Starling’s Suggestions For Reducing Spending
Former Independent political candidate Jonathan Starling has suggested a raft of ideas for the Government to save money including holding meetings via teleconferencing to reduce spending on travel, providing all Government documents online to reduce printing costs and ensuring PATI is made operational as public scrutiny will reduce wasteful spending.
Mr Starling said, ‘I would like to encourage more submissions to the SAGE Commission, who have extended the deadline for submissions until 1700hrs on Wednesday, August 7th (today).
“I encourage anyone to submit their ideas to the SAGE Commission – this can be done online, by hand or through email. No idea is unwelcome, we are all part of this community, and we all have ideas about how our community can be better. This is an opportunity for us all to be involved.
“For those who may be skeptical of the SAGE Commission, and I don’t deny I have some concerns regarding it, I want to stress that you have an opportunity to voice those concerns, and articulate progressive alternatives to making Bermuda a more socially and economically just society.
“I have provided my initial submission to the SAGE Commission to Bernews in the interest of stimulating debate and to encourage more individuals to take advantage of the extension to the SAGE submission deadline. I hope that additional individuals are inspired to submit their ideas, no matter how big or small they may be, or you may think they are.”
Mr Starling’s full submission is below in PDF form, and a few excerpts are below.
- Ensure PATI is made operational as soon as possible, even in a phased manner. Public scrutiny will reduce the opportunity for wasteful expenditure of public monies by empowering the public to hold the Government accountable.
- Provide all Government documents in an electronic format are available online, thus reducing the printing costs for Government overall.
- Continue the process of decentralising Government offices outside of the City centre, with a particular focus on moving offices to north-east Hamilton, Southside, St Georges, Somerset and Dockyard.
- Where possible, all meetings (including both overseas and on-island) to be held via teleconferencing.
- Decriminalise personal possession of marijuana (up to one ounce), allowing police resources to be redirected towards dealers rather than consumers
- Tax junk food and subsidise health food. Convene a panel of public health and nutrition specialists to develop respective lists of junk and health foods, and set increased taxation/duties for junk foods, with the resulting revenue being used to subsidise the cost of health foods. Such a policy may reduce the long-term costs of health-care for obesity, diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases
- Establish new criteria for attending overseas conferences. This should ensure that travel and hospitality costs follow strict objective criteria. In addition, for all overseas travel (not required for maintaining professional designation) to require Cabinet approval, along with quarterly reporting of costs to Parliament.
Mr Starling’s full submission is below [PDF here]
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- 2013 Media Articles | Vote Jonathan Starling | January 11, 2014
@ Starling,
I like your suggestions, and hope SAGE have a serious look at the suggestions put to them. I know the average person feels that when groups like this ask for suggestions from the public, it’s just to do it. But I hope this commission is different, and listens to the people of this island. We have many inteligent people here, so I do believe the solution lies within.
Here’s one that would really save money… Offer any private firm a 2-3 year payroll tax ‘holiday’ on any employee that they hire away from their current job in the civil service.
I would rather read an article titled “Startling Suggestions for Reducing Spending” which is probably what is needed in order to curb excessive government spending
@Jonathan Starling
Very well done! Holistic ideas that seek to address the cost of government while taking into account environmental, energy, tourism, cost of health care, and on and on. All supported by research and analysis of technologies and similar systems in place around the world.
Extremely well researched and presented. There are some very good ideas in there. Really well done.
Ride
tax junk food…kiss my a**
Well said E$, Junk food is already expensive enough with stores charging you and arm and a leg to purchase them then jacking the price up on the so call discount day and maybe Starling hasn’t looked at junk food lately…some of it is very healthy if only he reads the label
LOL ‘What Do You Think’ “Junk food… is very healthy” by definition – It is not healthy…it is junk. I think it SHOULD be more expensive to buy high fat, high sodium, low quality ‘food’ than clean, lean healthy alternatives – and I’m not just talking about vegetables. ‘Junk food’ is a major factor (and Tax $$ drain) in the appallingly high rates obesity on this island (esp. child obesity) and the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes – I say TAX it ASAP!
it’s not a tax $$ drain, you must be slow. if anything make healthy food cheaper for us den we won’t have to buy junk food. cuz right now its waaay cheaper to eat worse food than healthy food.
Here is my call to SAGE: If it is, honestly and sincerely, your aim to create a more socially and economically JUST society in Bermuda, then let’s begin the real, raw conversation, followed by action/implementation, about the distribution of wealth on this Isle of Devils. Reparations is long overdue to the ascendants of enslaved Africans in Bermuda. The name I wear is a hand-me-down from my ancestors’ white owners. I have a human calculator and ca$h regi$ter who can produce a tab for the total amount due to us who were stripped of EVERYTHING from the period 1620-August 1, 1834= 214 years. Imagine, that many years of hard labour, harsh treatement and no money down–FREE service. It’s no wonder you have SO MUCH MORE! The reparations monies can be used for Blackity, Black, Black stuff!
Remember, reparations has no expiration date.
If you’re going to chase former slave owners for reparations don’t make it a racial issue. Black families owned slaves here to.
It is not the aim of SAGE to create a ‘more socially and economically JUST society’ . Their remit is to make government more economical and thus save us tax payers some money in the long run.
Also , wealth is not ‘distributed’ , it’s EARNED . People who can’t understand that are simply making excuses for their failure and looking for a handout.
black people put black people into slavery first…sorry mate
Error correction: harsh treatment
I like these ideas. My only concern is that we need to see more suggestions from others as well as SAGE on increasing revenues. If we don’t weigh that just as significantly we will still have issues in the future.
Here’s a suggestion SAGE, centralise government billing onilne! I can pay my land tax online but I have to write two cheques a year, one each for my dog licences. You’ll probably find that this is one of the main causes why there are so many dogs unlicenced on this island, by the time the annual fee rolls around I’ve lost my cheque book and then when I find it, I have to purchase envelopes and stamps to send them in. Way too much hard work LOL!
But seriously, paying your bills to government shouldn’t be difficult and it shouldn’t be left to each governmental department to create their own billing system. Centralise it!!!!
agreed.
Great ideas for impressing the birds over dinner – but could they ever be effected,
Well written Jonathan! Hopefully this will encourage more submissions before the end of the day!
well it seems as though he done his homework. most of the ideas are really good.
i hope someone listens.
Great suggestions Jonathan – well done.
While I understand the sentiment attached to taxing junk food, i’m just not sure it would have any effect on the obesity problem, so i’m not convinced on that one.
They need to go over each and every government department’s books with a fine tooth comb. So many of these depts waste a huge amount of money. One big offender is the Bermuda Police Service. One senior officer has had FOUR brand new cars in under six years. Why do the big brass at police have to have new cars to sport around in all day? If they really need a car, why not buy second hand instead of getting a new one with all the fixtures and fittings? Speaking of cars, the GP carpool needs to be drastically reduced. Why do senior civil servants need a car just to travel to and from work every day? They always use the “they need to get to meetings” line, but how many meetings do they all really attend? It would be cheaper to have taxi drivers on hand to transport them IF they truly had to go to a meeting now and then. It’s more of luxury and perk as well as a convenience to have a GP car and save their own gas. If the government really wants to save money, they need to get tough and step on some toes if need be. This is beyond ridiculous now, and time to make some very unpopular policy changes.