What else is dropping?

Written by Cherelle Jackson

A close relative turned 65 recently, and the prospect of cashing out her miniscule $100.00 monthly pension, is not exactly appealing.
Frankly speaking, the amount is pathetic!
If she lived off only that amount she would either die of starvation, or drown in the floods because she wouldn’t afford a retirement home, better yet she would probably have a heart attack at the mere sight of the tiny little cheque.
So while the US pensioners may be temporarily suffering from the impacts of the sub prime crisis, our own pensioners have long suffered the pathetic-pension-crisis, as a result of the ignorance and arrogance of our superannuation scheme, or the dramatic lack thereof.
Can you imagine, working for more than forty, or even fifty years for your country you profess to adore, and then on your 65th birthday all you get for your sweat, blood and tears, is a $100.00 cheque and free ferry rides to Savaii.
Come on, if that is not injustice, then what is?
Ok, not the free ferry rides bit, because it’s actually a nice perk, and frankly, I think we should all get free ferry rides to Savaii, if the old folks that frequent the boats speak for anything, its that they use it to the max.
But, now one would have to understand why some families keep cashing out the pension cheque even after the pensioner had peacefully passed months, even years prior.
Perhaps its sweet revenge, but then again it’s simply fraud the Samoan style.
So while the state of pension scheme keeps dropping other economic features have but continued down that ever popular financial decline simply known as deficit.
Generally when economic statisticians use the term “drop”, it doesn’t mean much until the indicator is noted.
Now a drop in interest rates, fuel prices and controlled commodity prices may be nice to hear, and a welcome statistic, but a drop in the supply of an on demand commodity, tourism arrivals and exports, well that’s not exactly a desirable statistic.
The Economic Performance reports by the Central Bank of Samoa for the last few months bring Samoas latest economic “droppings” into perspective.
Samoas economy is predicted to slow down this year like the rest of the region according to the World Bank.
So while the business community is up in arms about the possible switch, the economy is taking a turn for the worse.
In the Economic Performance report released in January by CBS, tourism arrivals decreased, private remittances decreased, balance of payments recorded and overall deficit, and to top it of the merchandise deficit increased.
Charming picture of Samoa!
The regional ANZ Quarterly Report predicts a slowdown in the Samoan economy this year, but this is no surprise, the same trends were noted by the World Bank in the Global Economic Prospects 2008 (GEP 2008).
Agricultural food supplies, according to the Central Bank’s survey of the Fugalei Market in December 2007, recorded an 18 percent drop.
The reduction in the overall volume was due to decreased supplies of taro, banana, taro palagi, coconut, breadfruit, yam, chinese cabbage, cucumber and pumpkin. Farmers blamed wet weather conditions for the drop.
So while economic performance is at a slowdown, the prices of commodities are rising and to add salt to the wound, fuel prices are running high with the cost of electricity.
It’s not an easy time for us on the islands.
So while each working Samoan is faithfully paying their taxes and contributing to the Samoan economy, they neither have too much of a say in Government spending nor do they directly benefit from their own hard earned cash at the later days of their lives.
One can only hope for a recovering economy which will in turn make the lives of Samoans easier even if just through the decrease in the price of taro, rice or even tinned fish.
In moments like these, subsistence economy is looking pretty appealing.