Dear Editor,
Economies thrive when people spend their money which supports jobs in Guyana.
This is why it is imperative for the PPP/C Government of Guyana to find a mechanism to push more money to poor people as a poor person will tend to spend more of their income compared to a rich person hoarding their money in foreign bank accounts.
This is why the cash grants are such a good idea as it distributes Guyana’s wealth to everyone.
Another idea would be to push up the income tax threshold to give people more disposable income.
I also like the idea of pushing up minimum wages. But this comes with the inherent risk of pushing up prices as well which will lead to hardship for many Guyanese.
Job creation is a must so that more people are working. Which means the need for higher paying jobs in Guyana. While there are numerous jobs being created by foreign companies in Guyana there needs to be more balance in what Guyanese are giving away (concessions) to get job creation. It is okay to give concessions as long as Guyana can clawback. I suppose the PPP/C Government views this clawback as “investors’ confidence” in Guyana leading to more FDI’s hence, more jobs.
As a side track, on the issue of borrowing to finance development: you only leverage (borrow) when you can gain an advantage, not just because Guyana’s Debt: GDP ratio is relatively low meaning that the loan is sustainable but where is the ADVANTAGE?