SINCE the recession began in the last quarter of 2007,?Barbados’ economy has been under pressure in keeping with the conditions in the international economy, and it has not been a simple exercise to keep the country on an even keel.
Whatever the politics of the situation, it is clear there are continuing challenges that must be surmounted if we are to emerge from this crisis with an improved fiscal position and our social safety nets intact.
It is a time for a full national effort to lift the country upwards and to avoid the worst of the dangers which could confront us otherwise.
The deficit is a matter of current and ongoing importance that has to be tackled and with a wages bill of $700 million, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is right to caution civil servants that this is not the time to jeopardize efforts to reduce the deficit and debt levels.
We support his call for restraint. It is one which we think should earn the support of the unions, simply because it makes sense.
The unions may argue, with good reason, that the public service is often the first in the frontline when harsh remedial measures are contemplated to restore stability to the economy. They may point to earlier times of a statutory eight per cent pay cut, but this is not now the proposal which calls only for restraint.
Responding to calls for cuts in the public service, Sinckler noted that it was easier said than done, and added that the issue was productivity. This point has considerable merit and needs to be openly debated in a rational manner.
It is an issue often avoided by politicians because it may, on proper examination, call for some loss of jobs which is an unpleasant matter to be considered at any time, and least of all at a time of economic downturn. In any event, it is a matter which requires time to evaluate and is not an instant solution.Recessions are not Sunday school picnics. They bring a tsunami of problems, and a massive challenge even to the most skilled economists, requiring for the amelioration of their impact, the application of the policies most appropriate to the economy under consideration.
The political arguments will break out on the choice of policy options and even when the policies might have been applied.
That is an essential part of our democracy which holds the Government ultimately responsible for the management of the economy; but the call for restraint is sensible, given where we are on the fiscal deficit.