Let’s save our money and borrow to run the economy
Opposition legislator Mark Vanterpool has posited that laws should be implemented to force the government to build the territory’s financial reserves by saving a certain amount every year, despite the financial constraints that may exist.
Where there are deficits, Vanterpool said the government should borrow loans to run these gaps. He said this is a smart, fiscal strategy used by many within the business community.
“There’s a method that many business people [and] many rich people use. You save your money and spend other people’s money. How do you become resilient and independent is that you save your money and spend other people’s money. We need to think about that statement I just made. I put this proposal to the previous government of which I was a part and I’m putting it again to this government — save and borrow,” Vanterpool expressed in the December 4 sitting of the House of Assembly.
Less reliance on UK
He added that building the territory’s reserves is one way to become economically independent and less reliant on the UK government under normal circumstances and in times of crises.
“The days when we were collecting three to four hundred million, we should have been putting aside more of that money and borrowing more to accomplish our infrastructural development. We need to be able to some day wake up and see half a billion dollars sitting in an investment account so that nobody can tell us that we can’t run our own affairs. I’m not talking about Social Security money because that’s not the government’s, that’s the people’s trust money.”
“I’m talking about the government, every year, putting aside 20 25 million dollars regardless of how difficult it is, make the sacrifice. Twenty years from now, we could have half a billion dollars sitting in some investment fund that you can then tell the United Kingdom. ‘I have economic independence’,” Vanterpool explained.
Gov’t borrowings
The BVI government borrows from various sources to run its economy and expects to get some and $14 million in loans to fill the 2021 budget.
The government has further allocated $12,495,400 towards the repayment of debt.
And despite moving into the third year since the United Kingdom offered to become a loan guarantor to the British Virgin Islands, Premier Andrew Fahie said he is optimistic the people of the territory will still benefit from the offer.
The Premier said the conditions of the UK’s £300 million loan guarantee offer is still being negotiated.
“I can’t say anything about the plan going forward because we are very optimistic that we would be able to work out the areas of concern in the terminology with the conditions because most of them have already been,” Premier Fahie said.
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More credit they’re taking from your credit line using the birth certificate.
You really think that’s the answer?
1. You save your money: – bank uses your money to make more money.. your money is not at work for you but for the bank.
2. Borrow money: – means that you would be in debt to the lender and that means interests on the money that you borrowed.
Think again!
It explains why he is always in mess with his business!
save our money and spend the pier-park own
It depends!
A young strapping person can do this – save, borrow to buy land – i.e. use the credit system – land appreciate.
Sell surplus land & make a profit – no capital gains tax in BVI. Save most of the profits, use some to buy more land along with credit when interest rates are low & enjoy the remainder of the profits. Keep a churning.
Older folks – a different story, I guess.
Some businesses here are fiscally irresponsible. Literally owners embezzling from themselves and not putting profits back into the very business that made the money to grow and expand. Half of these so called business experts end up in our Gov’t with the same ridiculous financial strategy that puts US the people and the Territory in further debt. Baby Boomer generation’s thinking is SPEND SPEND SPEND and then BORROW. They could not care at all since their feeling is that the next generation has to pay for it! Pure Nonsense!!
Agree with Hon Mark Vanterpool (R4), former MCW, that the territory should build and maintain a contingency/emergency/unreserved fund. The NDP’s commitment to contribute to and built such a fund was noteworthy.
Moreover, the Hon Vanterpool is also right in that businesses, investors……..etc used OPM (Other People Money) to operate businesses and pursue other initiatives. Banks and other lending institutions fund these initiatives for a fee, ie, interest charges. True, governments also borrow to fund projects, programmes……etc. Nonetheless, borrowing comes with a cost. If government has the resources to deliver services while maintaining an unreserved fund and without borrowing, it may be a more prudent course of action. Borrowing and its debt repayment requirement may lower and delay the level of service delivery.
Further, the VI needs to build and effectively manage a more resilient and diversified economy to grow its revenue streams to promote growth and development, improve residents quality of life, standard of living, and per capita income, coupled with borrowing where prudent.
Where are the stuff that was found in the container recently it values millions ?? let sell it.?