| By Ralph SeeramAfter finishing this article I am going to fill up my SUV. I am so happy buying gas these days. Before,Teemu Selanne Ducks Throwback Jersey, I paid reluctantly, muttering some choice cuss words towards the big oil companies for ripping me off.These days I leave the gas pumps with a smile; I am going to pay US$1.99 per gallon for gasoline. Why am I so happy? Up to about three months ago I was paying an average of US$3.50 per gallon. Considering that I fill up about five times a month using about 70gls a month, it means I am saving approximately a little over US$100.00 per month.That’s, a good chunk of money. I mentioned SAVING a hundred bucks,Pat Tillman Cardinals Jersey, but am I literally saving that money? Am I taking it and put it aside and stashing it as saving? Of course not; all it did was to give me more spending money, which goes back in the economy. Multiply by several million motorists in the US, and you get the idea why the US economy is on the rise. Consumers are spending more, which in turn spreads the wealth a little.This is especially true for those at the low end of the economic scale, who need the disposable income more than anyone else.The gas situation in Guyana caught my attention; the prices did not go down proportionally as they should. As the gas went down the excise tax went up. Whatever savings that should be passed on the buses and taxi were taken away by the government.If the approximately 40 per cent reduction in gas was passed on, passengers would see a reduction in bus and taxi fares, manufactures would see reduced transportation costs and if the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) passed on the big saving to its customers manufacturers would be able to pass on the saving to consumers.This means that the local man or woman in the street will do as I did; they will not literally put aside that saving, but spend it back on other items,NFL Jerseys From China, pumping more cash into the economy,Atlanta Falcons Jersey, more VAT (taxes) for the government.But no, the government got greedy. It wants the saving for itself. Its appetite for spending taxpayers’ dollars, wasting taxpayers’ dollars, especially on projects that should be the domain of private enterprise like the Marriott Hotel knows no bounds. It bothers me.GPL is saving big time on fuel costs, its excuse for the high electricity cost, but is it passing this big saving to its consumers? No it also got a greedy appetite. It bothers me.Since I mention the new Marriott, what’s up with the design? I saw a recent picture of it and if I did not read the caption, I would have thought it was either a hospital or a prison, not a hotel. So much for aesthetics.Still on the subject, the owner of the Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal, called the PPP government’s bluff and made a bid for an equity partner for the Marriott Hotel.Who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to invest roughly 18 per cent or US$8M and get two- thirds share in a US$57M hotel, plus all the tax incentives. You don’t see much of this type of opportunity in the investment world. The weird thing is that the GOVERNMENT for all the lies,Bill Lee Jersey, could not find takers for this great investment, or so it appears. Then up comes Badal (who I am sure knew they would refuse him) to grab at the deal only to be rebuffed with the poor excuse that the man is not serious.One gets the impression that the government is waiting for a “straw person. No one knows officially where the money came from to build the hotel but no doubt taxpayers’ money is sitting on that building. It bothers me.The Guyanese public has been told so often that the Government has turned into a dictatorship, spending money illegally and so forth because President Donald Ramotar using his constitutional power to suspend Parliament. Not to mention that the opposition also wanted to shut down Parliament at least for three months using their constitutional right to pass a vote of no confidence against the government.What caught my attention is all the Members of Parliament were still drawing their salaries; yes both Government and Opposition Parliamentarians were getting paid handsomely to do nothing. I never knew the “Pimp” was making so much money to arrange sex romps.Since according to the opposition the suspension was so undemocratic, I would think they would have refused to take that generous pay they get monthly as a protest to the government. I think that was the right thing to do if they felt the actions of the President was so undemocratic. Why take the Guyanese tax payers money if you are not working for it. That bothers me.This week we had Mr. Feral Blast delivering his own “feral blast’ to another departing Diplomat. I have always maintained that the PPP has a Public Relations problem,Cheap Jerseys, and has the worst spokespersons in Dr. Roger Luncheon and Clement Rohee. These two have no idea of diplomacy or etiquette.So Luncheon called departing British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre a “pariah” and described him as dishonorable.It seems that’s the norm for the PPP. Thye party is thin-skinned. Arrogance has reached such heights that the party feels it is beyond criticism. That really bothers me.And finally as the elections are near and the PPP is in full campaign mode, quite a few of them are having shivers. They know this election coming is not a sure thing, and they can be out of power. Why are they shivering? Because if the PPP loses power some of those rear ends will be put to use, voluntarily or involuntarily, in prison.And that don’t bother me.Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected] and Facebook. |
