THE BUDGET OF 2016 – 2017: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY : A perspective from the green end of things

The yearly ritual of the presentation of Government’s budget is an important exercise that deserves close scrutiny from citizens. Each and every person will have his or her own understanding and perception of this exercise. There is value, in a democratic society, for all of us to share our perceptions on the matter as in so doing we contribute, in a small way, to the welfare of the Republic.
Currently global GDP growth is hovering around 3% and it is the avowed aim of this Government to go beyond that figure. We tend to believe that due to many global constraints; much higher growth rates in a fairly mature economy like ours might be a bridge too far. It might be more sensible to base projections of future incomes on more reasonable growth targets of less than 3.5% so that we brace ourselves for an uncertain world situation.
Indeed, the dynamics underway leading to global constraints relate to the ongoing climatic changes that most probably are beginning to have economic impacts worldwide. We ought not to forget energy dynamics even though oil prices are currently low. At any moment they can swing right back to high levels and impact our economy. The world financial system is still based on massive speculation and probably just as fragile as ever. The world food supply is still on the edge and finally, humans worldwide are still overdrawing excessively on the renewable resources of the planet.