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By international standards, minerals most valuable on the international market are found in Cuba, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Several nations of the Caribbean are rich in natural resources; including Trinidad's vast natural gas and oil reserves, Jamaican bauxite and most recently the discovery of a large oil field in Guyana. The resources that make significant contributions to domestic economies and regional job sectors include fisheries, agriculture, forestry, mining and oil and gas bauxite, iron, nickel, petroleum and timber, among others. It has been noted by some that the Caribbean's most important resource is its tropical island setting, which has generated an important tourism sector.

What an idiotic post- a fruit picker indeed…. What is the human development index of these beautiful islands? Go to school…

In reply to Barry

Wow! I am confident of my academic achievement idiot. Seems like bullies are rampant here, as why would anyone react in such a foolhardy and unintelligent manner to such a harmless post? Simply a post reemphasizing the resources within our region.

In reply to Slipfeeler

So explain the human development index to me and the great scholars who promoted it

Operative word should! By the way most of the Caribbean waters have been over-fished

In reply to Barry

Barbados has the highest HDI ranked at 38th, yet the country is requesting its second IMF loan and with struggling economy, so how helpful are the HDI and the great scholarly proponents?
The biggest joke is that Guyana is ranked #118 but between Barbados and Guyana , which of the two currently has the better economy or which country of the two is currently at a more advantageous position to repay its debts?
Physical slavery no longer exists within our region it has been replaced by mental slavery among many of our so-called scholars.

In reply to Slipfeeler

Excellent, so the standard of life is relatively high despite the fragile economies- fruit picker you are an ass and a knave…

In reply to Barry

You have demonstrated an inability to adequately express the premise of your argument, maybe due to your very transient relationship with the English language, as evidenced by your consistently and overt attempt at bullying tactics.

In reply to Slipfeeler
not give. The legacies of Colonialism and Imperialism

In reply to Chrissy

Dr Chrissy agreed, the only legacy of colonialism and imperialism as we know it is a propensity for poverty, despite our enormous natural resources.

In reply to Slipfeeler

We know who you are… Ask Dr Chrissy- small states are economically vulnerable and must achieve resilience…

Link Text
Didn’t do economics in Naparima?

Enormous natural resources…. So Africa rich?

In reply to Slipfeeler

homie.....by the start of the 80s, trinidad had a standard of living almost equivalent to countries in western europe. We didn't exactly save any money through a savings fund, but then again very few oil nations did which is why the 80s were so traumatic for them. Guyana has the most resources in the region as has no right to be as poor as it is.

Guyana has little human development.....the only difference is that GT has found oil. They have an extremely large amount of desperately poor and uneducated people. That is an irrefutable fact. Lebanon, which is virtually a dysfunctional state now has a higher human development index ranking than guyana. And GT has had the most resources of any caribbean country historically

In reply to Barry

Some of the world’s fastest growing economies are actually in Africa, including: Morocco, Kenya and Ghana, etc.

In reply to Slipfeeler

Remember Barbados does not have resources like other caribbean countries but where it's true resources lie is in it's people. Education is critical and so is health care.

In reply to Slipfeeler
What are their HDIs?

In reply to Ray123
Sea, sun, sand?

In reply to Ray123

Similarly, the Bahamas which underscores my original premise that with the abundance of resources on some islands, the expectations are that we should have been achieving higher standards of living.

In reply to Slipfeeler

Define resources- there are no abundance of resources in a small island developing state… I hate teaching fruit pickers

Unfortunately, since it’s my post, you do not get to dictate the direction of the discussion with your economics 101 question. LOL
I however will add that for the standard of living to be improved in developing countries, the factors that restrict its growth have to be considered. For instance, where the distribution of income is unequal and the standard of living is very low, the government can levy higher taxes on the wealthier part of the population and offer better assistance to the poor. What could also improve the standard of living, is improving health care and education by redirecting government expenditure from other areas, or borrowed funds from organisations such as the World Bank or the case of Jamaica and Guyana with their large number of persons residing in the diaspora and contributing significantly in annual remittances to the respective countries. For example, in Jamaica, the annual remittances are over US$3 Billion, which I am sure was not factored in your HDI projections. The government could also encourage the access of multinational companies to the country, and by this, there will be resources for the secondary and tertiary sectors, raising the incomes and living standards. Attracting such companies can be beneficial to the living standard in a number of ways. Higher incomes could be paid as comparison to the income available in the country; infrastructure can be improved; employment can be increased. I am also cognizant that some have these measures might have already been implemented within our region but needs improvement to achieve higher standards of living for our people.

In reply to Slipfeeler

The funding agencies do not give funds- they lend with significant restrictions. As much as we value your remittances fruit picker, it can only do so much. Caribbean HDIs are relatively high- they did good.

Good thread.....like two bald men arguing over a comb.

In reply to Barry

Understandably, but those same remittances have prevented Jamaica and Guyana from going to the World Bank and perhaps the IMF with less frequency, there is even a calypso song about it

In reply to Jumpstart

You are neglecting the geopolitical reasons why Guyana never was allowed to prosper, similar to Haiti.

As today's situation clearly shows, it has oil, gold, diamonds, bauxite, sugar, rice, lumber. Due to First World objections to socialist policies, Guyana was blacklisted. With no scope for advancement, the tremendously talented Guyanese population were forced to immigrate. Huge brain drain unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean.

In reply to Curtis

Homie the only natural resource discovered in GT recently was oil. Brazilians, known as pork knockers have been mining gold and diamonds for decades in GT. Which is why I said that they have no reason to be as poor as they are.

Secondly, most poor countries could say that they have been the victims of outside influence. Ethiopians could say that the Soviets helped Mengitsu to send their country into the Stone Age. Jamaicans could say that the 70s and 80s elections had outside interference. The Cold War done more than 30 years so how does that explain Guyana’s years of extreme destitution from 1990 go forward, despite all the resources it has had prior to oil?

Guyana didn’t prosper because the country was divided violently along ethnic lines and those tensions are never far from the surface and the potential to turn violent. Punto final. In addition to that, it has weak institutions from a state level. I mean look how the 2020 elections nearly spilt over into violence

And even the brain drain argument is moot because the vast majority of persons who left Guyana weren’t highly educated……no one, inside or outside which is why the human development index raking is still medium in ranking

In reply to Slipfeeler /Ray123

Bim is slipping..

Top 4 English speaking Caribbean states on HDI

Wasn't Barbados Number One in the recent past?

In reply to Jumpstart

Unfortunately, we're not on the same page. The Guyanese diaspora and their immediate offspring number close to 350,000 worldwide, while the local population is pegged optimistically at 700,000 which is exxagerated. For you to say no brain drain means you are only familiar with those that fled for economic opportunities in the late 70's, 80's and 90's, high percentage working class.

Prior to that, Caribbean banking, including Trinidad, was enriched by Guyanese bankers trained at home and exported by banks such as RBC. Guyana was the banking Centre of the Caribbean, with an educated class to support that.

Politics of Race in GT is an unfortunate byproduct of political ambition and economic system choices, where the two dominant party leaders were once in the same party, with the same ideological lean, towards Socialism.

The fracture of separation resulted in violence and deep scars, like which exists everywhere the British were once colonizers of. Trinidad may not have experienced the political violence like Guyana but that's primarily because the level of involvement of outside agitators was much less.

In reply to Curtis

Incorrect again. There are some Guyanese businessmen who’ve come to Trinidad and been successful I admit. But hoss, what has made TTO successful after the come down of the 70s oil boom(following the Yom Kippur embargo) was the fact that our natural gas fields were monetized in 1993/94. By 2001 natural gas was out leading export. Until 2008, we were the leading supplier of urea and fertilizers, eventually passed by Algeria. Trinidad’s biggest error was introducing so many transfers and subsidies, over 300 billion in the past twelve years, which thankfully is being rectified


You’re making it sound as if that by accident and not by design. The difference between Dr Williams and Michael Manley, Cheddi Jaggan and Burnham was that Williams was skillful enough to guide his country through the waters of the Cold War without pissing off either side and generally maintaining strict neutrality on this issue. While the previous three were young, vibrant and angry men out of university, Williams was a seasoned intellectual who realized the world wasn’t as black and white as the Cold War made it seem .So instead of holding over nationalization of industries as a threat and big stick, he waited for companies, such as Texaco to pull out and then bought their shares, forming Trintoc, which became Petrotrin in the late 80s.

In reply to Curtis

Okay this is not about Trinidad and Guyana- I own property in both. Prior to the discovery, Guyana enriched the TT banking sector? Really? Anyway, you still need economics 101 because Trinidad has developed a service and manufacturing sector which envy cannot erase. As we learn from Singapore a country can earn by providing services… that may happen in the future Caribbean so Guyanese wealth may enhance others…

there is no way that trinadad or grenada are above barbados on the human development index with that crime situation
trinidad is rated at 67

https://www.factsinstitute.com/ranking/human-development-index/

In reply to Jumpstart

Thank you my brother, that’s was my simple and consistent argument throughout this discourse, that, “they have no reason to be as poor as they are.”

In reply to velo

yeah well governing barbados and governing Trinidad is not exactly the same thing eh.......barbados for the most part is one type of people. Whereas in TTO , two races are almost evenly split , with about 20% of that mixed and smaller ethnicities like the Chinese, Lebanese, Portuguese etc. That in itself is a challenge to development

In reply to Jumpstart

It’s a challenge because politicians have decided it’s more expedient to foster that division narrative, and deal with the fallout.

In reply to Halliwell

not that easy my friend......look at the countries with similar demographics to TTO....the fijis, the surinames, the guyanas of this word and you will see the same tensions, but amplified twenty times more. Politics and democracy by nature are divisive. When you go to an election, and two parties are vying for rulership, one party is going to miss out. When those political organizations have the added load of race, then people take that to mean that their ethnicity is going to miss out on the state largess and its benefits, whether it is so or not

Which is why when i travel, i always tell my friends that TTO has the best race relations in the world.......its regressing as it is in every part of the world....but given the makeup of our society on two very small pieces of land, the possibility of serious ethnic hatred has not been realized. In fact, a significant amount of inter-ethnic solidarity has been achieved, which i honestly think is unprecedented anywhere in the world. Just look at cricket and you will see almost every race of humankind sitting next to each other

In reply to Curtis

I can attest to your argument for I personally know at least two Guyanese-Canadian Bank Managers who left their lofty positions in Canada and return to Guyana to manage banks there.

In reply to Jumpstart

But Mauritius don’t have that kinda division…as far as I know…
Remember Rwanda had worse with the division lines drawn on something else…
All divisions carry a choice to exploit or not - Trinis of 60 years ago will tell you those divisions weren’t as pronounced in their time

In reply to Halliwell

Mauritius has a dominant race my friend. Mauritians of Indian origin are 56% of the population....those of African or creole origin make up only 37%

i agree with you.....which is why i said its regressing.....but with the knowledge that race relations and ethnic relations everywhere are regressing......social media has allowed hatred to become airborne. I mean look all over the world....in ethiopia with the tigrays oromos and amharics......look at india with muslims and hindus......buddhists and muslims in myanmar, sudanese, ethiopians and egyptians tensions over the nile, anti-immigrant sentiments in europe....its everywhere man

In reply to Jumpstart

Yep, thanks

In reply to Jumpstart
i don't pretend to know the intricacies of trinidad you would know more than i.

In reply to velo

its a complicated place....honestly, if barbados had trinidad resources they would have been in a better place than us. They're extremely organized and generally the rule of law pervades. Trinidad, possibly because we're so multi-ethnic is one lawless place. if yuh have a fridge that doh work, yuh throw it in the river and blame gortt when the river overflows......yuh have free education nursery to secondary, and tertiary if you're really poor and yuh doh do nuthing and you blame the gortt for your destitution. Yuh have boyfriends in secondary school and you get pregnant and have to drop out, blame the state. Even the way we've accepted the violent style of dancehall music now as if we didn't have a choice in whether we'd listen to it or not......a style of music the SSA(one of our crime fighting agencies) says is a recruiting tool for gangs in a report laid in parliament. Wanting everything free but paying next to nothing in taxes. Today, its always me, myself and I and that explains partly the degradation of the society. I does only bash bajans when it comes to cricket. There is a great deal to admire about their society and how it operates

In reply to Slipfeeler

Fool, no small island developing state (SIDS) have world impacting natural resources- Trinidad does not have large reserves of oil and gas by OPEC standards

In reply to velo

Do a little research those are numbers from latest HDI. Barbados economy alike other developing states was struck hard by the pandemic. The war in Ukraine caused a steep rise in energy costs. T&T economy reaps major benefits from the war.

In reply to Barry

I guess you are challenged by basic comprehension, where have I implied SIDS have world-impacting resources? I am beginning to think that your opposition might be link to other factors and not just this post, for its unthinkable that anyone who claims your level of education could have been this naive or stupid. It’s a great tragedy when our struggling economies offer scholarships and graduates although brilliant with book knowledge, have not gained the wisdom or basic reasoning skills to convert that book knowledge into practical applicability adaptable for the advancement of their own economy or people, a waste of the country’s revenue.

In reply to Slipfeeler

If SIDS by definition are economically fragile and vulnerable and do not have world class level of resources, there HDIs are relatively high. Be careful fatman, you slipped back into one of your other handles style…

Doesn’t this sound like Sarge

In reply to Barry

Man bring out velo too

Although I like a discussion, I have had discussions on the board lasting almost two weeks, but somehow this one is not intellectually stimulating, as you have nothing concrete to contribute, so let’s just agree to disagree, my brother and one love

In reply to Slipfeeler

Move on, fruit picker- you were wrong like the wood deck

In reply to Barryman something seriously wrong with wid you

He’s going all out in this thread- he sent in a third avatar- the velo… hmmm he must be losing….

In reply to Barry

In reply to Castled

Now 4 avatars

In reply to Barry

Wrong bruh only one handle for I and I.

A person is a sicko to be on mb 24/7 using multiple avatars

Unsure of velo, sleepfeeler etc

stdjones?

Raskil and tops??

Sudden is Westindiesfan78, Wilfan26, overthrow et al on mb 24/7

In reply to Castled a man would have to besick to be on a message board very early in the morning every day just trolling and obsessing over one man in particular and claiming he in diferent time zones than the one we know he is in because we can see it on the time of his posts and his name is barry the venezuelan/canadian /trinidadian or where ever he believes he is at the moment.

In reply to Castled

I never mentioned Sarge… you exposed yuhself

In reply to Castled

In reply to velo

You run a risk using so many avatars

In reply to Barry

Sarge is an ass-hat bruh who would want to be him?

I only have one handle and my only purpose on this board, as most posters will confirm, that I am an unapologetic defender of anyone or anything Jamaican. The main reason why I joined this blog was that way back in the past, many years ago, there so many negative and stereotypical comments and criticisms on the board about Jamaican players etc. and there were no rebuttals from anyone, so I decided to accept the role as self-proclaimed PR leader for anything Jamaican. So, similar to VOR, defender of the Combined Islands, my mantra has been consistent, so I could never be mixed up with any other persons, unless you are relatively new to this board.

In reply to Slipfeeler

I know you try to make your avatars different- you are doing well

In reply to Barry

MB believes slipfeeler not you

Who is socafighter today ?

In reply to Castled

The question, fatty- is who are you?

In reply to Halliwell

Where he is?
Why he is?
How he is?
Whoever that is?

Someone insisted that STDJones was also Barry at one time..WTF ...careful now Barry..

In reply to bravos

Who was that one- you? Why are you bringing Sarge into this? Is that someone you dislike because he has a wooden deck. I have never mentioned that great man here nor will I ever. You are acting creepy

In reply to bravos

You are a good one to deal with the question because you feed of the fat of the land in Diego Martin… do you think you should have a wooden deck too because the country has so many fruit trees?

In reply to Barry

Goodbye Barry.

In reply to bravos

Thanks, don’t try to bring me into conflict again- that’s not nice…

just have to laugh at the folly of men writing to themselves and having full conversations using diferent handles and pretending they are a diferent person

And the irony of someone like velo saying that

In reply to Barryi'm not the one trying to hidewho i am senor barry you really need to invest in a vpn if your going to keep pretending to be people from diferent time zones

In reply to velo

Fatman tracks me continuously so I am very cautious… fatty is dangerous…
I do not pretend… however, if I may as do velo and slipfeeler live in the same time zone on the fake wood deck?