Revelry in time of economic hardship

THE EDITOR: Tobago's carnival was an eye-opener. As far as the pandemic’s impact on our economy is concerned, the staging of that carnival shows our lack of meticulous scrutiny over fiscal spending.

Here we are, nowhere near the end of this global pandemic, and with a worldwide cry for basic everyday necessities, yet we saw $17 million spent so people could wine down the place.

Given that we import more than 90 per cent of the food we consume, are average Trinis even mindful of not just the pandemic’s global effect but also the possibility of widespread problems to get food, given Russia's war with Ukraine, the latter being a world leader in wheat production?

When large sums of money are spent for partying purposes, more so in rough economic times, are we not considering the education of our children, the welfare of our senior citizens, the physically and mentally challenged and others who are dependent on the State’s social assistance for one reason or another?

And I've not yet mentioned Trinidad and Tobago's general infrastructure, which is falling apart through an acute lack of maintainance.

Our former colonial master, still one of the economically affluent countries in the world, is taking drastic fiscal measures in the face of global economic uncertainty. And the UK is not alone. In addition, with the current global warming crisis, every country developed or otherwise, is facing challenges of one kind or another.

If we persist in regarding what we deem our culture as an economic source, while the world around us continues to maintain its economic growth and sustenance through the furthering of its educational, technological and industrial development, will we be forever condemned to our Third-World mindset and, by extension, status?

It may be even argued that some people make a few bucks from these events.

But what about the other side of that coin? What about the widespread drunkenness and its effects on families, the eventual unwanted pregnancies, the rampant exposure of nakedness and its effect on children and young people, etc?

Unfortunately, governments past and present dole out hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars annually for a carnival simply because of that chronic desire to stay in power by any means necessary.

Forty-plus years ago, then in our oil-boom status, state financial support for cultural events might have been overlooked.

As far as partying and carousing are concerned, have your fun, but do it at your own expense, not at the expense of taxpayers, especially not in these dire economic times. Our money can be used for much more pressing matters rather than for Carnival and revelry.

I wonder what the national Carnival will cost next year?

LLOYD RAGOO

Chaguanas