Dr. Phillips Thinks Jamaicans Are Idiots

I watched the minister of Finance delivering his speech in the budget debate in the house on Thursday March 12, and I was left wondering where the growth strategy is?

What he presented without failing is an election budget. It rang right throughout his speech. From the raising of the threshold for PAYE earners, to the raising of the amount of persons not paying GCT on electricity, it was all about sweetening the deal to win votes from civil servants especially.

In the instance where he raised the income tax threshold for PAYE persons, he shouted rather glibly that he was giving back 35,000 and change to PAYE earners per year. That sounds like a very impressive figure but we must remember this is per year and not per month. When you divide 35000 by 12 the figure that you will get is $2,917 $ rounded to the nearest tenth. That’s rubbish in the context of our present economic conditions where everything is on the rise. That money can’t pay the light bill of a normal home, or go into a supermarket and buy anything worth mentioning.

But this is the deceptive way the PNP deals with Jamaicans because they know many Jamaicans will not take the time to divide that figure properly. Once they hear the big figure that is what will record in their brains. That sort of deception has contributed handsomely to the continued destruction of this country. Phillips knows if he says it he will be giving back to PAYE earners only $2917 monthly people will laugh him to scorn and that won’t buy votes for the PNP.

But the deception doesn’t stop there. While making mention of revenue measures, he said the government will be leveling a $7 tax on gas at PETROJAM. Now when he levels that tax on PETROJAM, what will happen is that while oil prices continue to decrease on the world market we in Jamaica will still be paying more than we should at pumps. That then will translate to an increase by PETROJAM in the price at which they sell to the marketing companies of at least $7. Marketing companies may then add another $10 to the rate they sell to the dealers who may add another 15$ at the pumps.

So the consumer at the end of the day could cumulatively pay 32$ more at the pump. The producers of goods and services will also be hit with that increase and will pass it on through the pricing of the goods and services they sell us. We end up paying more.

It doesn’t stop there, JPS will get in on the act too as they will pass on the increased cost in lights bills to its customers. So while Phillips is saying fewer Jamaicans will pay tax on electricity, they will still be paying more than usual for the amount of electricity they consume. So at the end of the day the customers are no better off. 

Dr. Philips didn’t lay out a path for growth which to me was the most distressing. He continued to rehash the old promises and alleged achievements. There is no real indication that other than compressing capital spending, the government knows what it is doing. The problem with Jamaica is plain and simple: no growth. If the government is serious about accomplishments then that is where its focus must and should be.

Passing IMF tests will not grow the economy as we have seen here and in Greece, but contract it and increase sufferation on the poor. The Minister boasted in parliament about achieving a balanced budget and how they have almost attained that. Interestingly, what he didn’t tell us is how the Government has reached that. The balanced budget has not been reached because of greater revenue collection brought on by an upturn in economic activities, but by a compression in capital expenditure. Simply put, the GOJ has arrived at that point because it has cut spending on infrastructure development, (that’s why the roads cannot be fixed), cut spending on healthcare in such a way that hospitals have run out of pain and asthma medication, cut spending on education so much so that pit latrines cannot be replaced by flush toilets in basic schools.

Is that something that the Finance Minister should be jumping up and down over? I think not. He should be ashamed that he can only reach a balanced budget by increasing the sufferings on the backs of already suffering Jamaicans. While a balanced budget is a worthy goal to be achieved, we all must understand that the idea behind a balanced budget is to eventually gain a surplus. While that must be what he is after, we must also understand that the idea behind a budget surplus is to have more resources to invest in this country.

I will posit that even when we have a budget surplus we will not see any uptake in government spending, because if they do that we will immediately head back to having a budget deficit-simply because the economy is not producing enough for the government to collect enough revenue to continue with a budget surplus while spending more. Now the frightening thing about that is, if the economy doesn’t pick up in the next ten years we will continue to see government spending being compressed and more of the country’s infrastructure being neglected. And an increase in the sufferings of normal Jamaicans. It is useless to depend on miracles from God when you’re not serving him. Don’t expect miracles Mr. Philips, go do your work. Quoting scriptures won’t get you any favors from GOD! Why the devil quote scripture too.

Fabian Lewis – Check out his Blog HERE

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