“We are not borrowing to eat; we’re borrowing to invest”

Dear Editor,
I start with a quotation made by VP Jagdeo, who stated, “We are not borrowing to eat; we’re borrowing to invest”, and I add that “one should not borrow to only spend, but to invest wisely.”
The idea of borrowing, or even earning money, for that matter, just to indulge in wasteful spending is backward thinking, and is a practice that would eventually lead to greater poverty. This has been proven time and time again, and I would begin with the foreign examples first.
We are all familiar with the Trinidad example of COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) in the early years of their sovereign wealth – a monetary sum given to its citizens gratis. It was a well-thought -out programme, one which directly targeted those at the lower end of the income bracket. Many grasped onto that monetary handout, thereby benefitting from its proceeds. However, there remains a sizeable group who never raised their standard of living index; instead, they sank even lower on the poverty scale.
The point I’m making is that this was a monetary handout open to all Trinidadians, irrespective of race, religion, or political affiliation. Some succeeded handsomely, and went on to lead successful lives, while others sank into poverty. One wonders why some succeeded while others failed. The answer lies in the choices they made; or, simply put, the uses that money was put into. The wise Trinidadians invested, while others partied and engaged in extravagant spending, which has left them bereft of the goals COLA was meant to achieve in their lives.
We have both the Trinidadian and local experiences here in Guyana, and I make mention of the gold and diamond seekers of our country. Here we had a group of people who became millionaires overnight. They were commonly referred to as becoming “mud rich in an instant”; yet, tragically, many died in abject poverty. Can you explain why?
It is fascinating to know how persons who’ve acquired wealth, or even inherited wealth, can go on to lose it.
And the answer comes from the stark reality of what was done with that money. The money of the gold and diamond seekers can be attributed to wasteful spending and a wild obsession with “wine, women and song.” They cannot claim to have been locked out of opportunities and being in any way hindered from living a comfortable life; no, not at all. Their problem lay in the realm of failure to focus on purposeful futuristic planning.
You cannot live for the here-and-now and fail to prepare for a tomorrow. There must be a tomorrow in your planning, or else you would fall into the same pit.
Another salient point the Vice President made is that citizens should not expect to sit at home, receive a cheque from the Government, and stop working. It just wouldn’t happen. I guess he might have borrowed that quote from The Bible, which speaks to laziness in II Thessalonians 3: 10-13.
The Trinidad experience of this principle, or should I say lack thereof, was seen when able-bodied men left their jobs, only to live on COLA. The PPP/C have vowed never to replicate that form of backwardness here in Guyana. Instead, they are fashioning an economy in the letter and spirit of the Chinese proverb: “Don’t just give a man a fish; rather, teach him to fish”. It is a common guide to progress and prosperity.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams