And who won the election?

Stop making excuses for your Party’s lackluster candidates.

I say, if you and the government have recognized this fact, and have not done ANYTHING about it over the last 14 years, shame on you! You call yourselves “standing strong for Bermudians” yet those who are the most in need of defense/support/services/etc., in other words, the ones I thought you would be championing back in elections past when I voted for you, are the ones who are even worse off than they were before you took over the government.

This, to me, is indefensible.

I didn’t get to see the debate last night, but I will say this. Larry Scott is a lawyer, used to thinking on his feet and building arguments to defend even those who are guilty. Alexis Swan is, I believe, accountant who works with figures. I would bet she would not come out looking top-of-the-trees against a skilled and experienced argumentarian.

I think of my mom, who ran several times for the PLP in any district they placed her, even UBP safe seats like Paget East. She was passionate about Bermuda’s needs of the times, and about her party, the PLP of the day (not the PLP of today, by any means), and she could argue points with most folks, but if they had set her up to debate against someone like Dr. Masters, DeForest Trimingham, or God Forbid, Sir Henry Tucker, UBP candidates for Paget during the time she was a PLP candidate, she would have had a pretty hard time of it.

All that to say, Ms. Swan is a bright young lady whose strong suit may not necessarily be debating with lawyers, but I would trust her integrity any day over Mr. Scott who could write such a scathing denunciation of his party as “4%” and then present himself as a candidate for the same party.
In addition, Ms. Swan’s debate performance, good or bad, has nothing whatsoever to do with the issues she refers to here. And I refer you back to my opening paragraphs.

As for your comment about property prices, everywhere in the developed world there are some people who can’t afford to buy a home. And some that don’t want to.

The reason people in Bermuda are not buying homes is not because they can’t afford to. It’s because the economy is unsound, and the economic future is uncertain. Houses and apartments stand empty in their hundreds, and the government responds by building even more. Ownership of property is risky and unattractive in Bermuda, hence the lack of buyers.

However, when a woman with children is in debt, and her child support payments, if paid, would cover that debt, the court doesn’t take that into consideration and require the dead-beat-dad to pay his arrears so that she can pay her debts. Instead, they send the woman to jail for non-payment (while the DBD walks around free and often making more babies) and she STILL owes that money when she comes out, now with a prison record and even less possibility of finding a job and paying off the debt.

This situation was highlighted in that movie put out a couple of years back by the Coalition for the Protection of Children – I think the name was “Poverty in Paradise” or something similar. The only comment I heard from PLP supporters at that time related to whether or not the women in the film had weaves and their nails done, as if any woman with any pride would appear in a film without trying to look their best. Not a peep about the inequities and no action to redress the situation.
Some of these women are owed tens of thousands of dollars, while the fathers are just walking around and the courts do nothing.

The judges do appear to be lenient but at teh end of the day, they do propose jail and many end up in jail as a consequence.

I did not want to go there today but I was also very surprised about Ms. Swan’s dismissive comments about race. Race is clearly a remaining issue for Bermuda!!

Perhaps Ms. Swan routinely ignores reading! She clearly did not read this year’s Throne Speech pages 15 and 16 but also missed her own Leader’s response to last year’s Throne Speech where all of Bermuda was surprised at his acknowledgement of the continuing vestiges of institutionalised racism in Bermuda.

The earlier comment about government reducing rates relates to debt collection since debts incur interest at the statutory rate of 7%. If that is reduced than it will be a benefit to delinquent borrowers.

Going back to general rates, it is interesting to note that Islamic Finance guidelines are on the basis that rates should not be exhorbitant. Thus the banks must effectively prove what their costs of operations really are before setting rates. They are then able to add a small profit but there is less exploitation of borrowers.

Perhaps it is something we should at least consider for Bermuda as we seek to grow and diversify our economy.

As to housing, prices clearly have to fall further since there are people that want to buy homes and houses are available but not at the ‘right price’.

You’re ignorant as hell. Then tell me what do YOU want? It’s not a secret who owns Colonial, but I can assure you they are FAR from racist and one of the most honest, genuine families on this island. She didn’t get the job because she is part of the OBA, she got it because she’s qualified and works hard. This whole issue of color is f0cking childish. Who cares if they’re purple as long as they’re doing the right thing. Fall back you sound like a jealous, envious hater!

More competition? Well, there is already competition. Tere are already 3 or 4 sources of borrowing, and taking that up to 5 or 6 won’t make a difference to interest rates. We’re a small market of 60,000 people, and we’re reducing in size, and have a shrinking GDP (unlike many other potential markets). Our housing market sucks, and the government is still (inexplicably) adding to an already over-served market, while recently-built condos along with established ones, stand empty.

In short, we ain’t that attractive to lenders.

Debtors cannot be imprisoned if they can prove they can’t pay. Prison is for ones who say they can pay but then don’t – I.e the shirkers and the wheeler-dealers.

Furthermore if you can’t afford to pay your debts there is a simple solution: bankruptcy.

If truly impoverished people are being imprisoned then the law is being ignored. Look up the Debtors Act

And you think I have ‘trouble answering questions’ about what should be cut? It isn’t even a mildly difficult question.

What about the sham contracts for Friends if Ministers? The $160,000 for the sham report by Pastor Bean? The report he wrote to provide advice to himself. The secret report, that we have never seen.

There are all sorts of wastes of money that could have been saved. You don’t even want to admit they happened, they’re so criminally ridiculous.

Your response last night on the issue of race highlights what is wrong in Bermuda, because whites (and your UBP Handlers) wish to erase Bermuda’s oppressive past, the standard response is that “oh race is irrelevant we have more important things to worry about”.

Well Alexis, let me tell you a little story 2012 about people (yes who look like you) who are routinely rejected from job applications because they are Bermudian and Black.

Race is still a major issue excluding many qualified Bermudians and their non-bermudian spouses from employment opportunities in our beautiful island home, so in short Alexis its an open secret who owns Colonial Insurance where you were and its also an open secret that your Human Resource Department would have already put any PLP aspiring MP on a written warning for the amount of time that you Nandi and others have swanned out of work for those mickey mouse press conferences.

Open your UK University educated eyes and stop trying so hard to be one of the few blacks in the room who have been given an opportunity, as there are dozens of people with more relevant insurance industry experience than you who are unemployed right now whilst you are allowed to spend your days canvassing and pretending to be a leader.

Furthermore as a young person it is offensive when you and some of the otehrs from First Bermuda Alliance Youth wing claim to “represent” your generation…..should I go there about the make up of those meetings and who is politely told to zip it, yes people who look like you

So please open your eyes since your political career is now over and step aside for Nandi Davis so she can read her lines at the next press conference………….I had to laugh at Nandi’s recent ad on the TV, she had a 3 year old young boy in her lap saying that he is inheriting $34,000+ in debt, yet the young boy had on a platinum bling chain and a diamond earing……….maybe someone should take those items to cash for gold to reduce the national debt, or pay some child support

You are NOT representative of a generation of Bermudians, stop fooling yourself Lady.

The answer for general rates is to introduce more competition. We will see if the relaxation of the 60/40 rule will get us a new bank that is more market driven.