American politicians (God bless ’em!) have added a new catchphrase to their political lexicon: kicking the can down the road.
It is a way of putting off hard decisions until the circumstances appear to be more favourable and the time is right for them to gain the maximum political mileage, that is, to realize their goal of re-election to office.
As I have noted before, that is the bedrock of political motivation – self-interest.
We saw some of that this past week during the annual Budget exercise in the House of Assembly. Before the Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler made his presentation, all Barbadians had been lamenting to one extent or another the seemingly unstoppable rise in the cost of living.
Indeed, it was, and remains, a problem that predated the assumption of office by the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 2008 and probably greatly influenced the party’s choice of election sloganeering – that the new Government’s top priorities would be: No. 1 cost of living, No. 2 cost of living, and No. 3 cost of living.
In the just over three years that the DLP has been in office, however, some other pressing issues have fallen out of the general cost of living debate to present themselves as worthy of consideration for priority status: jobs, rising food and fuel prices, and shocking electricity bills that seem to get higher with each passing month.
The Minister of Finance empathized with suffering Barbadians who are struggling to cope with each of those burdens standing alone, far less when they collectively result in higher costs for people to maintain their standard of living.
“I feel your pain!” he told Barbadians who were looking forward to some ease on their own already strained personal budgets.
They would have listened to the minister for three hours last Tuesday, and when they woke up the following Wednesday morning, they asked themselves: What has changed? Will my grocery bill be lower this week when I go to the shop or supermarket? Will the electricity bill come in for less money this month? Will I have to park the car for a few days? How does this Budget really affect me, the average working Barbadian?
For too many of those who would have asked such, or similar, questions, the depressing truth is that this Budget simply did not connect with the realities of the so-called “bread and butter issues” that are their primary considerations.
This Budget would probably score high on the developmental issues: the much talked about cultural industries initiatives that are still being kicked around long after the legislation was passed; the touted “new economy” and the great potential it holds; concessions for more involvement in computer technology, especially by the young people, and the greening of our energy profile, among others.
But while we wait for the promised “further details” on these and other developmental initiatives, what exactly was there in the Budget to help families struggling to pay their bills, buy food and get to and from work – those that still have jobs?
Much has been made of the one-off $5 million “energy grant” to help with some people’s skyrocketing electricity bills. But if one looks closely at the proposal, it is very narrowly and specifically targeted at the elderly, the disabled and the indigent unemployed.
No one, not even the unfortunates among those three categories, would begrudge any of the beneficiaries of this state-provided assistance. But aren’t the working poor, most of whom may just be a week’s pay or monthly pay cheque away from their condition, worthy of some ease as well with their energy bills?
Did we hear of a proposal, for instance, for Government to sit down with the electricity company to work out how it might assist in either stabilizing these rising domestic charges, if perhaps Government were to decide to reduce its tax take on imported fuel?
In other words, would it cause so much violence to Government’s revenues if a way were found to obviate the company’s passing through of such costs to the long-suffering customers, the vast majority of whom are to be found in the middle class?
And speaking of which, this group was probably the biggest beneficiary of the tax-free travel and entertainment allowances which in the private sector were widely used to boost salaries.
It is common knowledge that these salaried employees, for the most part, used their base net income to meet their obligations such as mortgages, car notes, house and vehicle insurance and road taxes, but depended heavily on those allowances to simply “live”.
In the eight months since they were cut in January, their absence has turned upside down the budgets in many households in both the private sector and public service, where union representation has had to be made for the mitigation of the deleterious effects, particularly on those referred to as “travelling officers”.
It is not that the minister was unaware of the hardship their removal has inflicted on this wide group of workers. Indeed, prior to his Budget presentation, he indicated that the matter was under review and when the data was in, probably by the end of July/August, a decision would then be made on their possible restoration.
For this anguished group which was waiting with bated breath, there was, disappointingly, not even a reference to the issue in the Budget.
It is no secret that the outcome of general elections in Barbados is heavily influenced by the professionally uncommitted in the public service, especially the women, who form the majority of the voting populace.
It would be a foolish Government that would alienate this pivotal constituency by ignoring the pleas of such a powerful unofficial lobby.
I spoke earlier about politicians postponing difficult decisions to a more favourable clime, and if there is anything that can be said about this Budget, it is that it carries all of the hallmarks of a pre-election Budget – minus the “giveaways”.
It is entirely possible that the minister was merely using this presentation to roll the wicket, as it were, and if we were to take Prime Minister Freundel Stuart at his word that the Budget cycle will be restored next year after the unusual two presentations in only nine months, maybe the general election could be coming much sooner than most of us think.
It stands to reason, therefore, that while the 2011 Budget was almost entirely devoid of any real ease for the average Barbadian in these increasingly harsh economic times, the next Budget before the general election is more than likely to contain the relief for which so many of us have been clamouring.
The question is: has the minister kicked this can too far down the road?