anything in order to obtain or maintain their place.

We have run out of time for such selfish political games.  If the economy does not improve soon, then within one year, approximately one third of those with home mortgages will lose their houses, and within 3 years, most of the middle class will be reduced to poverty.  Therefore, it is critical that all political plans be subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny.

The DLP have already revealed their high-austerity plan.  The BLP claims that they have a high-austerity plan, but they will not allow anyone to examine it.  Further, they stated that they will not release it until six (6) weeks after they are elected.  Why anyone would even consider voting for that sort of arrogance is a mystery.

The UPP also have a high-austerity plan, and have agreed to submit it for independent examination, but they have not yet done so.  Solutions Barbados published their proven and workable plan over 2.5 years ago for rigorous public scrutiny.  It has been submitted to several independent economists and accountants for their critical review.

We recently received our first review results, which noted that our assumptions are ultra-conservative, and our plan eliminates the deficit and provides a surplus in our first year.  This means that we would have reversed all of the downgrades and returned Barbados to investment grade in our first year.  The reviewer also noted that the other political parties should seriously consider our plan.

Why does the media appear to only report on the BLP’s and DLP’s high-austerity pronouncements, and the economists’ currency devaluation and IMF based plans, but continue to ignore the only workable non-austerity plan on the table.  Why do the media appear so desperate for Barbados to suck the salt that Guyana and Jamaica were forced to experience?

In this election, the only two available choices are to vote for Solutions, or vote to suck salt.

Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and the founder of Solutions Barbados.  He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]