We are now heading into the silly season with Santa Marija weekend coming up. News is scarce to come by, as is anything of political substance due to people taking their holidays.

But, as happens every year, people are already talking about Budget 2010 and what is being said in the pre-budget consultation meetings.

Everyone acknowledges...times are tough and we are perhaps yet to feel the real pinch of the global recession. We have already heard much talk about woes in the tourism sector, but we will only really know the impact of it after Q3 closes. The Finance Minister has also gone on record, as have various economists, in saying that Malta will not begin to feel the positive signs of recovery till sometime in 2010. When exactly, is anyone's guess.

We would also have to admit that Malta (so far) has not been hit as hard as many others. That is down to the resilience of our banking sector, which withstood every test the financial (not economic) crisis hurled at it, the fact that the government had performed so well in trimming the deficit down over the years and one would also have to say, good micro management and...pure luck.

However all is not rosy. We have already felt unemployment increase, and that is particularly worrying as we are in full swing of the tourist season, which normally leads to the creation of more jobs - at least temporary ones.

But back to next year's budget. The general public is not stupid. It knows there will be no manna from heaven and it also knows that it cannot expect, shall we say, a positive budget in terms of Joe Public.

People know that the Government of Malta, like any other government is budgeting in a climate of damage limitation. There has been investment to aid recover, such as the Piano project, but that will have no tangible economic benefit for citizens at large.

Though it will create work and it will result in jobs and that is key at this point, staving off unemployment. The government must work hard to continue in its drive to limit the damage (downsizing factories, layoffs, closures and scaling down working weeks), while at the same time embarking on projects that will maximise employment and keep the economic wheel going.

But at the same time, it must not finance these projects by putting extra burdens on the taxpayer. The water and electricity tariff debacle is still fresh in the minds of each and every person who has to fork out, in some cases, double what they were paying only a year ago. The increase in cost of living is also being felt. One only has to monitor their monthly foodstuff-shopping bill to see just how much more we are paying than we are used to doing.

At the same time, salaries are increasing, but at a snail's pace. Many say the COLA is the solution. It's arguable.

What is not arguable though, is the introduction of more taxes. In today's day and age, people have to fork out money for virtually everything. While the purse still might contain some 'spending power', people's tolerance is fast approaching the limit.

Just as the government affords itself some expenditure respite, it must make sure that it does so in Budget 2010. Can we expect to have more money in our pockets? No. But what the people do expect is at least to remain on current par.