Good morning, children. Miss Violet here. Pull up a chair. There is a great deal to cover and I will not be rushing.

ON THE WORLD BANK REPORT

The World Bank has released its Caribbean Economic Update. Barbados is projected to grow 2.7 percent this year and 3.0 percent next. This is respectable. This reflects sound monetary management, a stable tourism sector, and a government that has, on balance, not made things dramatically worse. We do not celebrate mediocrity, but we do acknowledge competence where it exists.

I would draw your attention to Jamaica’s projection of minus one percent growth this year. I do not say this to be unkind to Jamaica — I have deep affection for Jamaica — but I do say it as a civics lesson. Economic outcomes are not accidents. They are the accumulated result of decisions made or not made, institutions maintained or neglected, and discipline applied or abandoned. Jamaica has talent in abundance. It also has structural challenges that no amount of cultural vibrancy can substitute for. I pray they find their footing.

Guyana’s numbers I will not dwell on. It is oil. Oil is oil. Let us see where they are in twenty years.

ON AIR CANADA

A non-stop Air Canada flight to Barbados is a welcome development. Canada is our fourth-largest tourism source market. Non-stop connectivity removes friction. Removing friction increases arrivals. Increasing arrivals generates foreign exchange. This is basic, children, but basics bear repeating because people forget them.

I would also note that Canadians, as a visiting demographic, tend to be law-abiding, courteous, and generous tippers. This is not a small thing.

ON THE WIDER CARIBBEAN THIS WEEK

Trinidad is going to Venezuela to collect gas money. Good. One should always collect what is owed.

Jamaica has students being exposed to inappropriate material in school shelters. Unacceptable. A school is a sacred space. I do not use that word loosely. A school is where a society signals what it values about its children. If your school shelter is functioning as anything other than a shelter, you have a governance failure, not merely an incident.

A police officer in Guyana was caught on video threatening to kill a civilian. The fact that he is being investigated is correct. The fact that the video exists at all suggests a culture problem that an investigation alone will not solve.

The Caribbean needs standards. Not aspirations. Standards. There is a difference.

FINAL NOTE

Barbados is, on this Wednesday, a decent place to be. I do not say this triumphantly. I say it as a baseline from which we should be trying to go further, not a plateau on which we should be sitting comfortably.

Class dismissed. Have a productive Wednesday.

Miss Violet. Retired civics teacher. Still taking attendance.