The D’s claimed the economy was ill, and if elected they can fix it. Furthermore, when the B’s told Bim in ‘07/‘08 that there will be a global economic recession, and the B’s would lead best , the D’s said, there was no looming recession and they can do the job. Ever since they were in office, all they do is blame the global recession and “perceived” BLP mismanagement for their shortcomings.It’s sad, as the D’s NEVER had economic success in Bim. They never mention the $2.1 Billion they inherited.Before the election the D’s made you beleive the B’s did nothing, and that people were in squalor. I came back to Bim in April of ‘08 (3 months after the election), and I thought i was in Miami.Clearly that development could happen in 3 months.I saw what the B’s did for 14 years. The cars on the road indicates the disposable income available to people.

You were elected to lead the country.stop complaining.This government is a FAR cry from the D’s of Barrow when i was there…

Owen is right on the money!

The current DLP administration does not seem to have any ideas or solutions to the current economic problems.

To blame past administrations is not a solution…..thats not why the people voted the DLP in.

As all has seen it was a mistake to vote DLP….the best we can hope for now is for them not to completely mess up the country.

Either I am blind or can’t see or deaf or can’t hear and I don’t subscribe to the saying that “Bajans have short memories”. In the recent past our PM The Hon. David Thompson requested of The Hon Owen Arthur to sit with some other distinguished men to share ideas that would redound to the benefit of our economy and the recession was already on our doorstep, Mr. Arthur bluntly refused. By so doing he has shown us that he cares more about being in power than this honourable country. He’s now part Antiguan, he prefers to share his knowledge with them. The people of Barbados are still the electorate and can vote you in or out, we are not stupid. Any honourable citizen would do whatever is necessary to benefit his country regardless of party affiliation.  Mr. Arthur it’s all about “HONOUR”, not “power”. You are the one who need to stop the “BELLYACHING”

Dear Mr Arthur, you talked about the reserves that you left on which the Government has been drawing down for the last two years. Common sense tells me that if you had also left a good cash flow they would not have had to be scrambling, considering that the recession came as soon as they assumed office. You were invited to join discussions and make proposals to help us along. You refused, so why the lotta long talk. Is party politics more important to you than patriotism. That is the attitude of a proud, selfish man.

ARFA, you still packing unbreakables?

RA’s comment has hit the nail right on the head and i completely second everything that was said, if all you have done is to oppose then that is all you know and that is what this administration knows about.  Arthur is a brilliant economist and the administration should indeed stop with the Bellyaching and give the people results.

if the BLP leave 2.1 billon dollars why haven them paid the man for the building in warrens .that dont make to sence to me that mr. barrack wasnt paid if them had all that money that it gone from 34 million to 64 million come on people stop listern to foolish talk and think for once what he just say

If the Great USA with Obuma surrounded by all his nobel prize winning laureates in economics and the other G8 countries do not have a solution to this economic crisis. The consensus is that you will have to ride it out and that recovery is going to be slow and painful. Owen got to be playing politricks. He can’t be taken seriously.
A so call economist should know better.

@Paul Pierce: Seriously when does having and abundance of cars on the road indicate success or a flourishing economy? When do nice roads and glorious buildings indicate that a country’s economic management is sound and beneficial to all society? We could all drive BMW’s and Mercs and live in million dollar houses does that inidicate that have wealth and manage money well or that we are able to convince lenders however untruthfully that we can manage the debt we incur to posses these things.
These are the kind of misconceptions which have our world in the place they are right now. That a people would enter into a gamut of debt to appear successful to those looking on.

Come on people just stop the fighting and ask the government to get a economist as brilliant as Mr. Arther to help out.

@SHUTUPANDGOANTIGUA you are spot on, exactly what I thought, and by the way, I am neither B nor D.  What about those with the biggest rides in town and cannot afford the finance repayment or even afford the gas that makes them go.  How shallow can we be.

Miss Pat

Do you keep abreast of the news.  Mr. Arthur was asked by the current government to sit on a committee and “help out” and he refused, but he has accepted the invitation from other governments in the region to help them. I thought that home drum should beat first.

Is Mr. Arthur a Barbadian or not, where is his allegiance?...... Remember God gives the gift and he can take it away so Mr. Arthur needs to drop the pride thinking he is ever so good and no one else is, there is always someone better and time will tell.

Seriously Mr. Arthur you really expect Barbadians to believe that you have solutions that they have not yet come up with in the United States. It seems to me that you and the BLP believe that you have the God given right to lead to rule, perhaps apart from you telling us about your magical solutions you ought to tell Barbadians how you would stop the type of cost over runs associated with things that happened under your administration, and how you would not go back to the days of squandermania which is part in parcel part of our problem. Perhaps you could explain that it was on your watch that the CLICo debacle started.

Then if the BLP were re elected who would lead? would it be you or Ms. Mottley ?

Mr. Arthur, Barbadians are not stupid and we have a much longer memory than you think, we also are much more sophisticated than you think especially in matters as it relates to this global crisis. Best of luck in Antigua.

Oh dear! It is really time for Mr. Arthur to move on!  What type of economist talks like that? One that continuously attempts to confuse the minds of the people.  I credit our people with the intelligence to see the truth.  Thank God!

Am I missing something here?...Didn’t the DLP run a campaign highlighting the incompetencies of the BLP administration and didn’t the DLP tell the nation that Owen and his team were running the country to ruin…so why then would they want him to sit and tell them how to get out of a crisis? If you decide to run for government and you are elected then you have to hit the ground running despite what crisis you meet when you get into office…so what are they saying this DLP that they dont know what they are doing?...I am lost…

The Hon Owen Arthur is right to serve where he pleases. I remember some years ago a certain Prime Minister refused to allow him to be employed in Barbados. Us, older folk also remember him serving with distinction in Jamaica, even before becoming Prime Minister. As for The Hon David Thompson, he really needs to get on with the job. There are still economist at Finance and Central Bank, the difference is that its all about management and good quality cabinet members. The BLP does not bellyache, we supply options for people to meet their goals, and a goal is a winner, and so are we.

I amazes me that so many people are against The Hon Owen Arthur at this moment. Are most of these not the same hypocrites who had jumped ship to scream, “we going wid Owen” for sixteen years.  The gracious gentleman is an economic guru, and this can be seen from the accolades the country received for stable economic performance, even just before the silly lapse in Barbadian mentality, by voting in the Dems. As usual we will be here to clean up the pudding, and we pray the weathewr cocks return to their original home. I have one hope that his time is mainly devoted to the island only, as the CSME will die like the Euro is currently doing.

THIS IS NOT THE USA…

Forget Mr Obama and his world class economists, any one who dares to stop and pay attention can tell that managing a multi-trillion dollar economy with such a diverse culture and industry attached to it is very different and calls for a different approach than managing the Barbadian economy no matter how intricate and delicate it may seem/be.

Stop mixing your apples and pears…

I agree Mr Arthur may not be as capable as some other economists in the USA but he just maybe capable enough to see what the Thompson administration can’t or doesn’t want to see. That may be the way to impact on citizens and businesses in a positive way(economically speaking)

Mr Arthur i am an educator and i tell my students everyday that the things they say and do defines their character, who they are. So they should strive to practice empathy. I have always been a DLP supporter but admired you as a brilliant economist. Now after seeing what you are doing and hearing what you are saying i must say i am ashamed at wasting my time admirering you.

I am not polictical, but DLP did not had to put on a campaign to win the last election, people were tired of BLP and wanted a change. People think the the former PM was a good economist, some think not including me, He was never tested on any real serious issue, one of the best things he done was to give away the Barbadian lands at little gain for the country, he sold the farms to the people who was buying the milk, now they bringing they own milk, making hard for the nationals.
I don’t think Mr Arthur have any ideas else he would try to put an input if he love his country,
We don’t need economist to run Barbados, an accountant can run Barbados we just talk millions, it just simple math, that being express with a higher learning. We Barbadian are living at the mercy of people who are bringing the the US dollar, that time pass, it time to find an avenue to get rather than depending on other to bring it, with demands. I got Ideas how the country can works it way out. but it would come at a cost.