Friday Comment: A Perpetual Recession

-
The Caribbean Is One Nation.

                                                                    Friday Comment: A Perpetual Recession




Fidel Castro understood our historical realities
We ask ourselves today: What really is a recession? As regional leaders continue to grapple with high unemployment , widening deficits and scarce foreign exchange, we are forced to conclude, that our region has not yet been successful in overcoming the great recession, we encountered after slavery was abolished and the one that continued as we won adult suffrage and  eventually independence and nationhood in the 60’s.
It is therefore quite fair to conclude that economies built exclusively on slave labor cannot escape recessions or economic doldrums, once the slave labor is removed. We talk about the glory days of sugar, when it earned foreign exchange. The second question is: Foreign exchange for whom and whose economies? Certainly, if the earnings from sugar were ploughed back into our economies, great empires would have emerged.  It is quite nostalgic to talk about the good old days but it appears that the good old days served cake to one group and crumbs to another.
How come the sugar that built wealthy empires for the Mother countries has now become a dangerous albatross around our necks? The reason is clear- once labor is included in the costs; the Mighty Sugar began to yield smaller economic gains. And this is the problem that regional governments have been faced with since the 60’s. In a catch 22 position, we had no choice because the colonial masters knew that economic slavery minus the beatings and depravity they once inflicted, would lead to stagnant economies. The reason why Comrade Fidel Castro was successful in making sugar the pillar of Cuba’s economic management was because he removed its profits from the hands of a few.
Throughout the rest of the region, governments used the sugar industry as an employment tool while continuing to distribute the real earnings to a selected few. Pontificating that we removed the masters with flags and national anthems was taken as synonymous with removing their wealth. Not true. It never happened.
Unless we accept the fact of this harsh reality and have a very enlightened connection with the truth, we would continue the vicious perpetual poverty that characterizes the region. It should now be crystal clear that reformed economies cannot be successfully built on the foundations left by slavery and colonialism. Call us jokers or dreamers and if you doubt us, have a chat with Comrade Castro! He knew it was impossible to redistribute wealth if it is left in the hands of those who had owned it in the first place. In order to change any economic system, one must first seek to change the society itself. While many will argue that he did not create any utopia, at least it cannot be argued that he was ignorant of our historical realities. And for that esteemed credit must be given.

We therefore conclude that our region has been in recession for centuries because even when the so-called economists were boasting about real growth ,the poor were in a perpetual recession ,and so they remain after 50 years of flags and anthems.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

International Women's Day : Our Caribbean Women, Our Hope

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation As we celebrate International Womens’ Day, we are cognizant of the role our Caribbean women have played in the cultural social and economic growth of our region and evolving Caribbean civilization. They , like our men , have risen from the depths and decadence of slavery , to the highest political and corporate ladders in the region. They have given birth, to millions and have made and continue to make significant contributions to those in the Diaspora. In many cases, where they were not the biological mothers, they nurtured, cared and developed those , who were deprived of parenthood , and socio-economic hope. They are in our classrooms, directing young and fragile minds , how to navigate a world that we in the region , must forever avoid being dragged into conflicts of the so-called super powers. They are pursuing all the opportunities of our tertiary educational institutions, including the University of the West Undies, often in higher numbers than our men. I
Read more

Barbados Elections 2013 and Cash

-
Image
The Mahogany Coconut Group submits that the real vote buying is in the upper echelons of our society. What we witnessed on Election Day was some voters getting   cash, cell phones, IPods and a bill paid here and there. The real votes were bought by those shadows- black and white, - who Dr. Don Blackman referred to a few decades ago! Of course Dr. Blackman talked only about white shadows but the corporate landscape has dramatically changed over the years – we now have shadows of all colors and ethnicities. While we shout from the roof tops about what took place on elections day, we bury our heads in the proverbial sand, by refusing to ask one simple question: How did the two political parties, both claiming to be rather financially impoverished, raise a conservative estimate of over twenty million dollars to pour into a three week campaign? We ask Dale Marshall (BLP) to tell us about the successful “cake sales and car washes” that raised their money. We ask Ronald Jones (DLP) to t
Read more

Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation. By William Skinner Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance I must have been around nine or ten years old. V was a well-known gay citizen, who lived in my beloved hometown of Britton’s Hill, in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados. My earliest recollection of V was his apparent penchant for dressing in white. I seldom saw him in a long pants, and he walked with an amazing rhythm. Even at that early age, I realized that he was very effeminate. He always seemed busy   out and about in the Brittons Hill area and it was obvious that everybody knew him, and his notoriety was island wide. I also noticed that he was always exceptionally clean. Later, I would learn that he was also known as a popular pudding and souse vendor, who carried on his trade in the vicinity of Nelson Street, in the city. He was well loved and respected in Britton’s Hill; along with that respect came good-natured heckling. One day, around midafternoon, about three of my childhoo
Read more