Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 15, 2015 Editorial, Features / Columnists
Although the budget may not have the weight and status of a royal decree or a United Nations declaration, yet the Minister of Finance had the unenviable task of demonstrating to the nation that it is an inspiring financial plan aimed at stopping the hemorrhaging of the economy, changing the country’s income tax system, increasing salaries and the minimum wage for the working poor, and providing subventions to stem the crime wave, maintaining and expanding the country’s infrastructure and improving the education, health care and social systems. A tall order.
To the surprise of many, this comes at no higher cost to the taxpayers. There was a positive reaction to such a serious effort.
In Guyana, the working poor who will receive substantial salary/wage increases from the budget can best be described as those who live from paycheck to paycheck. Though unfortunate as it may be, they do not have any meaningful savings or any other major assets to fall back on in times of a financial crisis or what some may call a rainy day. Should they lose their jobs, they would literally be up against the ropes. They would not be able to pay their bills, go to the supermarket, keep up with their rent or mortgage, or meet any day-to-day financial obligations. Many of our public servants, from top to bottom, as well as some private sector employees are in this predicament, but certainly would not admit it willingly.
While poverty is often associated with joblessness, a significant proportion of the poor are actually employed. But because they are earning such low wages, they face numerous obstacles that make it difficult for many of them to find and keep a job, save money, and maintain a sense of self-worth. Against the background of such harsh financial realities facing the poor, inclusive of the rising cost of living and a burdensome taxation system, especially for PAYE workers, one wonders how the working poor in our midst have survived the former government’s wage constraints of five percent increase per year for the past ten years. It was belt tightening to the point of suffocation.
For more than a decade, the working poor in Guyana werecondemned to persistent poverty; not only in material terms but, even worse, poverty of the mind. They have survived against all odds and are from a broad cross section of population; the market vendor; the farmer; the basic school teacher; the craft vendor; the household helper; the honest, incorruptible civil servant; the journalist who has not sold his soul to the highest bidder; single mothers and fathers who by themselves raise their children in what we in Guyana term a hand-to-mouth situation and poor and marginalized individuals, to name a few.
These are some of the issues the Finance Minister had to grapple with in preparing the budget. His primary focus was how to improve the lives of the working class and the poor. He reasoned that their lives can to some extent be improved by increasing the minimum wage from $39,000 to $50,000 and the tax threshold from $35,000 to $50,000 which would provide more disposable incomes to the masses to meet their financial obligations. This will indeed help those in greatest need.
Needless to say, it is their resilience, dignity and stoic awareness of their situation that have enabled them to survive against all odds. While a few resorted to crime, most survived by the generosity of relatives and friends in Guyana and the diaspora. Despite such a wretched situation, the not-so-well-off among us are worthy human beings deserving of all the help that comes their way. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
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