The 2005-2006 Budget....

[la déesse de ruine]

Yeah, but the poor already pay absolutely NO TAX on their salary.

Let's say that again. NO TAX.

Not much more of a bligh they can ask for. If they aren't qualified to get a better job, now is their chance. Free Tertiary education idmc.

As for the middle income folks, we are finally getting a little piece of that black gold money. Bonus iwmc!

Come on, the country has just received a massive windfall of extra money. Tons of extra moola.

They don't NEED our extra tax dollars to ADD to that to help start other industries! They can do that with the windfall as is.

MAN, this is good news! You make it sound like we are gonna cause some disaster with some extra $$ in our pockets?

If they could give away free tertiary education, you think free bread and butter will be beyond question? lol

Baego, free tertiary education does not mean that everyone will jump at the opportunity...the people that you are referring to for the most part don't care less about an education but more about making a fast buck. 

I have asked some guys i know who work in the grocery what they think about the budget....all they care about is that they will have more money to buy sneakers and clothes.  They just by passed the fact that from Jan 2006 they get an education for free. 

It's like what you were saying about the extra money = a new Xbox. 

It's not about the fact that we will have some extra cash each month, it sound great now... but when inflation hits and the prices of ordinary goods start to skyrocket...what will happen..are you going to eat your xbox?

Look at Guyana, do we want Trinidad to end up like that? Yeah we have better or i should say different types of resources that bring in our revenue but how long will this last?

Manning has presented a budget completely devoid of thought...thought of the consequences, most of his new measures are like a smokescreen to ensure that the people are blinded by his promises and ensuring him also votes.  That's all...

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  problem is most trinis aren't economists...  and most trinis don't take the economists on, they rather trust'' the father of the nation'' .... we following the same path that will lead to  an economic crash  that we did in the 1970s ,   ONE budget like this isn't necassarily the end of us , it might actually be good , but if manning is re elected and does the same nonsense for a few years we'll be scrunting again , tt dollar will be worthless , prices will skyrocket especially since we import most of our food .

   Cool off on the last part Trini, that was a little to extreme..

[SPK]

This is the main problem here I'm seeing.

What is the first thing on people mind when they hear extra money?

They studyin what? Consoles, shoes???

Damn priorities backwards if u ask me.

Even if tuition free, a lot of people still don't have the basic requirements to get into tertiary education!

Ppl should be studying on how to save dey money, invest in a lil Unit Trust, make the money work for them, not spend it on items that aren't needed.

Look at it how you want, but at least when (not if) the crash comes, I may have a slightly better chance at making out there than a lot of people. Let's see what your consoles can do for you then...

[ProtoJoe]

Well as sad as it is, and offene those who it might, that seems to be the mind set of most of the youth. I was actually shocked to know that most of the people in my form year (form five...frigging ppl making me repeat *mumble mumble mumble*) firstly didnt even know that the buget took place, and secondly had no care for the prospect of free education!

The only thing I'm worried about is for when this cycle goes arround and the inflation hits, and like every other trinidadian, they would use this as an excuse to try and make more money and cost of living would go up even more than it already is! (Oh gawd and i sorry for the ppl in tobago) And we already know that this in no way at all is helping with the crime (which IMHO is the more important thing we should see about)

[SideSwipe]

The time is now to start investing and putting that extra money away for a rainy day. That rainy day may not be so far off anymore.

Now is not the time to squander the extra dollars we will have in our hands. Anything important to a comfortable lifestyle(if your car old, house needs fixing, have a mortgage to pay off, whatever), now is the time to do it...but don't go overboard just because you have the money now. Any extra should be saved and invested...because in the coming years those dollars may not be so easy to come by.

[TriniXaeno]

lol

like you plan on living forever? I have enough going to pension/savings as is.

This extra moola going into entertainment for moi!

I have seen enough young people die to know that I should enjoy life while I can. Too many sad stories to tell.

If that means getting an XBOX 360 for Christmas instead of putting $1200.00 in the bank, then so be it.

[SideSwipe]

None of us here are past retirement age. The inflation and collapse of the oil market will hit well within our working lifetimes, and long before retirement. And after inflation, current retirement funds won't cut it anyway. Drop in living standards is a big issue after retirement.

Remember the IMF warning. If we don't watch our spending, T&T will be bankrupt by 2020. Some vision...

[ProtoJoe]

Well enjoying your self is all well and good, as a matter of fact, its a mandatory thing. However, dont you think that its more important that future generations do not have to suffer from us "having a good time". I am glad that the buget seems to have so many things set in place of US, but what about the future? IMO, it is too short sighted.

LOL, as I was typing this the news is going on and they were talking about how they are confident that our oil would not run out in the FOR SEEABLE FUTURE WTF IS THAT!? And then they said afterwards in there is an estimated 30 years again before we are faced with a problem like that...and then he said that famous analogy "the glass is not half empty, it is half full"

THAT IS SOME UTTER BULL CRAP! IMHO our government is way to short sighted. I mean, whats gonna happen when I am a fully grown adult? Sure I may have had education seeing its going to be free, but then what? Cost of living would be so high and would continue to raise because of store owners wanting to make money also. At this current rate, crime would be TOTALLY out of control!

I must apologize if I was a bit overdramatic, but I am just concerned about the direction we are heading....

[SideSwipe]

They also left out a major issue. Aside from them only being concerned about the next 30 years that we will not have oil shortages, they are not considering the collapse of the oil industry!

Sure, the industry won't just get up one morning and collapse, but it will not always be as profitable as it is today. We are at or almost at $70 US per barrel oil price now, 80's expected next year. After 90, alternative energy sources become economical. So fact #1 is that the oil industry won't let prices get that high. They'll start curbing it back down. Fact #2 is that the biggest reason oil is so expensive today lies between:
1) Middle East instability due to Iraq invasion,
2) The Chinese and Indian economies experiencing rapid growth, and more recently
3) The crippling of the US Gulf Coast oil production by Hurricane Katrina

This boom of ours will end within the next 5 or so years. After that, it's back to regular oil prices from the late 90's.

It is extremely short sighted and foolish to believe that we are riding a 30 year oil boom.

[TriniXaeno]

good grief.

you guys are being short sighted. The Government is actively involved in other energy industries that are closely related but not as volatile as the oil barrel market. Ever heard of LNG?

Those prices are much more stable. Not changing day by day like oil. Also, contracts for supply are in huge blocks, like 10 year deals. They know what they doing.

Barring an act of God, we are safe. Is not now they running the country. Prices have risen and fell before.

These policies can be changed to suit the day, overnight even.

Just as this budget brings tax breaks today.

The 2010 budget can cut them out.

None of those issues discussed will happen overnight.

The government will see a trend developing and react accordingly.

Example:

In the year 2005: Oil prices boomed, money flowing like water...reaction: Give the populace a cut of the pie in the form of reduced taxation.

So let us say nuclear power takes over the scene and oil buss in 2010.

BAM

Sweat buss on tax breaks and we start depending on LNG which has a much more constant price and supply/demand model.

That is a pretty solid fall back position. We won't be rolling in dough anymore but we won't be broke either.

Fun in the sun!

[Kaizen]

O_O wtmc ...man this thread depressing

[SideSwipe]

It is still very foolish to rely on just one industry, especially when you have so many others that can be developed.

And let's face it - even though LNG may be more stable than oil, it's not as profitable, and it's still an exhaustable resource. Not to mention that we still would not have the amount of dollars flowing in, because we are in the middle of a boom, and all booms come to an end. You won't find LNG selling the way oil is right now anytime soon. For that matter, you won't see oil selling the way it is now anytime soon again either.

The government policy can change overnight, except that by that time the damage has already been done. Do not forget the pickle we found ourselves in during the late 80's. We were foolish enough to rely on oil dollars and spend it like crazy without looking toward the future. By the time it was over we had high unemployment, high inflation and a devalued dollar.

[TrinireturnofGamez]

   Oil and gas will always be a necessity , even if nuclear / wind / hydroelectric power takes over , we will still depend on     hydrocarbons as our main source of chemicals ....

  No oil ------------> No plastics , no polyester materials , no PCBs for computers ,   less cosmetics and medicines , no cheap supply of chemicals to turn into alcahols , paints etc. 

 Oil will always be in demand ... until we invent nano bots that can manipulate matter at the atomic level economically at least .

[Kaizen]

wtmc ...
everytime i read this thread i does get a headache