Borrow and be merry, for tomorrow we die (or become filthy rich from oil funds)

The new budget, like those of previous years, is heavily dependent on borrowing, to the tune of over 50 per cent. ILLUSTRATION | JOHN NYAGA

The age of economic enlightenment is with us. And who ever imagined we would see it in our lifetime?

Everyone had thought that understanding the country’s trade balance, annual budget deficits, management of the public debt and relating the cost of living index to the dynamics of the capital market and the fluctuating value of the national currency would remain the preserve of economists for a long time to come.