Govt’s justifiable spending

It is also Mr Manning who keeps pushing grandiose plans in front of a jaded populace, with his insistence on a new Parliament building, his futuristic vision of a capital city dominated by tall buildings and multi-storey car parks, and his handing out of millions of dollars to our Caribbean neighbours. This last item falls in the category of charity, not overspending, but the overall impression is of a prime minister who is only too happy to expend taxpayers’ dollars on items which aggrandise his own image. Yet citizens might not begrudge him even this, were it not for the fact that Mr Manning seems to be budgeting our energy dollars on cosmetic items, when there are ugly national deficiencies to be dealt with. Crime, health, education, and social services all need money. However, the Government would no doubt offer the same rationale as it did when protests about the Tarouba stadium were first voiced — that the money spent there does not mean less money will be spent on crime.

But that attitude in itself indicates a spendthrift mentality. Everyone knows this is a rich country, but everyone also knows that our wealth is not used efficiently. If it were, we could not have a 20 percent poverty rate and a murder rate of almost one per day. Our health care system would not be plagued with fundamental problems, flooding would not be a perennial headache, and our education system would be working effectively. These things are surely exacerbated by a Government which wastes money on items that bring little or no fiscal or social benefits.

Even in times of economic downturn, governments have never been noted for fiscal restraint. And, with the Trinidad and Tobago economy predicted to grow by 6.3 percent in 2005, it is improbable that the Government will be counting pennies, or even millions. Unlike Mr Manning, however, Mr Valley has at least offered a standard of proof by which his assertion can be judged true or false. According to him, the 2005/2006 Budget, due to be presented within the next few weeks, will show that the Government is not overspending.

We will bear this in mind, as we will bear in mind Mr Valley’s other prediction that crime will be down by the year’s end. If the Government is indeed displaying fiscal prudence, then we can expect a Budget which lays out expenditures designed to bring in financial and social returns. If, on the other hand, the Budget caters to tall buildings and make-work projects, then the accusation of a spending spree will be amply justified.