Public Money

Apathetically, we the people are born owing money; live naively contributing to the ever increasing unpaid bills and will die leaving the next generation in more debt. Totally unaware, and in most cases, indifferent to the state of our economy, as we selfishly divide along political party lines or even worse, individually, failing to acknowledge responsibility for or of the out of control debt. The people must now unite or with be forced to come together later, by international lending agencies, when we cannot pay our current bills. Neither Politicians nor Individual Greed can build a prosperous future.

The so-called Public Debt generally refers to outstanding balances of past borrowings negotiated, entered into and received by the Treasury, the public purse, to be repaid from and used to fund past political agendas. Our forbearers, grandparents and parents would have benefited from such borrowings and past on its benefits to us, by way of community and infrastructure development and increase opportunities. Many years ago we all should have diversified the economy to build and grow other streams of revenue, which would have, by now, matured and be contributing significantly to reducing the present financial indebtedness. Noting a small effort was made to save via a Heritage and Stabilization Fund.

Having elected politicians, we the people bought into their agenda and given them control of our money and unpaid bills in the Treasury, demanding security and the rule of law, healthcare, education, social programs, affordable housing with electricity and running water, a better standard of living. We do this for future generations, our children and grand children, not recognizing or realizing that our borrowings will limit their future ability to earn and maintain a lifestyle they have grown up in and accustom too. Having invested heavily in education and with a highly skilled workforce, we must now invest in dynamic sectors and industries to keep our graduates producing here where they can repay, recycle and refund the state.

The cost of such improvements, under a hybrid capitalist socialist economic system, keeps, and there is no reason to believe it will ever stop, increasing faster than the population growth rate, resulting in a greater debt per capita. Each citizen will bear responsibility for a portion of this Public Debt, resulting in increase taxes, less employment opportunities, lower salaries, higher cost of living, dilapidated infrastructure, and a rowing back of social benefits, a failed state. The only solution is to remove the budgeting process from five year term politicians and place it in the independent hands of our professionally trained financial graduates to implement long-term projections.

Having stated that and on a related note, stop fooling the people, the Public Debt is not the Total Debt. So-called Contingent Liabilities, such as; Treasury Bills/Notes, Loans or Credit Guaranteed by the State, Letters of Comfort, Promissory Notes, Balances outstanding on BOLT (Build, Operate, Lease and Transfer) Projects, Loans Assumed by the State, etc. are also known as Off Balance Sheet Financing and form more than 50% of the amounts owed by we the people.

Rationale

T.A.J & Associates Company Limited uses this occasion to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically and by the mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment opportunity, not to invoke any social action.