WHAT MATTERS MOST: Cutlery but cupboard bare

Those of us who care to remember may recall that there was always a prized set of cutlery in the cabinet/wagon to be used only when a certain kind of friend passed by to pay a visit. This cutlery was a showpiece of forks, knives, plates and teacups among others.
Perhaps the family may get access on Christmas Day or some other very special occasion. On reflection, the cutlery was special, not for what it did for the family but more so for what it represented – insecurity.
In a real sense, the Central Bank’s foreign reserves are somewhat like the cutlery in the poor homes of the earlier generations of Barbadians. These reserves are to be accumulated and admired at a distance but cannot be touched or used in the interest of family Barbados.
By the way, habit is such a serious thing that the tradition of putting aside prized cutlery for the special occasion may still be in practice, notwithstanding the social mobility that has attended most of us. In similar vein, the Central Bank’s practice of holding foreign reserves at all cost is so embedded in its psyche that it is not prepared to unlock the cabinet, even when family Barbados is desperately in need.
Rather than recognize that the cutlery is of no value to the family sitting idle in the cabinet, except that it brings some curious pleasure to the head of the household on special occasions, there is every attempt to show that the cutlery’s worth rises once it is not being utilized.
Furthermore, every effort was made to add to the stock of cutlery. Amazingly, the amount of forks, knives and plates would exceed the numbers in the household. This is because, enough had to be in stock for the special occasion. It was a time to display that the family was able to rise to the occasion.
In essence, the focus was not on making the family happy but rather on making a stranger/friend happy on the sporadic occasion. This kind of focus is a mark of insecurity, where creating an impression was more important than the reality.
Family Barbados is in a state of perpetual insecurity where impressions are more important than facts. It is the Government’s wish to make Barbadians feel good in circumstances that are really getting worse by the day. Some may say that this is good politics, but it will never be able to mask the growing reality of how hard things have been and will continue to be, while the family cutlery sits in the cabinet.
Though some may applaud the politics, it is not the remit of the governor of the Central Bank to make anyone feel good; his remit is to report the facts as they are. The constant references to Cyprus and others are very unbecoming, especially when there is no comparison with the Barbadian experience. 
In the midst of all that has happened the focus cannot still be on how bad things are around the world. That time has passed with the recent election campaign. The economists, accountants and journalists who wanted to project that whatever is wrong in the Barbados economy is the result of external forces succeeded.
Things are so bad around the world and yet the minister of finance and the governor of the Central Bank Of Barbados have gone off to London and New York hoping to borrow $350 million. Why would families in these countries take up their cutlery and lend it to Barbados?
For sure, if things were so bad, they would not have enough to lend to us. Since things are not as bad abroad as some would want Barbadians to believe, these foreign families may lend, not because they love us, but because there is some gain to be made. In the circumstances, where family Barbados is obviously desperate, it is willing to borrow at any cost.  
So rather than use some of the cutlery in the cabinet/wagon, family Barbados is prepared to borrow more money to purchase more cutlery to display and impress the visitor on the special occasion. While the cutlery in the cabinet looks even more impressive, the cupboard in the house is bare.
It is bare because the very visitor knows that the impressive cabinet/wagon bears no relationship to the offerings on the plates that are laid at the table.  
What was once insecurity has now turned into false pride without industry!
• Clyde Mascoll is an economist and Opposition Barbados Labour Party spokesman on the economy.