Only this week I had the occasion to hear an Anglican reverend tell a story, from the pulpit, about standing in line at the cashier at a local supermarket. He said that two ladies, one with red hair and the other with orange hair, were in front him and they were putting back more than half the items they had in their trolley because they did not have enough money to pay for them. They were commenting on how expensive things were. The priest said that in a moment of weakness he was tempted to tell them, "If you did save the money you spent on that hair or on the Rihanna show tickets you would be able to afford food!"
The debate about the benefits to Barbados of Rihanna performing in Barbados will rage for sometime. My take on the matter is this. All Rihanna has to do is come home, lime a Friday night at Oistins drink some Banks beer, have some bottles of Mount Gay, Cockspur and ESAF white on the table as she eats a rice & peas, macoroni pie & grill fish, go to a different beach every day and visit Harrison's Cave and a few points of interest. The international press and paparazzi will give Barbados all the free advertising we need without taxpayers having to spend a cent. Let Rihanna plan trips home for Sandy Lane Gold Cup, Kadooment, Holetown Festival, Barbados Music Awards, etc.
In my opinion, the show was an attempt to give Bajans something to distract them from the precarious state of this countries finances. And..... It worked! I laud the strategist who devised it. Very few are questioning how the 4 million dollars spent on the show gave Barbados any more advertising mileage than Rihanna wukking up during Kadooment did.
The gurus will tell you that all the spending by Barbadians stimulated the economy. This reminded me of the following story told by many a economics teacher. It is as follows:-
It is the middle of the afternoon on a particularly hot day in a little village on a hillside on the East Coast. The usually reliable breeze seems to have dropped and the oppressive heat further adds to the low mood of the inhabitants of the village. These are tough times, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit.
Suddenly, a stranger is seen walking up the hill. He stops at the little rum shop at the entrance to the village. He has heard that the owner is selling a bicycle for $100.00. The stranger asks if he can see the bicycle and take it for a ride. The rum shop owner agrees but insists that the stranger leaves $100.00 on the counter of the shop until he returns and makes his decision on whether or not he wants to buy the bicycle. The stranger agrees, lays a $100.00 bill on the counter and takes the bicycle for a ride down the hill.
As soon as the cyclist is out of sight, the rum shop owner runs into the village and shouts for the farmer who keeps a few pigs, sheep and chickens in his yard. The rum shop owner pays his debt of $100.00 to the farmer for food which has fed his family for the last week. Then the farmer quickly takes the $100.00 and walks next door to pay his debt to his neighbour who provides him with animal feed. The neighbour then walks swiftly down to the end of the village to pay his debt to the car mechanic who repaired his car the previous week so that he could collect the animal feed to sell the farmer. The car mechanic gets in his car and drives to the entrance of the village and pays the rum shop owner his debt of $100.00 to clear his credit for goods purchased at the shop. As he turns to drive down the hill, the car mechanic notices a cyclist turning into the village and stopping outside the rum shop.
Meanwhile, the rum shop owner has placed the $100.00 bill he received from the mechanic on the counter. The stranger enters the rum shop and explains that he found the bicycle uncomfortable to ride, but thanks the rum shop owner for his time, picks up the $100.00 bill and walks back down the hill.
No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now without debt, the mood has noticeably improved and everyone looks to the future with optimism.
Sounds familiar?
Our Government gurus should understand that encouraging people to spend money they cannot afford is not, "stimulating the economy". This kind of economic illusionism only exacerbates the vicious cycle of debt that we find ourselves in. But.... I am no economist. What do I know.
Quote of the Day
"So you think that money is the root of all evil....Have you ever asked what is the root of all money? " - Ayn Rand
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