“Omwin Pravind ti partaze”
I have heard and seen this horrific phrase, and its variations, many times over the last three days.
An antidote to this kind of thinking - these sweeping, pernicious, nonsensical statements - is to get as specific as possible. And we’re a tiny nation. This is doable for us.
Ideally, it’d be important to know who, exactly, was involved in drafting the budget. We’d need to know the people and stakeholders consulted, measure by measure. We’d need to know, as far as possible, the groups of people responsible for each measure and those who expressed dissent. We’d need to know what arguments and statistics were put forward to validate, calibrate and/or reject propositions.
I don’t know how much, if any, of this information is available to the general public, but surely there must be some record of what happened during the pre-budget consultations.
We’d also need to know who is officially advising the government in every ministry. This should be public knowledge, given their salaries are paid by the taxpayer, and yet — I can’t find much on the internet. What experience do they have? What are their backgrounds? What policies have they shaped?
The more specific we are, the more information we have, the more accountable we can hold the people in power.
I have a third event in the UK! On the 20th of June I’ll be at The Wivenhoe Bookshop as from 7pm, in conversation with Dr. Ricardo Torres. I can’t wait!
Thanks, as ever, to all of you who have pre-ordered. Thanks for posting about the book. It’s more than I ever hoped for.
I’m taking the plane this week, which feels unbelievable. I know that the days to come are going to feel really strange - a world away from the rigorous domesticity of my everyday life.
All my warmest,
A