LOL

Bermuda is not economically stable and true evidence of this in the rapidly increasing social instability.

The monstrous cost of living ($6.50 for a loaf of bread) with grossly under matched salaries in the lower socio-economic brackets put heavy pressure on public and private social services. Government funding of these recently has been drastically cut back with extremely noticeable effect due to the government’s record setting debt incurred over the Brown administration (with Cox writing the cheques).

The one “out” that these people have is education but the state of public education is abysmal at the middle and senior school levels. Further, additional cuts in teaching staff and facilities maintenance and management have hit public education further adding to its woes. Yes, there are notable exceptions of excellence in the system. However, if a country wants its citizens to prosper it cannot measure its education systems success on exceptions of excellence. Excellence must be the norm in today’s global environment. The majority cannot compete and fall in low paying and extended hours employment that creates significant downward social pressure.

Another known “out” is a career in hospitality. However, there has been a switch in focus from air arrivals to cruise arrivals and, as much as any visitor is appreciated, cruise arrivals have spend significantly less than air arrivals. Compound this with draconian “Christian” legislation the limits business from opening on Sundays and selling alcohol on Christian holidays (of which Sundays are included) and there is little opportunity for cruise visitors to spend money on one of their two (maybe three) days on the island. Their spending potential is reduced by half or a third.

The social fabric is unravelling because the islands finances are in a horrific state. Bermuda is neither economically nor socially stable.

Ride

Get use to it. It’s going to get a lot worse. You’ve seen nothing yet.

http://bernews.com/2011/09/change-in-duty-retailers-payroll-tax/

The retail sector has been particularly hard hit by the continuous decline in sales volume over the last several years. Discussions with industry leaders have been bleak but sobering.

Therefore, with effect from October 1, 2011, the following measures will be instituted:

Payroll tax will be set at a zero rate for the retail sector for a six month period ending
on 31st March 2012

Those that are saying they thought that the one part of the temporary emergency measures was never temporary are telling fibs, or they would have pointed this out in previous news stories and blogs in this publication. It was discussed and discussed and nowhere did anyone note that this was permanent. PLP lies and liars.
Travelers’ allowances for returning residents will be restricted to one person per household for a six month period ending on 31st March 2012
The duty on accompanied goods declared by returning residents will be increased from 25% to 35%

SCHOOLS- What investment? The only school building that has been built was The Berkeley and I don’t have to delve into that debacle do I?
Students are failing at an alarming rate. What is the money being spent on in Education exactly?

HOUSING- By housing you mean the Government COMPETING with regular Bermudian homeowners with their own tax dollars?! Meanwhile, the contracts are still circled amongst the same familiar bunch and you have no problem with that? Consider this, when that monstrosity of a project being constructed on SouthShore fails (and it will), the only people being left holding the bag WILL BE THE TAXPAYERS ! The contractor has made his money and whoever else is making money on the transaction via a private trust. Members of our Govt wouldn’t do such a thing would they?? …or would they?

BUSES- There are a record number of buses OUT OF COMMISSION because there is no money in the budget to maintain them. Where is the investment exactly?

FERRIES- They have cut ferry routes serving various parts of the island. Where is the investment exactly?

CRUISE TERMINAL- That project ran massively overbudget and stinks of corruption. Not only that but it is struggling with “wear and tear” and it is still early days ! Where is the investment exactly?

Not only that but what good is having a “new” cruise ship pier with NO CRUISE SHIPS ?! Where is the investment exactly?

etc. etc.- Your child will be paying back a kings ransome for what exactly? They are inheriting a crap education system, a bankrupt public transportation system, A dead tourism industry, an infrastructure that is in need of a overhaul (no money though), and still no affordable housing after tons of money has been spent !

You are blind but your child will see the light after they are crushed under the weight of this incompetence.

How about the qualified audits by the Auditor General, year in and year out? Any company managed like that would have fired its management team years ago, the first in line being the CFO.

Youre the one that doesnt get it!

Schools. Which one, exactly? Cedarbridge and Berkeley were pre-2003, when the debt was at its historical norm of $100-$150m. So when you say schools, what you’re saying is garbage.

Roads. Upkeep, do you mean? That’s a few $m a year at most. It’s the equivalent of being groceries. It’s not capital investment. So that’s garbage too.

Buses. Have you been on a bus lately? They are old, falling apart. There were a few wheelchair-accesible ones bought in the mid-2000′s. Total cost was about $2.5m.

Ferries. 4 ferries, $4m each. $16m. Nil spent on maintenance since then.

Cruise terminal. $2m.

Grand total: about $21m.

So what happened to the other $1,200,000,000?

Come on, give us more garbage.

To think, I had much respect for you both.