OPINION
MONEY NEW BEGINNINGS ISSUE
Taking Stock: From Past To Future Economists are optimistic when nobody else is. There is something Buddhist in the forecasting of the performance of an economy, at least in so far as cycles and the alternation between ups and downs are concerned. Manuel Delia explains. There is no eschatology in economics, not since Marx went out of fashion anyway. There will be no day of enlightenment where economies need not anticipate the next downturn and are liberated from the cycles of boom and bust. Malta’s economy has been on the up and up since the last crisis, reaching growth heights and unemployment lows of dizzying extents. With a government in surplus, all nerves about a starving behemoth looking to bite off future prosperity before it materialises are mellowed. With restrictions on property development reduced to a formality, the lid on securing super-profits in a concrete deposit is lifted. The wave that carried Malta’s economy through other people’s financial crisis a decade ago continues to flow strong. Online gaming remains a strong activity, employing thousands of expats who spend big chunks of their generous incomes on inflated rents and lavish entertainment while here. Financial services may have changed the character of their clients but the volumes remain strong and
P. ( 3 6 ) M O N E Y
ISSUE (48)
Malta remains a jurisdiction where it is easier to find a forgotten treasure chest lying about than an accountant. The government has a quaint spin on the bad press we’ve been getting over the last several months: it’s the product of the envy of others (as in other countries) who have given up on catching up with Malta’s success so who criticise it to bring it down. Quaint. But dishonest and unhelpful. We refuse to see the criticism we are getting for what it is and in doing so we bring about our own downfall. The ‘envy’ explanation is rationalisation and denial, all in one. The criticism is not unlike what we say about someone displaying inordinate wealth we suspect has been acquired illegally. We do not necessarily envy a drug lord’s hacienda though we do resent the fact their nefarious activities are rewarded instead of punished. For as long as they are. Now we defend ourselves by pointing out we are not all crooks. Of course we aren’t. Most of us
