My expectations from the national Budget are very different from those of someone seeking another grand development project or another round of political promises.
My concern is quality of life.
I want to know that the savings and investments accumulated during my working life will not be steadily eroded by inflation and rising costs. I want needed medical services and pharmaceuticals to be readily available. I want to be safe from crime. And I want government services for senior citizens to be efficient, effective and delivered with dignity and respect.
Government must also tackle one of Trinidad and Tobago’s greatest hidden costs — wasted time.
Why must citizens spend hours in traffic, struggle to find parking at government institutions, endure long lines at hospitals, airports and supermarkets, and still face manual paperwork for basic services? Time is money, and wasted time reduces national productivity.
Financial regulation also needs teeth. Credit cards should not be aggressively promoted to vulnerable citizens who cannot afford the debt. Money-lending operations should not be allowed to spring up overnight without proper scrutiny. Unit Trust companies and insurance companies should be required to clearly publish the actual returns being delivered to investors. Citizens deserve transparency when their hard-earned money is involved.
We also need to rethink how our economy is organised. Industrial and commercial hubs should be developed closer to where people live, reducing unnecessary daily journeys. More natural-produce markets should make locally grown fruits, vegetables and livestock readily accessible. This would create opportunities for the small “mom-and-pop” businesses, restaurants and local industries that generate employment.
Tourist areas must be safer, cleaner and better maintained. A dirty and unsafe country is not a tourism product.
Personal taxation should be reduced, and COLA should be restored. The middle class is a major engine of the economy and cannot continually be squeezed while being expected to carry the burden of consumption and taxation.
The cost of basic commodities also needs serious attention. Prices that surged during and after COVID cannot simply become the new normal while incomes and pensions struggle to keep pace. Government must use every available diplomatic and economic avenue to address excessive food costs and strengthen local production.
And then comes the Budget itself.
Will we again hear the same promises about oil and gas, roads, water and government spending? Will allocations rise because local government elections are approaching? What is the plan for the nurses, teachers, public servants, Port workers and others awaiting settlements? If government says there is not enough money, then where is the strategy to increase foreign exchange earnings?
What is the current position of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund? What is the strategy for increasing FOREX? What is happening with VAT refunds? And if small businesses and the middle class are supposed to create employment, what concrete measures are being taken to help them expand?
We hear talk about “stable jobs”, but where will these jobs come from? Government cannot create sustainable employment by simply putting more people on the State payroll. The private sector must be empowered to invest, expand and employ, including through sensible tax incentives where necessary.
Finally, we cannot ignore the frightening level of school violence.
While we rightly examine parenting, frustration and social conditions, we must also consider whether gang rivalries are entering our schools through children whose families may be connected to criminal activity. If rival groups are operating in the same communities, the possibility of children carrying those rivalries into schools cannot simply be dismissed.
In high-risk areas, stronger screening, intelligence-sharing and professional intervention may be necessary before problems enter the school environment. We cannot wait until a child is shot or killed before admitting that the warning signs were already there.
For retirees, the Budget is not simply about how much money Government intends to spend.
It is about whether Trinidad and Tobago will become a country where our money retains value, our health services work, our streets are safe, our government respects our time and our elderly are treated with dignity.
That is what quality of life means.
And that is what I will be looking for when the Budget is presented.
Gordon Laughlin,
Westmoorings
