‘THIS INEPT MADNESS CANNOT GO ON’

“There is nothing wrong with the rich getting richer.” – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, August 13, 2020. 

ARE you taking note of the financial chaos in Britain as the new Government is making the rich richer? 

The Liz Truss administration is giving sweeping tax cuts to big businesses and other wealthy people. 

This so-called trickle-down economics is taking place while most Britons are ketching hell to put food on the table, pay mortgages, and keep their small businesses afloat. 

The cost of living has risen by 10 percent and salaries by only two per cent over the past year. 

The value of the pound sterling has collapsed to a record low, and the Bank of England (Central Bank) is scrambling to soften the impact. 

Truss, in her first month as Prime Minister, is facing rebellion from her own Conservative party, and one backbencher Simon Hoare said: “This inept madness cannot go on.” 

There are mounting calls for the sacking of Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) Kwasi Kwarteng. 

The International Monetary Fund has warned that inflation and inequality would increase. 

In other words, the poor would get poorer, while the rich get richer. 

United States President Joe Biden said: “I am sick and tired of trickle-down economics. It has never worked.” 

The economy is “on the edge of a precipice,” a financial expert said, while another stated that the Government is guilty of “really stupid” decisions.  

In Trinidad and Tobago, fuel prices have gone up six times in seven years, while public officers are living on 2013 salaries, unemployment is estimated at close to 20 per cent, and one-third of small businesses have boarded up. 

The cost of living is climbing each month, and a United Nations agency said single parents, senior citizens and the infirm are finding difficulty in affording nutritious meals. 

Poverty is affecting more and more children, the report said. 

Citizens still have to contend with Property Tax and increases in electricity and water rates. 

High fuel prices are causing social instability in countries around the world, but Prime Minister Rowley cautioned citizens “not to misbehave.” 

The Express newspaper intervened to say: “People for whom higher fuel prices is a do-or-die matter …should have the right to challenge Government policy with all their might, and not be treated like annoying children.” 

Rowley, whose latest foreign jaunt cost taxpayers a cool $680,000, clearly does not feel the hurt of the jobless and those stricken by dreadful crime, under-fed children, floods, and a sea of potholes. 

For his part, Finance Minister Colm Imbert is convinced he is leading the country down the right path, while his junior minister is disturbed only about his picture not appearing in the press. 

Imbert’s Budget offers no big picture goals, and he is silent on diversifying the economy and restoring the vanishing middle class.  

At the other side of the economic ladder, large businesses have each reported increased profits post-Covid-19. 

The monopoly pharmaceutical importer recorded 49.7 per cent higher profit in its first year as the sole operator. 

That means that the small man – including pensioners – had to shell out more for blood pressure and diabetes medication. 

That trend may continue; Big Pharma is one of the world’s most exploitative industries. 

The Government-appointed Fair Trading Commission looked the other way while the monopoly deal was struck. 

One conglomerate ventured into the retail trade controlled by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while those mom-and-pop stores were closed during the pandemic. 

That big corporation has reported higher profits in each succeeding financial quarter. 

Another large operator enjoyed “strong performances” in various sectors, including automotive sales. 

The Rowley Government had granted tax breaks to new car importers and squeezed roll-on-roll off operators, all of whom are SMEs. 

T&T is the only known country in which commercial banks scored higher profits during Covid-19. 

In many countries, banks were instructed to help SMEs with working capital, payroll support, deferral of loans, reduction of rates, and other measures. 

In T&T, the Government and Central Bank merely appealed, and the banks generally provided token support. 

Banks have reported an increase in non-performing loans – meaning people’s inability to pay their debt. 

Barbados’ Mia Mottley, on the other hand, warned banks over fees and threatened to legislate on the issue. 

Britain’s Truss is in political trouble, just like other leaders (Sri Lanka, for example) who presided over the oppressiveness of the poor getting poorer while the rich flourish. 

In T&T, people would grumble for a few days…