A need to look at things realistically

THE EDITOR: Public sector wage negotiations recently began, and with them have come the usual unfortunate sabre rattling by some parties involved.

Two principles are really at play here. The first is a tenet of family law, where a divorced spouse demands to be kept in the condition to which he or she has grown accustomed. The quantum of alimony payments must reflect this.

The second is informed by an economic reality. You must learn to live within your means.

In the world today, we are grappling with pestilence heretofore unseen in our lifetimes. As all will agree, covid has ravaged not just our health but our economies as well.

Added to this, warfare is currently being conducted in the global theatre, with all its disruptive effects. It is suggested that global famine may soon follow.

Because of this plethora of frightening issues, we now live in a world where certain truths have become evident. Chief among them is the fact that the cost of things has gone up. In other words, there is inflation, and quite likely this will continue.

Also, there are supply side challenges that promise to get worse. Meaning, the things we have grown accustomed to would no longer be as easily accessible as they once were. If they can be accessed, their cost will certainly be higher. This is an economic outcome that cannot be avoided.

Our government has offered a two per cent wage increase to the one group of workers who kept their jobs throughout the pandemic – the public service.

This certainly does not seem like a lot. However, there is a great call on the very small "windfall" that the country is now enjoying from the increase in oil prices. The debt we accrued during our hours of need has to be serviced.

Infrastructure is crying out for improvement. And there must be capital expenditure if we ever hope to diversify away from oil and gas.

The point the unions are making is that their members must be able to maintain their standard of living regardless of how much prices rise on the world market. Certainly, a government can accede to this request.

However, in super-quick time the country's limited earnings would be frittered away. When our fortunes turn again and the price of energy falls, we would be left in the lurch with nothing to show for it.

And we would be saddled with even higher recurrent expenditure in the form of wages that the country has to borrow to satisfy.

There is only one way out of our conundrum. Instead of adopting the fractured family construct of a spouse demanding to be kept, we need to apply real economic principles to achieve real economic results. If we are to live as we desire to live, we collectively need to create as much wealth as we consume.

We can no longer live above our means. Either we make do with less, or we must create new wealth. Easier said than done, I know. However, if we really want more than one per cent every four years, we will have to find a way.

Government can't do it alone. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, we need leaders that won't just give us everything we demand. We're going to have to do like the Chinese – "eat little and live long." At least for a while.

All of us will have to pull together. It will take all our creativity, all our effort, all our discipline. Together we need to eliminate corruption and support every worthwhile enterprise that benefits our land.

We can, of course, choose to sabotage what is good and only work toward getting our party into power. Or instead, we can choose to advance all our best interests and work on building a righteous and prosperous nation together.

JOANNE K. JOSEPH

San Fernando