BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Given the parlous state of regional economies, there could scarcely be disagreement that if any of our traditional officious bystanders, the little green man from Mars, the fly on the wall or the politically observant “blind man on a trotting horse” were to observe our current situation, he would offer a view that “it cannot be business as usual”. Indeed, this identical phrase has become a modern cliché, applying at different times to our courts, our public service, our policymaking, our university and even the regional cricket team. It seems as if there has been a universal buy-in of the expression at least. Of course, there is, to employ another cliché, many a slip betwixt the cup and lip, and we are noted in these parts for failing to back up the best-laid plans with any semblance of action. Hence, lofty speeches will always point out what must be done and there will be the obligatory polite applause. Little will, needless to say, be done and the refrain will be taken up again on some future occasion with precisely the same reaction and result. It is so much easier to stick to the known knowns than to trespass on the unknown.
