Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, Christopher Sinckler is again reiterating the Government’s position on retrenching public officers, contending that they are not intending to go that route again.
In an address at the Astor B. Watts Lunchtime Lecture at the Democratic Labour Party’s headquarters yesterday afternoon, which lasted in excess of an hour, Minister Sinckler told a packed room that they have “been there, done that, [are] not going back”.
His comments came as he maintained that layoffs cause too much confusion, too much pain and do not achieve the desired results.
“We are meeting with the unions, the Prime Minister and myself, later this evening [Friday] and we [will] tell them,” he stated.
He added, “This is my position and the Democratic Labour Party’s position, it is better for a man to go to work and earn a dollar and for me to take 10 cents from him or 20 cents out of that dollar, than for me to send him home and he gets nothing at all. I like my chances with 80 cents rather than with no cents at all… and if it is a indirect tax similar to NSRL [National Social Responsibility Levy] it touches everybody. So all the people who are outside the net, who don’t pay their taxes, who make a lot of money but don’t want to pay taxes… they can’t escape paying the NSRL, they can’t escape paying the VAT [value added tax].”
The Minister made the point as he defending the recent tax increases announced in last month’s Budget. He indicated these increases have become necessary because revenue is not growing fast enough in comparison to the growing expenditure and a decision had to be made to address the immediate needs of the country. Sinckler’s remarks came as he explained that the Government simply does not have enough money to do all of the things it wants to, and is therefore calling on the citizens of Barbados to make an additional contribution until Government can achieve the structural changes being sought to improve the economic situation.
“We all contributed to the problems we have, we all have to contribute to getting out of the problems and if there is anybody in Barbados that believes that they are going to change a government and wake up the next day and all of these problems are going to go, I say to them I wish you well with that...”
Sinckler continued, “And I tell you to ask the people who coming around rubbing shoulders and doing whatever else they are doing, ask them, ‘Tell me what you will do different; I want to hear you before I vote for you. I want to hear what you’re going to do. How are you going to bring down the deficit? By what means are you going to cut or raise taxes? If you’re going to cut taxes and lose revenue and increase the spending power of Barbadians, how are you going to protect your reserves? Where are you going to get the money from? Tell us, don’t just come and rub shoulders and curse the Government, tell us what you are going to do’. But you can’t get that out of them.”
He warned though that if Barbadians do not want to help by paying the additional taxes, then they will have to choose the alternative – a reduction in social services and job losses.
“The choice is very, very clear; I know what choice Barbadians are going to choose. Barbadians will choose to have their garbage collected; Barbadians are going to choose to be able to go to the QEH, however much they cuss it and say whatever they feel to say about it,” he contended. (JRT)