Typical incompetent Halkitis pulling $30 million out of a hat. The basic common sense math below proves just how foolishly absurd and incompetent this supposedly educated moron really is.

$30 million divided by 5% VAT reduction = $600 million of total retail food store sales per year attracting a VAT rate, i.e., 30,000,000 / 0.05 = 600,000,000.

$600 million divided by 400,000 people = $1,500 of total annual retail food store purchases per Bahamian/resident of The Bahamas on average, i.e., 600,000,000 / 400,000 = 1,500.

So Halkitis would have you believe your **annual** food store costs and the annual food store costs of all other citizens/residents of The Bahamas is on average about $1,500 which equates to about $125 per month.

Halkitis's lack of common sense is clearly only exceeded by his stupidity. This man should no involvement whatsoever in our country's finances. And the same goes for that other ding bat affectionately known as Always Angry Simon Wilson.

Yup, but government's increased printing of Bahamian dollars has created a very overly inflated balloon that is increasingly vulnerable to being suddenly popped.......and when this popping happens the artificially inflated value of our local currency will manifest itself through an instant massive devaluation the Bahamian dollar relative to the value of 'hard' currencies like the US dollar, Euro, Canadian dollar, etc.

You forgot to mention the heavily armed latest generation of ChiCom subs that stealthily move about in the great depths of our Tongue of the Ocean with the knowledge and approval of our government.

Power to truth.

Here's what the useless IDB bureaucrats won't tell us:

The Jamaican dollar floats against the US dollar based on its foreign currency reserves whereas the Bahamian dollar is pegged by the Bahamian government (not the US government) to the US dollar at an artificial rate of bsd 1.005 = usd 1.000. In other words, Bahamians are shackled to an exchange control regime that is only as good as our nation's ability to grow its 'external' foreign currency reserves faster than the pace of the annual US inflation rate and our ability to repay the ever growing portion of our national debt denominated in foreign currencies, i.e., our country's foreign currency borrowings.

Right now the US annual inflation rate exceeds the annual growth rate in our foreign currency reserves and our foreign currency borrowings are at a level that cannot be repaid. Our ministry of finance (MOF) and central bank's answer to this dilemma is to simply print more Bahamian dollars, monetize the newly minted Bahamian dollars into Bahamas government treasury bills, and then coerce domestic financial institutions licensed by the MOF into buying the newly created treasury bills. This of course results in enormously stressful distortions in our country's finances that in turn threaten the collapse of our entire financial system.

When the proverbial shiit hits the fan, our Bahamian dollar will become unpegged from the US dollar causing a massive devaluation in the Bahamaian dollar 'overnight.' Already domestic financial institutions are shunning investing in longer term treasury notes and bonds because our government is unable to compensate them with the higher yields warranted by such investments. Also, the so called black market exchange rate cost for buying foreign currencies with Bahamian dollars is now at an all time high which does not portend well for things to come.

Our nation's foreign currency reserves have for decades now been seriously compromised by corrupt ministers of finance and central bank governors who have allowed and continue to allow foreign investors and politically connected Bahamians to avoid the exchange control requirements that the rest of us must abide by.

The Jamaican dollar floats against the US dollar based on its foreign currency reserves whereas the Bahamian dollar is pegged by the Bahamian government (not the US government) to the US dollar at an artificial rate of bsd 1.005 = usd 1.000. In other words, Bahamians are shackled to an exchange control regime that is only as good as our nation's ability to grow its 'external' foreign currency reserves faster than the pace of the annual US inflation rate and our ability to repay the ever growing portion of our national debt denominated in foreign currencies, i.e., our country's foreign currency borrowings.

Right now the US annual inflation rate exceeds the annual growth rate in our foreign currency reserves and our foreign currency borrowings are at a level that cannot be repaid. Our ministry of finance (MOF) and central bank's answer to this dilemma is to simply print more Bahamian dollars, monetize the newly minted Bahamian dollars into Bahamas government treasury bills, and then coerce domestic financial institutions licensed by the MOF into buying the newly created treasury bills. This of course results in enormously stressful distortions in our country's finances that in turn threaten the collapse of our entire financial system.

When the proverbial shiit hits the fan, our Bahamian dollar will become unpegged from the US dollar causing a massive devaluation in the Bahamaian dollar 'overnight.' Already domestic financial institutions are shunning investing in longer term treasury notes and bonds because our government is unable to compensate them with the higher yields warranted by such investments. Also, the so called black market exchange rate cost for buying foreign currencies with Bahamian dollars is now at an all time high which does not portend well for things to come.

Our nation's foreign currency reserves have for decades now been seriously compromised by corrupt ministers of finance and central bank governors who have allowed and continue to allow foreign investors and politically connected Bahamians to avoid the exchange control requirements that the rest of us must abide by.

ZZZZZZzzzzzzz........

LMAO

And what about the election campaign finance reform that we so desperately need to offer protection from corrupt political leaders who serve their financial backers to the detriment of the Bahamian people. The people need protection from the likes of the greedy Snake and that other scum bag Sebas Bastian.

Most D- educated Bahamians will not be able to connect the dots here. This 50% VAT cut on food items is an act of desperation by a bankrupt government that only now clearly sees and fears the massive civil unrest looming on the horizon for The Bahamas.

We import nearly all of our food items which means this VAT cut will have an enormous adverse impact on the tax revenues collected by government. This in turn will increase the need for government to borrow thereby increasing our already unsustainable national debt. The government (our central bank) will be forced to printed more Bahamian dollars in an effort to plug the hole in our country's Bahamian dollar denominated finances.

And printing more fiat currency through the issuance of Bahamian dollar denominated debt by pressuring domestic banks, domestic insurers, domestic investment companies and domestic pension plan administrators to buy/invest in the new debt issues, i.e. treasury bills, threatens to destabilize our domestic economy in a most serious way........not to mention the increased inflationary effects of government simply printing more Bahamian dollars to fill a gaping hole created by its desperate fiscal policy measures to avoid massive civil unrest. Yup, I suspect few Bahamians are able to see the bigger picture here.