The Bahama Journal Editorial:

While it may be fashionable in certain quarters to bash the current administration for everything it has done and for what it has not done; we know it for a fact that, this is really not the way to go.

In all fairness, then, the current administration must be given some credit for keeping things on somewhat of an even keel.

But for sure, there will be some pain that must be endured by all; and therefore there remains a crying need for compromise, for fair play and for honesty on the part of each and every Bahamian.

But for sure, we are realistic enough to know that, the current administration –like all others with decision-making responsibility – can only do so much; this because it is obliged to work within economic parameters not of its choosing.

Evidently economics matters.

In a sense, then, it remains as true today as it did yesterday, that public policy [and especially, policy of the fiscal variety] is driven by what either happens or does not happen at the level of the economy.

Here we would also suggest that, while we are all for vigorous debate concerning policy; we are sufficiently sensible to understand that – when the chips are down, decisions must be made and things must be allowed to come to a head.

In time, this will happen as regards the matter that currently involves BTC, Cable and Wireless and the Memorandum of Understanding.

And for sure, the time will come when those who govern must submit to the discipline of the people; this whenever General Elections are called.

This is the way the game is played; and once the game is played as it should – to the victors go the spoils.

And that we live in a time when things –as they say – are tough is painfully evident; indeed, such is the tenor of the times that, some among us who thought that they could – with a minimum of effort, are today singing a vastly different tune.

Indeed, things are tough here and throughout the wider region; and for sure, the reason for this has to do with what has been happening in the United States as it comes to grips with its own economic realities.

And to put the matter in perspective as regards the Bahamas and its sister nations in the Caribbean; the clear conclusion beckons that they would have all been put in a position where hard times would have become endemic.

Mercifully, the worst seems to be over; and for sure, there is also a sense we are getting that, the Bahamian people and their counterparts are going to be obliged to work harder, work smarter and otherwise give greater value for money if they are to prosper in the years ahead.

In addition, there is no gainsaying the fact that, the current administration and its predecessor in office are so agreed on the fundamentals that, they are today constrained to narrow the focus of their differences on tactics as opposed to strategy.

This has its roots not only in shared ideology and type of political operatives; but also in an over-arching economy that conspires to constrain whoever is in office at any given time.

In truth, no matter how maximum the Chief might be; he too is constrained by an economy over which he has little control; this due to the fact that, the Bahamas just so happens to be that kind of place where dependency is pushed almost to the ultimate.

Here we need only cite its dependency on the external environment for food, fuel and technology –and on occasion, for technology as it is to be found embodied in the guise of either the menial laborer coming in from the Caribbean or further a-field in the person of the foreigner who comes in as senior management or owner of a firm.

And then, there is that other very important fact of life – this one concerning the extent to which our country is dependent on tourism and banking for the nation’s life-blood.

It is this unrelenting reliance on foreigners for the foreign exchange we need that so shapes and sometimes so extensively determines policy and behavior from the level of the household economy to that of the State itself.

And yet again – as the historical record would attest – this neatly explains that cycle of boom and bust that so dots modern Bahamian economic history.

And then, of course, there is that other quintessential staple of Bahamian economic destiny; namely the ubiquity of piracy, smuggling and other such games.

Here we would go so far as to suggest that, no matter what fraction of the ruling elite runs things at any given moment; its room for maneuver is being determined  and shaped in places far, far away from these balmy shores.

These are the economic facts that matter most.

December 21, 2010

The Bahama Journal Editorial

Caribbean Blog International