‘What Larks, Pip’ is a phrase from Charles Dickens book 'Great Expectations' used to reminisce fun and good times in the past.
I imagine our future history books to boast of Malta's consecutive record economic growth, year after year. Our future generations will probably dream about how life was during which whatever we touched turned into gold, King Midas style.
And yet, behind the nice economic figures, behind the rhetorics, a completely different story emerges. A story of a nation where 100,000 citizens earn less than €10,000 per year. Pensioners who raised a nation and now are stuck at home and praying that their grandkids do not beg them for some pocket money. Qualified youths with a degree or Masters degree are dumbfounded at how they can never own a property. Parents have nightmares, because their son or daughter dreams of being a teacher or a social worker, thus not having a guaranteed future in this “heaven-on-earth island”. Hundreds of workers work hard year after year and their bank account balance on 31st December is the same as it was in the begining of the year. It is just getting harder and harder, to the point that even a simple wedding invitation makes the living poor class whince.
During home visits, people tell me they are feeling fatigued and exhausted just trying to keep up with other couples. Do not impress yourself with the outgoing, bubbly, optimistic buddies at the bar; many are simply living a lie they can not afford...
This is no exaggeration. The fully-booked restaurants are no gauge to measure the economy. 20,000 wealthy diners will occupy all restaurant seats in Malta easily... what about the other 580,000?
Our pensioners raised huge families, they built their homes, helped their children settle in life, and then looked forward to a relaxing retirement... only to find their dreams to be shattered after 2013 because of a few corrupt cowboys within the Labour government.
Who was financially prepared for this roller coaster ride? People can barely survive the month: how can they ever save for their future?
An ecconomist told me that this Labour Government actually believes they can defy Newton's Third Law of Motion, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Throw a stone in the air he told me. We are being told that its motion will accelerate, lose some momentum and then amazingly eventually stop in mid air. This is the equivalent of what we are being told about our economy. Do we throw away our economics books and believe that, somehow, someone will ensure an eternal smooth ride?
There you go, we planned an economic growth of 6% AGAIN for 2022? Are we not listening to what the self employed, and SME’s are telling us? We have explained this many times: an economy on steroids will not help those who need it the most; those who work long hours yet still do not have enough to make it till the end of the month! Do we really want to see more people fall into poverty... again? Does anyone in the Government know how to mitigate this growth's consequences? Do we not know that the biggest beneficiaries of this extravagant growth are not those who are in dire strights: the living poor, the self-employeed who are not only not making a profit but are finding hard to collect what they are owed?
Is the Government admitting that it is artificially inflating the economy so that its debt and debt servicing will shrink? And please stop telling us that no new taxes were introduced. People are not as gullible as the Governmnet would like to believe.
The Government is aware that the COVID-19 wage supplements, although fundamental to save the economy, is causing inflation. The Government boasts and boasts whilst raking in more money from the wage supplements. The low interest rates in Europe (and also in Malta) meant to boost property purchases are actually increasing property prices even more, thus seeing more people fall behind. The Government's know all of this... but what do they care about your childrens future?
All they care about is projecting another economic boom to try and win the election!
It is essential that these points are explained and that all understand what is really happening to the banknotes in their wallets. It’s not easy, but it is not impossible.
Future history books will not quantify the economic, psychological and emotional distress experienced by thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of hard-working Maltese people.
Whatever you mismanage, you lose. You mismanage your job, you lose it. You mismanage your finances, and money runs away from you.
The same thing applies to our country. We need good managers in whom we trust our future. They, in return, will ensure we enjoy a balanced economy which is sustainable in the long term. An economy which grows across different sectors which benefits all especially those who need it the most. A social ballanced economy were none are left behind.
Ivan Castillo, PN Candidate on the 12th District