Smiling through our pain

An economy that can serve the interests of all our people requires confidence. The necessary conditions for that economic confidence are both security and straight talk from those who are entrusted to protect our nation’s growth. That is why it is so damaging that no one called out the president or the prime minister for inflating Lebanon’s economic progress to the public and international community last month. According to our Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office, “estimated results” for last year’s economic growth have come to 5 percent and growth in the first quarter of this year increased by “leaps and bounds”. If that makes you think that one of his speechwriters has a substance abuse problem, you are not alone. No one — from the international financial institutions, to local academics, or even the humble journalists who monitor our economy — thinks growth last year exceeded 1.5 percent, not to