President Irfaan Ali delivered a masterstroke on Thursday last in his address to the opening sitting of the new session of the National Assembly. What was anticipated to be a routine report to the nation about progress made over the past year and prospects for the coming year, turned out to be much more. The President used the opportunity to announce a wide-ranging series of proposals designed to immediately reduce the impact of the cost of living and improve the standard of living of the Guyanese people, among other initiatives. The flagship proposal, and the one that is receiving the most attention, is the one-time cash payment of $200,000 to every household. This utilization of the resources of the Guyanese people at this Christmastime to provide to them direct benefits, will go a far way to ease the burden of the cost of living that many have been complaining about.