From Austerity to Prosperity

The Bahama Journal Editorial



While we have no way of precisely forecasting the future, we are fairly certain that – in the absence of a decisive break with business as usual - things are set to get even harder for a broad swath of our people.

This is so not only because we are so dependent on external forces and sources for most of the jobs that provide good incomes; but also because of the fact that in times past, we just did not produce enough and neither did we have - as a people – any real desire to do more.

Instead, we spent as if there was no tomorrow; and we borrowed as if happy days would last for as long as we might have wished.

Today, we know that these were mere illusions; in and of themselves evidence of a dependency that left us vulnerable and open to shock after shock – some of them external and others terrifyingly internal.

And so today – and therefore to the nub of today’s argument – we note that, we must – if we are to weather the storms ahead, work harder, produce more and in so many other words, we have to give value for money.

Evidently, the fact of the matter in today’s hard-pressed Bahamas is to the effect that, Bahamians are slowly but surely coming to the realization that they will be obliged to work harder, study more, get more training and otherwise become more competitive if they hope to make it.

Here we note how Prime Minister Hubert A. Ingraham some time ago framed the issue at hand. In this regard, the nation’s chief admonished, "We must never lose sight of the reality that as the world’s economy shrinks, competition increases…”

And so, we can decide to match the competition, out-distance it or fall behind. Put simply, we are in a fight that will determine whether we get out from under our troubles and woes or if we are to fail utterly.

Simply put, if we are to find our own unique road to success, we must demand far more of ourselves and a great deal more of our leaders.

This is surely the way to go if we are to negotiate our way past austerity road; that path that invariably precedes the broad vistas that come with prosperity.

Here we would posit that, the time is nigh for the Bahamian people to realize that the world in which they live, work and where they might prosper, remains one that rewards productivity and creativity.

And for sure, while foreign directed projects like Baha Mar are obviously appreciated, Bahamians must do more for themselves.

Here they are called upon to do so by working harder, remaining sober, becoming more diligent and otherwise, giving appropriate value for money received.

While much of this is easier said than done and while some others might dither and others dawdle, clearly things are currently going from bad to worse.

We need merely refer to some of the grief some small employers are obliged to experience as they try to keep their businesses afloat.

Utility costs are high; so is the price of labor.

There is little to no commensurate value coming the employer’s way – this due to the fact that labor is expensive, often incompetent and just as often, simply unavailable.

This and more information just like this serves to underscore the urgency in the moment for all hands to be put to work if things are going to be kept together.

They must become more productive.

Clearly then, it is this question of productivity that cuts to the heart of that matter which turns on whether the Bahamas has what it takes to compete in the region and in the wider world.

Sadly, the answer must be in the negative.

This neatly explains how it now arises where in certain large enterprises, workers are being routinely ‘thrown overboard’ in efforts to help staunch this or that firm’s money-hemorrhage; thus the emergence here of late of that rising ocean of unemployed and underemployed Bahamians.

And so we would respectfully suggest that –if only at this juncture - we just do not have what it takes to compete with nations that have vast numbers of disciplined workers – men and women who work well and hard – and who do have what it takes to create value.

Here discipline is the key.

When and where workers are disciplined, well-educated and properly trained they become a nation’s most valuable resource.

Contrariwise, when and where they are neglected or denied education and training, they become social parasites; this in turn, exposes them to lives of misery and want.

And so, as night follows day, we must – if we are to survive in this brave new world – work smarter, produce more value and otherwise demonstrate that we can compete in that global economy where the mantra remains, compete or perish.

December 05, 2011

The Bahama Journal Editorial

Bahamas Blog International