Jackson Responds To Furbert On Quality Of Life
OBA Acting Chair Susan Jackson responded to Shadow Business Development Minister Wayne Furbert’s suggestion that Government initiate a Quality of Life Study, saying that it was “the former Government that initiated the decline in our economy” that “led to a fall in the quality of life for many Bermudians.”
Yesterday Mr. Furbert recommend that Government immediately initiate a Quality of Life Study, saying the PLP “believes that public policy decisions must be informed by the facts as they stand today and not what we assume them to be. ”
In response, Ms. Jackson said, “Shadow Business Development Minister Wayne Furbert says the Government needs to commission a Quality of Life study to make sure it understands the facts of life for Bermudians today.
“The One Bermuda Alliance Government is acutely aware of the facts “surrounding wages, living expenses and the overall well-being of Bermudians” that Mr. Furbert wants to know.
“The Government engages with thousands of people each week, whether through MPs in touch with constituents or civil servants helping in constructive ways – from job training, to advice for small businesses, to family financial assistance.
“The Government’s work is also supported by reporting agencies that track economic and social conditions, which help it form decisions to support Bermudians in their daily lives.
“Mr. Furbert perhaps forgets that it was his Government that caused the increase in the number of people and spending on Financial Assistance to grow from approximately 680 people and $16 million in 2005/06 to $46.9 million this year to support some 3,000 clients – an unprecedented number.
“It was the former Government that initiated the decline in our economy through shortsighted economic and hostile immigration policies that led to the increase in demand for Financial Assistance and a fall in the quality of life for many Bermudians.
“It was the former Government’s policies that led to thousands of residents leaving the island and jobs being shed across all sectors of our economy.
“It was the former Government’s policy to simply increase the amount of taxpayer money spent on Financial Assistance rather than implement policies to train and empower Bermudians and get them working.
“It was the former Government that was on the fast track to creating a welfare state in which disadvantaged Bermudians simply relied on handouts rather than hand-ups; handouts Bermuda could not afford.
“Mr. Furbert says Bermudians need hope. Bermudians not only need hope, they also need a Government that is working to create jobs, attract foreign investment and improve the quality of life for all. This is the focus of the OBA Government.
“The OBA Government is working for the people. We started the National Training Plan, reinforced the Department of Workforce Development, and implemented changes to attract investment in job creators to Bermuda with their capital and expertise to set up companies, create jobs and contribute to the economy.
“We’re making progress on many fronts, bringing forward recovery that will make a positive difference in the lives of Bermudians.
“Meanwhile, the Opposition seems to take pleasure in doing all they can to derail our efforts. They seem pre-occupied with finding phony, manufactured problems or controversies each week to throw mud and see what sticks.
Ms. Jackson concluded, “Perhaps Mr. Furbert should let the Government get on with improving the quality of life for all Bermudians.”
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- Starling: We Need To Measure Quality Of Life | Bernews.com | August 17, 2014
Operation Pressure Cooker.
Well stated Susan.
Well stated Susan. Fantastic delivery. There will be many who may think differently but the truth will always prevail. Nothing that you have highlighted is false. We are in our present situation due to the dopeyness of the PLP It will be once again, laughable at the those who attempt to down play the facts you have stated and ultimately fail at their personal attempts at swaying those readers to think otherwise. Furbert, de silva , bean, burgess, cox weeks , roban , Rabin etc are all super naive if they honestly feel that they are not to be held accountable for their failures in their positions as the former government. Come on you PLPers, you know where I am coming from. Don’t choose to be blind to obvious failures just to show your loyalty to a party that has out you in your current position. Ask that question of yourself now. Are you in a better personal financial position now that you were in any part of the 14 years the PLP government? Please be honest.
You replied to Terry’s comment yet touched on nothing he said. You’re looking like an oba betty trying to force your oppinion to the top of the page.
Oh piss off “Come’.
You reply to “Operation Pressure Cooker”.
I need a rum.
OBA method of governance- deny; deny deny and above all blame the former PLP government and keep it up right up to the day a new election is called’ for we no longer can tell ‘ THE BIG LIE’.and call it an election campaign.
Alvin Alvin Alvin. Your party lost – deal with it. Stop moaning. You are reminding all of us of Rhonda Neil. Get over it. And no I am not interested in your rantings in the Verkuss Woice.
Oh, and we don’t care what you think.
Now you know how we felt when Colonel said it
Alvin, are you denying the facts she reports.. Pathetic Alvin
@Hmmm; Alvin is a self confessed member and participant of the Black Beret Cadre.
Hello.
We don’t care what YOU think!
The thing is the OBA do care what people think, and they listen unlike the PLP where your quote comes from.
She stated the OBA are making progress on any fronts WHAT R THEY
your an idiot mate feel sorry for u
“And above all, blame the former plp government and keep it up right up till the day the new election is called” news flash mate! It IS the former plp governments fault!!!!! Are u dopey pr something? Where the hell have u been for the better part of the last 20 years?! Go back sleep mate. Better yet get a fri@@in life. All u do is bash the OBA well what the hell has the plp done for us? And i mean all of us not just the segment u want to see helped. We know how u think uve made it blatantly obvious from your previous posts in any topic u feel like spouting your rubbish in.
P.S. There wont be a snap election called before the obas tenure is up so get used to it mah bie
So Furbert is saying SPEND more money on an old problem that the PLP created.
You hit it right on the head! – what Mr.Furbert wants the public to see is the numbers of those
who are Rich and those who are in economic plight and unemployed so it can be used as a political tool.
Takes no rocket Scientist to figure this one out. — just another political stunt.— BUT will the OBA fall for it.
Everone is worse off to the tune of $40,000 of debt that we have to get to the govt to pay off debt. Don’t forget the interest!
So financially we are much worse as a direct result of the PLP. Does that help Mr Furburt?
Blame Game at it’s finest. Thanks for NOTHING. What a waste.
No you are incorrect. There is a vast difference between the “blame game” and placing the blame where it rightfully belongs e.g. in the lap of the former Government.
Don’t worry Ray, the PLP knows where the blame lies, that’s why they didn’t turn up to the last election.
Ms. Jackson I just want to say with all due respect,that you can not blame the former government totally, as there are many factors to be considered and one of the greatest is the greed in the private sector.
Everything from rents, mortgages, to food and everything in between, the darn cost of living in this country is outright outrageous and instead of blaming the former government, what the hell is the present administration doing to eliminate some of the crap we are experiencing.
Give you a good example: The banking institutions are calling in mortgages left right and center, the homes are valued in a good market over $1 Million dollars, but because of the economy they have depreciated in value which is understandable, but the part that sickens me and a lot of others,is the banks are being ordered by the courts in many of these cases not to have a fire sale, which simply means the courts are not letting them have the right to sell the properties at auction rates.
So why are we seeing many of these homes being sold by the private sector on behalf of the banks at a rate that is lower then the depreciation rate, if a house is valued at $1.2 million on the open market but because of the economy it should be sold for $950,000.00 or at the lowest $750,000.00 which shows the reduction in the rate of it’s worth even in this market, why then is most of these homes being sold below $550,000.00, in some cases more then half of what it is worth, and why is your government allowing this.
For some sick puppy that don’t understand my point, by the time a person that has lost their home and owing the bank $1.2 Million and it only sells for $550,000.00, that family after the sale of the home and the proceeds given to the bank, still owes the bank $560,000 and if they can’t pay back then what, they are already out of a home and still being screwed by a system design to kill you.
you have several hundred cases of families in this position, so then I take Mr. Wayne Furberts comments to heart and just take it to another level, and kindly ask this government to start doing for the people before the bottom drops out, and all hell breaks loose in this country.
You have hard working Bermudians gave into this tax system for donkeys years and now find themselves on the bottom of the barrel needing help and all you can do Ms. Jackson is rebuttal Mr Furbert’s comments.
Who headed up Bank of Bermuda/HSBC during this time of real estate rack & ruin – none other than card carrying PLP member and PLP Premier Dr. Ewart Brown’s brother Mr. Philip Butterfield………..
You don’t like “greed in the private sector”? That’s the root of all our problems?
Well you must hate what the Grand Atlantic Marshalls are doing. They’re holding the country to ransom for personal profit. That’s “outrageous” in your view, isn’t it?
Wow more misleading comments ! Do politicians even know what ” just tell the truth ” means ? Sworn to into office to lie to the public for party gain !! Just Plain RIDICULOUS ! All they do is spin each others comments! The truth gets lost in the mixxxx Ups ! Darn Shame ! Transparency ,Conspiracy Hippocratic Hmmm ! We can see its not what we ordered & the chefs aren’t taking it back smh ! Smh ! Dumb ?
One thing I forgot to add, is Ms, Jackson you are absolutely right when you said that it is Mr. Furbert’s Government that cost the increase in expenditure: I totally agree that it was Mr. Wayne Furbert’ U.B.P / O.B.A Government that actually started this darn madness when they let the Caldwell Bankers in here, from there rents,mortgages and the cost of food sky rocketed, so don’t play with the peoples emotions like we are all brainless.
This OBA govt. Is like a broken record. This lady couldn’t come up with anything new? We heard all this before!
Yes but some people (PLP) want us to forget.
what a waste of time these politicians are………………..
you started it…..
no! you started it!
NO! YOU started it……..
NO! YOU STARTED IT!!!!
I know you are but what am I tactics need to go. we expect more from our representatives.
the people deserve better than this infantile game we see played out on the internet daily…..
If the PLP would stop putting these political attacks and accusations to brainwash the public, then the OBA wouldn’t have to spend time responding.
How about trying to be an opposition PLP and quit with your failing propaganda. You might get some respect.
I thought the PLP were irrelevant and didn’t matter?
Keep up the good fight Ms Jackson, for you are “a chip off of the old bloc”
Of course many are hurting and rightfully so; but this is due to the debt the previous Govt. has left all of us facing and contrary to what my friends may say or feel…They aren’t by far the only ones feeling “down / depressed”. At least there’s light at the end of the proverbial tunnel whereas before all we saw was more and more debts…Sad yes but true 
Susan be true to your late and blessed mother . Pick up her mantel and blast this government over every conceivable mistreatment of our seniors .
It’s all a propaganda campaign! Keep repeating the same things until it is etched in people’s minds to cause a further racial divide! Ms. Jackson just the tone of your article makes my blood boil! You could have effectively made a good point UNTIL you became so emotional and undone! If you and your government are SO INTUNED with the people, you would have realized that some compassion is definitely needed here!
One of the problems the OBA Government has had is that it was charged by the electorate to fix the absolute disaster created by the PLP – and thats what it has been doing.
In the meantime Bermuda and Bermudians have been subjected to more negative and incompetent political rhetoric from the PLP with not an ounce of shame, remorse or, God forbid, even any semblance of accepting responsibility for the mass mess they made. Even the strongest PLP supporter including the likes of Zane, Wayne and the rest of them, know damn well what they did and that the OBA is actually fixing it…slowly but surely and effectively.
The PLP has been politicking since December 2012. Thats all they have and thats all they ever will have. They dont believe this crappola they spew…they are hoping against hope that there’s enough of the uneducated to believe their idiotic statements. Who will buy a ticket to a comedy act when all they need to do is wait for the next Zane interview with Gary Moreno !! Side splitting…
Like the Japanese PM said in Decemebr 1941….I think all we are doing is waking the sleeping giant. Susan Jackson is the beginning of a wave of OBA spokespeople who are starting to fight back on the political front and I for one say…its about fri@@ing time !
Exactly
The OBA are now having to deal with the Factions of the PLP spewing out propaganda daily, all day, Chris Furbert and his Peoples Campaign along with the politically biased radio chat show.
ummmm tiger lily just for a bit of historical info, it was not the Japanese PM who made that comment, it was Admiral Yamamoto just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour……
Mr Furbert? Really? He can’t decide which side of the fence to sit on…who can trust him? Really makes me cringe that he can sit there and just open his mouth….he needs to get out of politics…
Oba needs new opinion/ op ed writers, they are becoming too profitable. Secondly mute people in Parliament, having so much to say in print, is telling.
Typical UBP send out the attractive surrogate with a press release
Next up Nandi
Attractive?
Typical racial, misogynist remark from a PLP idiot.
You people kill me with this racist stuff..Lmao So that must make the OBA the real racists innit? They wrote the book on surrogates and how to use them..
So according to the PLP a nice looking woman can’t have her own independent intelligent thoughts. Yeah, we know that’s your opinion. Mysoginist as well as racist.
I’d like to know who is blasting this government over the treatment of our seniors , or are they now forgotten chess pieces . Susan Jackson , please take up the mantel and put the plight of that demographic front and centre , I expect nothing less from you !
I would suggest to you and anyone else that wishes to “know” what the O.B.A. are doing to go to their Office and set up an appointment, date and time, then ask the Minister face to face. That’s your right. “Just knock, and the door shall be opened”.
Gosh you bore me…Damn Paid bloggers ughh!
the current PLP tactic is to lay low for awhile and plan the next round of statements from Bean,Roban,Furbert,DeSilva,and on and on….then out comes Reverend Tweed with a new round of rhetoric followed by another series of “Town Hall” meetings to discuss the same issues….they are speaking to each other not to the general population who realize that everything need not be politicized ……the new round of outrage will be over Grand Atlantic…
The PLP,telling fibs like school children.
paid bloggers at work again. It wont work next time! The oba and its paid bloggers wont fool the people anymore!Wait til those alleged tapes come out!! Will put Jetgate to shame.
The only thing the OBA has done so far is trying to secure their future as the reigning government. To hell with the people! When the rest of the government realizes exactly where Dunkley wants to lead them, it will be too late! The devil is in the details!
OBA have no desire to address this situation
Looks like the BIU had to increase the weekly dues by $2 [$12 to $14} to pay off the PLP Family and Friends bloggers. Based on 3000 [BIU] union members that equates to $2.2 million income a year. I ask union members if the union assisted you in your financial struggle?
Bazinga!
Name one thing good OBA has done , but made it harder for me n my kids
I agree that it was directly due to the PLP mismanagement that we have ended up where we are today. Government had a crystal ball in the form of watching the US economy take a nose dive and knowing full well that our economy would suffer. Instead of being prudent, they spend like money was going out of style. Was the opposition at the time forceful enough in any warning against it? History will make that decision. BUT….. I have no time for the OBA seemingly trying to remedy this in the space of a couple years off the backs of the middle class and the scapegoats that are Government workers….it took 14 years to rack up this debt and will take a lot longer to reduce it. I see Bermuda becoming like many other countries where the middle class has been wiped out and there are only rich and poor…not a good idea.
You could be homeless, starving, broke,jobless under the PLP Gov. And the sun would still shine out of their butts! Shame!
OBA is simply stating the facts. Open your bloody eyes. Of course people want all the ills cured overnight. So tired of the PLP opposing for the sake of opposing. Sure now they have all the answers. Where the hell were all these answers and concern for the people when they were in charge? No credibility at all.
The PLP took care of themselves and made everyone else poor.