Lebanon’s financial woes are home spun

ENAR

Much like Ebenezer Scrooge’s selfish deeds, Lebanon’s past monetary and fiscal policies have finally come home to roost. As 2018 ends, most Lebanese have but one haunting worry: What kind of economic showdown will 2019 bring? To answer these fears, we first have to look at how we arrived at this wretched economic condition that haunts our future prospects. There is nothing magical about Lebanon’s present economic crisis. It is rooted in the ghosts of past economic visions and choices. The lopsided pre-war merchant republic was recycled, producing a postwar rentier economy anchored on largely nonproductive tourism, real estate, and financial sectors, regressive tax rates, and depressed wages. High interest rates were the price paid to stabilize the Lebanese lira and ensure a steady increase in bank deposits which, alongside remittances from an ever-growing immigrant population, were used to redress the country’s balance of trade deficit. Considered at the time