A tale of two governments

A famous English novelist wrote a literary classic, A TALE OF TWO CITIES. That theme came to my mind last week when, in the space of two days, I listened to the Budget address of our Prime Minister, followed, a day later, by the State of the Union address of US President Barack Obama. Washington DC is very different from Kingstown, SVG; the United States is a completely different kettle of fish from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ralph Gonsalves is no Barack Obama nor vice versa.{{more}} Yet there were contextual similarities in both addresses which have set me thinking.

Perhaps the most common factor, spurring as much debate in the USA as in SVG, is that of budget deficits. The scale, of course, is incomparable, but the concern is no less in Kingstown as it is in Washington. In our case, the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) made it a central theme of its response to the Budget, while the governing Unity Labour Party (ULP) downplayed its significance, in the context of the global economic crisis and the need to maintain basic services to the needy, aged and vulnerable.

Tackling the national debt was very much a part of both conversations and the subject of differing approaches to solutions. Comparatively speaking, SVG’s $1.17 billion debt pales into insignificance when one hears of the American public debt which, as at December 31, 2010 stood at the astronomical figure of US $14.03 trillion, 14 million, million dollars to be more explicit. That works out to a debt to GDP ratio of 96.5% . By comparison, SVG’s public debt was calculated as 70% of our Gross Domestic Product, according to Prime Minister Gonsalves.

President Obama faces a very hostile, right-wing and backward opposition from the Republican Party. In fact, the normally conservatism of the Republicans is being pushed further to the right by the emergence of a movement within its ranks called the Tea Party. This ultra-right and racist movement exerts pressure not only on the Republican Party to become more extreme in its policies, but even on Obama’s Democrats to try and appease the right wing. Here too, one sees evidence of the “loonies” in the camp of the opposition NDP, a veritable NDT party, exercising similar pressure on that party’s leadership to become more extreme in its sayings and actions.

That pressure, in both instances, is manifested in downright intransigence and the tendency to put opposition to government policies before common sense or the search for solutions. In the process, policies are advanced, which are not always in the best interests of the vast majority of both populations. Opposition to Obama’s Health Care reforms is the most classic example in the USA. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives, at the service of big insurance companies, is trying to roll back advances made by President Obama last year and to repeal legislation passed.

Fortunately, the first black American President has been standing his ground on principle. In the State of the Union address, while appealing for bi-partisan cooperation, President Obama made it clear that he was standing his ground on welfare and other matters dealing with the basic needs of the American people. He has made it clear that education is a priority for his administration, emphasising, as our own Prime Minister has done, that every child must be given a chance to succeed. In this context, he has announced an end to subsidies for the banking sector, the savings to go towards financing student education.

Another similarity between both capitals is in relation to welfare and social security. Whilst recognising the need for austerity in trying circumstances, Prime Minister Gonsalves has reiterated that he is not prepared to sacrifice the welfare of the poor, the vulnerable and the youth. Thus, amidst intense pressure to balance the Budget, he has increased welfare payments for the aged and indigent and maintained priority spending on education. Prime Minister Gonsalves has also insisted that higher income earners shoulder an appropriate share of the public burden.

These themes were also woven into President Obama’s address, adamantly insisting that big companies and their lobbyists no longer enjoy virtual immunity from the tax burden and calling on his big business-funded opponents to work in tandem with his administration to find a bipartisan solution to the challenges affecting Social Security. Those facing SVG’s National Insurance Service (NIS) demand such an approach as well.

Two countries, vastly different in size, resources and level of development. Common challenges and approaches from which we can learn.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.