Budget Reality – 2026
CAPITALISM GONE MAD
The passing of Slinger Francisco, the undisputed Calypso King of the World, left a heavy silence across Trinidad and Tobago last weekend. But as the Mighty Sparrow is being laid to rest, his music has done the exact opposite of resting. It continues to speak loudly and prophetically.
On the same day of his funeral in New York, the date for the 2026-2027 national budget was announced for Monday, October 12. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been offering optimistic pre-budget assurances, promising that the presentation by Minister of Finance Dave Tancoo will build on new energy deals, massive foreign investment, and solid economic progress. Better days, the country is being told, are just over the horizon.
However, on the ground, the soundtrack playing in the heads of the citizenry was not a political speech; rather, it was Sparrow’s 1982 masterpiece, “Capitalism Gone Mad”. Sung in the aftermath of the ONR’s electoral defeat to the PNM, the calypso was a biting protest against the crushing, inexplicable cost of living in Trinidad & Tobago. Forty-four years later, as the country braces for Tancoo’s fiscal package, the song feels less like a retro classic and more like the evening news.
This inescapable irony was the sole agenda when the Rum Posse met at the home of Big Bottom Beverly.
To soothe the economic anxiety, Beverly put together a bumper spread, literally Christmas in October. The table groaned under a panoply of ham, fried chicken, baked turkey with hops, chicken and beef pastelles, pigeon peas and rice, breadfruit oil-down with pigtail, and a Caesar salad. Even the bar did not reflect the general thinking that hard times were likely ahead with its shelves of premium whisky, brandy, vodka, White Oak rum, puncheon, Campari, Guinness, beers, and chasers.
Present were Alfred; Anand (and no Rihanna); Balkie; Barman; Ramesh; Roshan; Beverly’s younger sister, Shirley; and Sunil.
Sunil: Well, the Birdie fly away, but what he leave is more than a legacy. Allyuh know de radio playing a set ah Sparrow right through, and de one that strike the loudest chord for me this morning was de one with de lyrics, “You’ve got to be a millionaire or some kind of petty bourgeoisie, anytime you’re living here In this country”
Shirley: Sunil, like we was listening to de same station. When I hear it meh pores raise. I listening to the prices Sparrow was complaining about in 1982, and actually start to pray for a time machine! He was lamenting about eighty thousand dollars for a motor car, and two hundred dollars for ah pair of sneakers. Right now, if I find brand-name sneakers for two hundred TT dollars, I buying three pairs and running out the store!
Balkie: Fuh real girl. The song say quarter million for a small parcel a land. A quarter million? Try finding a piece of land anywhere for dat kind ah money. If 1982 was capitalism gone mad, 2026 is capitalism check itself in St. Ann’s.
Anand: While it might sound funny, is ah real serious piece ah commentary. To side-track a little bit from de actual lyrics ah de tune and what it mean for now, case in point is de impending budget. The Prime Minister hinting at new energy deals and major investments. While it sounding nice, de way I see it, it sounding great for de macro economy because at de end of de day, we need de foreign exchange. De question is if it trickling down to de grocery cart. Sparrow say twenty dollars for baby milk was highway robbery. What he would ah say now? When is now over a hundred dollars for a tin ah baby formula. What Tancoo go say about dat?
Ramesh: Hold on. How Tancoo come in this? Allyuh really blaming dis current government for four decades of global inflation? Nearly everything we eat, drink and wear we importing. You looking across multiple sectors of de economy. Is agriculture, is manufacturing, and doh even start to talk about foreign exchange reserves. You expect de price ah baby milk to drop? Is so much thing contributing to high prices. Tancoo or any Minister of Finance for that matter have to balance de national account just like we does have to balance we own accounts. All while keeping the social safety net intact.
Roshan: Ramesh, you feel I doh understand economics. On one level, all ah we understand, but you feel anybody studying economics when you pass through de market. Sparrow summarise it perfectly with, “Time you buy greens all your money done.” That is the reality, my dear friends. People feeling like dey toiling in vain. Who regulating de store owners and dem? Why when shipping costs drop de price ah goods doh go back down?
Alfred: We all over de place now eh, but to throw in my two cents, which is about a hundred dollars now. Back then Sparrow call it “avariciousness”. De way I see it, big business making everybody feel government give them an open licence to steal. If Tancoo want this budget to resonate, he cyah just talk about energy deals in the billions. He have to talk about de price ah underwear and school books and rice and chicken and thing. He must show how government trying to protect people from what dey does call price-gouging. Allyuh eh hear how Mia Mottley lick up Massy Stores in Barbados for de obscene profits dey making while she Bajan people ketching dey tail to buy de basics. Kamla should do de same thing here, especially with dem banks and other big businesses who trying to dig out people eye.
Barman: And to get back to Sparrow’s “Capitalism gone mad” de killer lyrics is when he say that the cheapest coffin was over three thousand dollars! Allyuh know how much ah coffin is now? It reach de stage where people renting fancy coffin for show and when it come to cremation and burial dey putting your deceased family body in a cheap wood coffin, oui. Not even dying today easy. It looking like it cheaper to stay alive and that saying plenty.
Big Bottom Beverly: Jesus Christ! Forgive meh for calling out de Lord name in vain, but the way this conversation going starting to depress me. Just when I was feeling good ‘bout my attempt at starting off de hundred days of Christmas with ham and pastelles and thing. De only thing missing was black cake but I just put de fruits to soak. Tancoo have ah briefcase to open on Monday, and Kamla say better days ahead. We will hold she and she government to that, but when coming to think of it, she didn’t really say when eh. We doh know what go happen Monday or even tomorrow for that matter. Today is today and we know what we have, so best we keep de food running and de drinks flowing
Sunil: Beverly, I know as host you supposed to have the final say but you right. Let the politicians figure out the billions. Today, we raise a glass to Slinger Francisco. He warned us 44 years ago, and we still navigating de madness today. May the Birdie rest in peace, and may Tancoo bring us some real relief on Monday. So pass de rum; pass de ham.
Until next week.
