Thanks James McLeod, for some great writing and some thoughtful insights over the years. Good luck in your future endeavours. But, you know what, as you suggested in your Nov. 18 commentary, “How do we fix what’s broken?”, most of us will decide to stay on this great Rock.
You are very right, James — things are bleak, very bleak, as bleak as they have ever been in… forever. Muskrat Falls is a boondoggle, saddling us with unreasonable, unsustainable and, for many, unmanageable energy bills for years and generations to come. Governments will have to find a way, some way, for us to manage. Let’s hope this time, unlike past times, we keep a close, and doubting eye on our next “white knight” or “queen saviour.” Find those jaded glasses when the promises begin, because surely there will be caveats.
James McLeod is indeed right, things look dire. But they have looked dire before.
We have always looked for the promised land. Boston and New York, in the first half of the 20th century. Toronto, just after Confederation and through the 1970s. Alberta in the 1980s and 1990s, and even now. This generation found the promised land in offshore oil here in Newfoundland in this new millennium.
I began my work career as a teacher in 1974. There were 164,000 students from kindergarten to Grade 11. Today in a K-12 system there are fewer then 60,000. So, demographics are changing, perhaps forever. We are getting very old, and yes, we have fewer and fewer working people supporting our elderly.
James McLeod is indeed right, things look dire. But they have looked dire before.
I have been a financial adviser for 20 years, helping families “get there.” I have worked with families to plan for the education of their kids; to save some dollars for their own retirement; to help them achieve financial independence. Sometimes, in helping families “get there,” roadblocks and other impediments make us stumble. Stock market crisis, terrorist attacks in New York. All sorts of noise.
And then an unhelpful media, clamouring “investments are plunging.”
I have always promoted level-headed thinking when this “noise” is occurring. I always encouraged clients to hold the fort, stay steady, ride things out. And, you know, for the overwhelming majority, they have done that. Eventually, every time, the clouds turn to sunshine and we get through the crisis — often better for the experience.
My clients are most often like the average Newfoundlander, James. We are a resilient bunch. Oil will eventually go to $100 a barrel again; some, yet unexpected or undiscovered economic catalyst will buoy us again.
This place has a draw on us like no other. We will stay, James. We will stay!
And when we leave, for a holiday or for work, and somebody asks, “Where are you from sir/madam?” We will shout proudly, sincerely and with vigour, “The Rock!”
The Rock, our new found land, forever. Always!
Lloyd Barrett
Bay Roberts
