by Rick Lowe

This years Business Outlook was one of the best I have been to over the years.

Mr. Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of The Bahamas made the presentation of a lifetime. He was frank and forthright as usual, yet seemed less inclined to those intense retorts that make some people uncomfortable.

Personally, I think it was the best presentation I've heard from a politician in years.

He attempted to reinforce the idea that we are an open economy and that is what has made The Bahamas the envy of the region in many respects. And he noted that while the government will do what it can to assist in the short term, there has to be a balance and a commitment not to burden future generations with an unsustainable welfare state.

Other speakers that stand out in my memory were Sarkis Izmirlian of Baha Mar, Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, Minister of Tourism, Dr. John Rodgers, Ophthamologist, Eric Carey, Bahamas National Trust, Lawrence Bascom, Financial Consultant  and Albert Binger, Consultant.

The luncheon speaker was Dr. Keva Bethel, former president of the College of The Bahamas. She talked about her vision for our little country. I'm no fan of family planning by the government, but her presentation was outstanding. I hope her daughter, Dr. Nicolette Bethel puts it up on her site Blogworld.   

I don't think any of the presenters were bad, some of them were repeating their message of previous years or their content was more industry specific so they did not excite me as much as the others.

There is one thing that I must say irritates me when I go to many events like this, and that is the constant refrain that we must diversify our economy. Meaning, the Government must do it.

And in responding to a question about diversifying the economy Mr. Ingraham rightly asked to be informed of one country that has a so called diversified economy that has not been negatively impacted by the current financial debacle.

Furthermore, I believe that it is up to the private sector to do the diversifying, not the government.

Most business people complain about the public sector, yet still seem to encourage more of the same at every opportunity.

Frankly, it gets tiring.

One more beef. Stop the programme after lunch.

Overall, it was a great day of discussions to kick the year off with some intellectual stimulus for the gray matter.