S&P Downgrades Barbados 1 1/2 Yrs. Into Thompson Adminsitration

S&P cuts Barbados rating to BBB as economy shrinks | Markets | Bonds News | Reuters

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Tale of Two Islands

"Stanford University economists Peter Blair Henry and Conrad Miller recently published an interesting NBER Working Paper in which they compare economic policy and economic performance between Jamaica and Barbados.
Henry and Miller point out that in Jamaica, the People's National Party rose to power in the 1970s with the promise of "democratic socialism." Unfortunately, the PNP delivered, nationalizing companies, taxing trade, and imposing exchange controls. The PNP also distributed income through job-creation programs, schemes for housing development, and subsidies on food. Government spending rose from 23 percent of GDP in 1972 to 45 percent in 1978. The government financed much of its huge deficit by printing money, leading to 27 percent inflation by 1980.
The government of Barbados, by contrast, avoided nationalization and opened the country to trade. It also kept government spending under control although, unfortunately, Henry and Miller don't present data on government spending as a percent of GDP.
The economic results: between 1960 and 2002, real GDP per capita grew by an annual average of 2.2 percent in Barbados but only by 0.8 percent in Jamaica.
Henry and Miller pitch their study as a critique of the Douglass North view that institutions are crucial for economic growth. They point out that both countries were British colonies until the 1960s and, therefore, had a two-party political system, a free press, constitutional protection of property rights, and the English common law. The difference in performance, they say, was not due to different institutions but to different macro policy. But aren't such big differences in macro policy--nationalization and distribution of wealth in one case and not in the other--themselves a difference in institutions?"

Source: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/03/tale_of_two_isl.html

Juls At Obama's Inauguration

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(Our) Rihanna does it for Royalty!

"I just watched our lil bajan girl Rihanna perfom live at the Royal variety Performance at the London Palladium. Man I telling wunnuh..among the galaxy of stars present, she shone as brightly as anyone else!!
My mouth did fall open a bit when after the show, she and the rest of the performers got to meet Prince Charles and his Camilla Parker Bowles.....
I ain care whuh nuhbody else say.. we have a proper genuine Bajan star... and I say, all the best to her."

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Juls Offers Her Suburban DC McMansion For Obama Inauguration

"The first person to sign up with their family can get my master suite, however, you can bring your sleeping bags and blankets for the floor. Breakfast on Inauguration Day is included..."

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Hiking Barbados

"While Barbados can be enjoyed without ever leaving West Coast Highway 1, which is fringed with beaches and hotels, a local passion for walking has created opportunities to explore more than 800 miles of roads at little or no cost. Our trek was one of 45 rambles offered free by Hike Barbados, a program of the Barbados National Trust. No reservations are necessary: Simply meet Sunday morning or afternoon at the designated location, break into groups according to pace, and experience a 6-to-14-mile slice of the island that you might not otherwise see..."

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Juls Reports On Her Bus Trip To Atlantic City

Not even the economic downturn and failing banks can stop the thousands from flooding into Atlantic City from the eastern seaboard area. Our intrepid Juls boarded a "bus" last weekend for the glitz and glamor of "America's Favorite Playground." Read her report here.