Whenever there is a serious crisis in a country, and a major economic adjustment is required, the central issue that comes to the fore is: “Which class or grouping of the population will be made to bear the brunt of the cost or burden of the adjustment?”
Well, Barbados is at the stage where we are on the verge of making fundamental decisions about a major economic and fiscal adjustment, and all the signs are there that a massive right wing, big business, elitist conspiracy is underway to ensure that the working class and lower middle class sectors bear the brunt of the adjustment!
If we want to understand how such a conspiracy works in Barbados, then we have to go back to the last serious crisis that the country faced – the crisis of 1990 to 1992.
At that time the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry joined forces with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, in a so-called National Resource Mobilisation Conference, to develop a plan to steer Barbados along a big business, private sector-oriented path of economic adjustment.
The agreed upon modus operandi was as follows:
“Massive public education programme to explain the benefits of market forces;
“Establish a task force to construct a private sector agenda;
“Prepare and publish alternative Estimates;
“Encourage Opposition parties to present pro-business Bills in the House;
“Establish a ‘Call-in’ programme;
“Reduce scope of welfare services;
“Eliminate free tertiary education;
“Reduce scope of government regulation; and
“Targets for privatisation should include both profitable and unprofitable enterprises and be extended to central government services . . . .”
Those of us who have been following recent developments closely would have noted the outlines of a very similar agenda in the following events:
1. The establishment of the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation;
2. The effort made by the chairman of Government’s Council of Economic Advisors to float the idea that Barbados can no longer afford free secondary and tertiary education;
3. Sir Courtney Blackman’s prescription of a public sector wage freeze, and his rejection of price controls;
4. The termination of Marilyn Rice-Bowen, who, as chairperson of the National Housing Corporation, publicly complained about the minister steering virtually all major contracts to one or two big, elite, construction companies;
5. The enhanced power of right wing elements within the Democratic Labour Party, leading to the installation of Chris Sinckler in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, and efforts to subvert the position and strength of Freundel Stuart; and
6. Similar efforts within the Barbados Labour Party aimed at resurrecting Owen Arthur at the expense of Mia Mottley.
What is taking shape is a major push by the traditional local big business elite and their foreign allies to impose an adjustment on Barbados that will leave them virtually unscathed, but that will see working class people hit with terrible blows of wage stagnation, layoffs, and welfare and social service cuts.
