Transactional Conversations

Many agree that we all seem to be buying or selling opinions rather than teaching or learning from facts. Most people love to receive awards, an expression of recognition for their achievements, and rewards, bonuses from decision-makers who value blind loyalty. Some decision-makers need expressions of agreement, as much as their need nutrients, yes people, friends, not recognizing or caring what the so call friends need or want in return. People should be surrounded by facts, provable and widely accepted truth, with limited emotions or egos. The top decision-makers love to be right and judged successful, humbly accepting good and skillfully delivering bad news, which is only possible by cultivating true friends.

Returns On Investment

Money knows no borders, as each and every nation competes for large sums of foreign direct investment. Administrations invite investment bankers, hedge and private equity funds to participate in joint ventures. Projects, which benefit the nation's population, where utilities and other infrastructure entities, are built, operated, leased and transferred or commissioned and maintained under specific terms and conditions, while charging the public as regulated. Such opportunities generally allow for a long repayment period during which investors are guaranteed a minimum annual return. But this can only work, if the nation's law-makers legalize, implement and honor such long-term agreements, beyond political periods, requiring an independent office of budgets.

Hard Work

This term used, by many well-to-do individuals and persons in leadership roles, is to motivate young persons to achieve success. From birth, childhood to adolescence, young persons are encouraged, engaged and educated to work hard to accomplish assigned tasks, but what is truly needed, is to make these tasks exciting and interesting. Eco-socioeconomic development requires such people, skilled and talented, to be creative and innovative, and love their productivity. Most persons, however, do work hard, at tasks their clearly hate, to pay basic bills, always worried about the next meal, child care, living expenses and cannot afford to be sick. Unfortunately, many young people, learning from peers, hears “Hard Work” as quick, easy pay, loving the pay not the work.

The Agriculturalist

Focused on yields, food per acre, using technical tried and tested methods, clean room or green house to reduce or eliminate pest and disease, chemical nutrients and preservation to market, are the duties of Agriculturalists. In other words, such scientists, who produce foods and medicines, are responsible for population health; nutrition and wellness, at an affordable cost. Hence, the best technology must be utilized and constantly engaged in research, labs and market testing, and to scale-up development to best meet market demand. It would be a shameful waste for produce to spoil, be damaged or stolen, after so much care, between harvest and consumption.

Future of Electricity

Among the Caribbean islands, since Aug 2008, a proposal has been circulating to generate electricity using clean renewable energy. May 2009, strategies were added, to the earlier proposal, to strengthen reliability and save years engaged in critical research. July 2016, a new proposal was disseminated based on another source of clean renewable energy. And now, the intention and future strategy is to combine the generating models and make it cost effective with the shortest investment repayment period. It is fully understood, that laws are in place to prohibit the commercial generation and Sale to the National Grid of electricity other than by or with the written permission of the parliamentary appointed entity. Therefore, financing any clean energy proposal of any size requires legal amendments and executive action.

Politics of Division

Politicians, accusing each other of bad management or corruption while in office, runs the danger of spreading hate in a once loving society. This Hate and Suspicion, in a struggling economy, can easily trigger social unrest, insurrection and civil war. The population needs leadership, ‘Better not Blame’. Leadership that understands the important issues and listens to all points-of-view, ‘Decide and Do. Implement a strong programme of economic diversification to stop job losses, prevent business closures, and halt declining tax revenues. Negotiate flat or low growth in public expenditure, with workers' unions, to benefit all the people and rebuild the economy. Deliver essential Security, Health and Education services supported by recurrent cost, infrastructure building and maintenance. Manage debt servicing to yield some future savings, and reduce the nation’s total debt, which would be left to the nation’s grand and great grandchildren.

A Deceptive Smile

Rape, physical and verbal abuse, and sexual harassment are crimes, that are very difficult to prove. Children are taught by their parents to smile and be nice on greeting others. It is natural, in most cases, for males to want a nurturing and trustworthy female, while females to want a strong and dependable male. The power dynamic, however, is the cause of many problems, where one person with influence over another, forces or is accused of forcing non-consenting contact. Noting that, adults, who work very long hours with limited social opportunities to engage, must undergo change to protect themselves and their careers.

Growing Revenue not debt

Individuals, Families, Communities and Countries, all must budget living, happiness, and development expenditure to constantly improve lifestyles. Such basic expenditure must be supported by core revenue collections, not borrowings, in order to be sustainable. Borrowings or loans create debt, with principal repayment schedules and interest charges, adding to the total expenditure. Growing revenue is therefore required to match and balance the increase of total expenditure. This is traditionally accomplished by attracting both foreign and local investment, diversifying sectors and industries, incentivizing and supporting startup business, creating jobs and encouraging Wage and Salary growth.

Governance 2018

(An extract from Foreign Direct Investment 2018)

This category, allocated 4.47% of the nation’s total expenditure, as reported by the office of the Auditor General 2016 and 4.31% in the 2017 revised estimates, while estimating 4.56% for 2018 up by 4.50%, as published by the Ministry of Finance, consist of positions, offices, agencies and ministries that monitors good, moral and ethical, behavior, such as; Ministry of Public Administration and Communications (MPAC) & The Personnel Department, The Judiciary & The Industrial Court, Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Other Heads of Expenditure involved in Governance, The Office of the Prime Minister, and The President & The Parliament.

Fiscal Policy 2018

(An extract from Foreign Direct Investment 2018)

Functioning on a budgetary allocation; 26.39% of the nation’s total expenditure, as reported by the office of the Auditor General 2016 and 30.39% in the 2017 revised estimates, while estimating 30.46% for 2018 down by 0.93%, as published by the Ministry of Finance. This category, comprises the Ministry of Finance, Charges on Account of the Public Debt and Pensions and Gratuities, must focus efforts on increasing productivity and revenue collection while, reducing the nation's debt and debt servicing expense. Hence, as core revenues fall, below recurrent expenditure, resulting in mounting deficits, forcing new borrowings to balance the nation’s annual budget, severe pending cuts, will then trigger an inability to borrow or repay placing the economy into a debt trap.