PLP & OBA On Report Of GDP Falling 3.5%
The Government was not thinking about the long-term security of the people when it “spent lavishly during the fat years” and their “waste, excess and arrogance” drove us into debt, Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said.
Mr Richards was responding to a report released by the Department of Statistics which stated that Bermuda’s GDP fell by 3.5% in 2011. The report [PDF] said “continued job losses and business closures adversely affected production” and indicated at the end of 2011 there were 210 fewer jobs in international business, 129 job losses in the wholesale/retail trade, and 493 less construction jobs.
Bob Richards said: “The Department of Statistics on Friday confirmed what most Bermudians already knew, that 2011 was a year of recession, our third in a row.
“Economic conditions since then leave little room to conclude anything other than that 2012 will be Bermuda’s fourth straight year of recession.
“This poor record stands in contrast to our major trading partners and our neighbours to the south whose economies have emerged from recession with positive growth.
“And it points to homegrown reasons for Bermuda’s protracted and stubborn recession. These include policies that alienated international businesses, tourism marketing failures, undisciplined spending and skyrocketing debt that hobbled Government’s ability to stimulate economic growth and ease recessionary pressures on people.
“The One Bermuda Alliance represents a different approach to economic leadership. We will take a balanced approach in which we implement responsible policies to grow and protect Bermudian jobs while exercising prudent and disciplined financial management.
“We will govern to protect and grow the short- and long-term interests of Bermudians, making sure we have the resources in place to take advantage of economic opportunities and to weather the storms that inevitably come our way.
“And it is on that last point – protecting the security of the people – that speaks to a more fundamental issue of responsibility and duty. On the weekend, a local economist asked to comment on the Island’s economic decline said the Government’s ability to stimulate recovery was ‘almost out of firepower’.
“That was a revealing statement pointing to a basic failure on the part of the Government,” continued Bob Richards.
“If the Government had been looking out for the interests of the Bermudian people, it would have made sure the public purse was strong enough to help people in tough economic times. This harkens back to the Biblical parable about of saving during the fat years to prepare for the lean years.
“The reality today is that this Government was not thinking about the long-term security of the people, or of Bermuda as a whole, when it spent lavishly during the fat years.
“And so we saw years of waste, excess and arrogance bleed the public purse and drive us into debt. Almost as bad has been the Government’s lack of contrition and acknowledgement for its role in where Bermuda finds itself today.
And so we have a Government that has left itself few resources – ‘firepower’ – to help people who need help.
“We consider this a failure of the first magnitude. A government’s first priority is to ensure the safety and security of its people and in this the Government is failing the people.
“A One Bermuda Alliance Government will give Bermuda the fresh start it needs. We cannot afford five more years of the country being governed by ‘me-first thinking’. It’s time for change. It’s time to put the people first,” concluded Bob Richards.
OBA candidate and Shadow Finance Board Spokesman Sylvan Richards said: “Friday’s report detailing the continuing decline of Bermuda’s economy exposes the hypocrisy of government spin.
“Despite what Government has been claiming as their approach, the GDP report by the Department of Statistics clearly reveals that Governments “austerity measures” contributed to the contraction of the Island’s economy and cost people jobs. It states:
Public administration recorded a 2 per cent drop in economic activity, as austerity measures aimed at cutting overhead expenses were implemented.
“It is now apparent that due to five years of deficits and undisciplined spending, the Government has been forced to implement austerity cuts, and we have seen the fallout in terms of teacher and school layoffs and cutbacks that weakened the ability of charities and community groups to help people in need,” continued Sylvan Richards.
“This, ironically, is the same Government that has been trying to portray the One Bermuda Alliance as the party of austerity. The choice in the coming election it says is between growth (them) and austerity (us).
“But this is a complete nonsense in light of the facts, as outlined in Friday’s report on Bermuda’s Gross Domestic product.
“The choice in this election, therefore, is not growth versus austerity as the Government would have you believe. The choice is between further recession and contraction under this Government, or responsible growth and disciplined, prudent financial management under an OBA government. That’s the choice.
“The Department of Statistics report exposes Government’s deeply cynical approach to communicating with the people of Bermuda – a cynicism born from its political needs being more important than truth and honesty. It’s time for change,” concluded Sylvan Richards.
In response, a PLP spokesperson said: “”After the OBA said the PLP was, ‘paying lip service to Austerity’ the OBA are now changing their tune.
After saying, ‘it has to be all about austerity’ the OBA now are singing a brand new song. The OBA will change their position daily depending on what their consultants and pollsters say.
“They will say whatever they think voters want to hear even when it doesn’t add up. Just this week they told Bermudians that they could reduce taxes, increase spending, and reduce the debt all at the same time! The problem is their plans will create $500 million of additional debt.
“We’ll leave it to the Bermudian people to decide whether or not they want steady leadership governed by principle or leaders with policies that do not add up and are driven by consultants and polls,” continued the PLP.
“The PLP will continue to Stand Strong for Bermudians. We will continue to protect jobs and incomes for our people; continue to improve education for our young; continue to train our people for the jobs of today and tomorrow; continue to empower our entrepreneurs; and continue to provide pension and health care security for our seniors.
“The choice in this election is between the OBA that will contradict themselves and say anything in the hope of being elected, or the PLP that continues to Stand Strong for Bermudians despite the worst global economic crisis of our lifetime,” the PLP concluded.
The PLP say ‘the OBA will say anything in the hope of being elected’ — Well, HELLO PLP — aren’t you ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ ?
The OBA is the change we want. Wealthy Men and Women running the purse strings not unemployed poor people.
What we want is transparency, good governence and people leading the country who not just have the best interests of its people and its future in their hearts and in their actions, but have the will and know how to deliver. The only party that fits the bill is the One Bermuda Alliance. Read the article again and again…the PLP response is amateur and childlike, some of the posters entries below are fake and childlike…..is fake and childlike what we want to run our country. I hope not.
Agreed. What about the plantation comment????
Perhaps I wear my rose-tinted glasses too often, but I was actually hoping for a PLP response to the accusation of “waste, excess and arrogance”….but all I got was a response on how the OBA plan doesn’t add up and how PLP will continue to Stand Strong (in waste, excess and arrogance??…not sure, but since they didn’t say, I presume this is what they meant).
We whites are tired of drinking cool aid the past 10 years. We want BEER and will get it under the OBA. Go get them brother Dunkley! You look like us and we need you in power. Use whatever means possible. Just do It.
I’m leaning more towards OBA than PLP but seriously that comment is just plain stupid. Are you the official representative of “we whites”? The race conversation is soooo tired.
Vote OBA is clearly a PLP plant. The content of the messages posted on the threads is the clear sign. It is so contrived and false it is pathetic.
Grow up. The PLP are obviously stooping to very childish behaviour.
So that’s the best you can do PLP? You failed to mention the falling GDP and the measures that will be taken to buck this trend.
Why not deal with the real issue at hand which is our shrinking economy. Provide a statement on that will you!
The PLP’s approach is so tiring and lacks any substance, just adds aggravation. So sick of these politricks.
On to the next disaster………..
Here we go again with a ‘he said , she said routine’.
The reality is that the GDP numbers demonstrate that Bermuda continues to experience some level of decline in economic activity. If we look back at the period covered by the report, everyone will see that there were several years of increased GDP under the PLP and some years of decline.
The OBA claim that the PLP is being contradictory about austerity is superficial at best. The PLP has repeatedly advised that their priority is job preservation but they will still be very careful about spending. Thus the reported results ahow that the PLP has been successful in that regard. There have not been any public sector job losses but the PLP have been able to reduce public sector expenditure overall. It follows that the PLP must be making pretty significant cuts in non employee areas, to account for the overall 2% drop in public sector spending.
It will definitely be interesting to see how voters respond to the report overall. For the past 14 years, the PLP have claimed many social programs on behalf of Bermudians and the OBA are now saying that they are the ones that will protect Bermudians that are in need.
I note also that the OBA are framing themselves as the party of change and the similarities with the US Republicans.
But I digress – lets look forward to some sensible discussions and analysis of our GDP results for 2011 and previous years.
yes the PLP advise that their priority is job preservation but their actions and results indicate that they have failed at that as well….they are a party of trite sayings. like resetting the dial and standing strong for Bermudians..all the while sticking their head in the sand about the economic reality that they have forced on Bermuda….do you honestly believe any of their figures when they prove to be wrong time and time and time again by consistently overestimating revenue and habitually underestimating expense…..all financial reporting is outdated by the time they release it because they believe the party faithful could not handle the harsh reality that is the economic polity of the PLP….clueless in every way except for self preservation…..
@navin johnson
The PLP record is quite clear on job preservation. All public records will show that emploee related costs are a major component of annual government expenditure. Any immediate steps to cut public spending will necessarily involve job cuts because annual retirements (attrition) does not happen fast enough to have a major impact. Thus Public Servants should be mindful of the impact of a PLP or OBA victory on their jobs.
With financial reporting, it is always 3 months or more behind once everything is gathered and correlated. That is an historical fact and not limited to the PLP.
Again, I look forward to an intelligent discussion about GDP results over the past 5 to 10 years.
Te challenge, of course, is that we cannot afford to “wait it out” for much longer and keep borrowing to pay the bills. That is the situation in which we find ourselves.
Not withstanding the utter stupidity of comparing the the OBA with Republicans stateside, and the idiotic implication that the PLP are the “battered incumbants”, where is the plan? Obama has a viable plan, the GOP don’t whether you like it or not. At home, the PLP have no plan, no clue and are out of ideas. Quit the stupid comparison.
How will Cog reintroduce liquidity into the economy, what’s the plan? Where is it?
the PLP record is anything but clear on job preservation but it is clear on job creation……look at the increase in Civil Servants? bloated civil service to win votes. Is there any job preservation in the private sector? 10,000 unemployed and underemployed people according to the governments OWN statistics in a place where unemployment was basically non existent……overemployment with more jobs than people to fill them was the norm in Bermuda….it requires little skill to borrow funds to create civil servant positions…certainly public servants are mindful….and please spare the 3 months or more behind on financial reporting according to the Auditor General with hundreds yes hundreds of agencies 5 years behind on reporting….you are not looking for an intelligent discussion regarding GDP merely looking for someone to agree with you….what relevance does GDP 10 years ago have…..how about the decline in the last 4 particularly since Ms. Cox hitched everything to what happens in the US….i.e. they sneeze and we catch a cold…..contrast growth in US GDP and corresponding decline in ours….you are attempting to defend an indefensible position…guessing that you are one of the 6,000 civil servants
This line is quite funny.
“We’ll leave it to the Bermudian people to decide whether or not they want steady leadership governed by principle or leaders with policies that do not add up and are driven by consultants and polls,” continued the PLP.
Seems to me that steady leadership governed by principle would be the OBA. Leaders with policies that do not add up and are driven by consultants and polls is the PLP! Look at the PLP track record and nothing has added up and they have consultants running the roost like cockroaches!!!
Bit of a slip by the PLP spinwagon.
@ the plp: Please don’t worry yourself with the OBA and the UBP… just tell us what YOUR PARTY is gonna do for us with regard to the economy! You don’t know, right!
The OBA have economists and accountants who know full well what we will have to do to get a little back from what the plp have stolen from us. And you know who those evil characters are who have done us wrong….
Your choice… posing plp amateurs with NO RECORD OF SUCCESS… or OBA professionals who know their stuff!
Vote wisely.
Who still cares that we were UBP we are now OBA. We ditched the UBP stope it now. We are the rich and we will be in charge, get over it.
Suuuuuuure.
You mean the plp Nouveau Riche… the “New 40 Thieves”… like Dr Evil and the Central Committee Cabal who are still calling all the shots. Those lot got fabulously rich during the past 5 years — allegedly on OUR DIME! And we want that money back, all $800,000,000 of it!! Seize the assets of all of them, I say!
BTW, how can Derrick Burgess still be the Deputy Premier when he is not in the Cabinet any more? Whose really in charge here, Dr Evil or Paula?? A lot of shenanigans still is going on inside the plp!
@ street wise
You are clearly not street wise. Otherwise you would know that $800 million is not missing from the government coffers. The amount relates to unaudited accounts, which may arise for a variety of reasons – both PLP and UBP.
Also, MP Burgess is not Deputy Premier, he is Deputy Leader of PLP which is a different role.
So, for the qualified audits, and the $800m that is unaccounted for, where was Cog?
Vote For Me – check your facts, please. This is what the Government website is showing TODAY, under Government Organization:
Premier and Minister, Finance
The Hon. Paula A. Cox, JP, MP (PLP)
Deputy Premier and Minister, Transport
The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, JP, MP (PLP)
It just doesn’t add up! What did the plp do with a over a BILLION dollars?? What do we taxpayers have to show for it, and how much did it cost? Most Capital Projects went over budget by double!… and that only can be by gross mismanagement or graft. A lot of both, I suspect….
It is really sad that the PLP are stooping to planting these childish posts. I feel these will become more frequent. Stay strong Bermuda!!!!
To Street wise,
If the PLP is the new 40 thieves, and they stole $800,000,000. Then what did the original 40 thieves steal?
Does it matter ? We had a growing economy , no debt and jobs (more than one for those who wished ) for over 30 years .
Now look at what we’ve got .
As has been said many times before , ay least the old 40 Thieves knew if it was bad for them it was bad for Bermuda and vice versa.
They earned their money legitimately. Although you probably would disagree with that. The UBP did not need to steal anything, nor pay themselves three times the going rate!
if u have to ask that question then therefore there is no basis for ur claim …its your conspiracy theorists philosophy…now on the other hand, proof is blatantly visible of plp’s incompetence in being LEADERS and MONEY MANAGEMENT.
wake da f#k up its almost too late.
oh one more thing ….while u cannibals are fighting over the last little morsel of marrow…you all better pay attention to the usa…coz sh!ts about to happen big time contrary to popular belief, enough said.
The PLP has had 14 years to investigate the so-called thievery that they claimed for so many years by the UBP, never ever actually providing any proof.
Now millions have disappeared from Government coffers. An investigation is due. People need to be punished. Illgotten assets need to be seized, no matter how well they have been hidden behind layers of shelf companys.
Certain people are running scared. Some could be losing fancy homes & moving to Westgate.
Vote PLP! period! The party we know. The party that still has its name. The party that didn’t use a report to fool the people. The Party that made mistakes but still staying strong and improving daily. Vote PLP all the way!
Made mistakes…?! The plp’s whole reign was chaos. Who are you trying to kid?
What a JOKE!!! You cry that the OBA is still the UBP…you bash the UBP in one breath and in the next you have the former LEADER of the UBP indoctrinated as one of your ministers!!!! You constantly use the reference OBA/UBP….in think in all fairness the very same can be said about the PLP/UBP….it’s time to get over it people…stop pointing a finger at someone else all the while THREE fingers are pointing back at yourself!!
PS – please don’t take it personally…”you” is merely indicative of a certain group, faction, etc…
The PLP, the Party that blew all the taxpayer money and now hasn’t a pot to piss in. Made mistakes? That is the understatement of the year.
@vote for me – are you a dum dum? the PLP won the election. the PLP decide the government. We will win the next election because we are homegrown, made mistakes but always always PLP.
@vote for me, correct response – Streetwise – are you a dum dum? the PLP won the election. the PLP decide the government. We will win the next election because we are homegrown, made mistakes but always always PLP.
Don’t hold your breath….
how much did the airport cost? how much did westgate cost? how much did tynes bay cost? all under the UBP. how many UBP mps made boocoo $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$’s
when are you gonna live up to ur name @Reality cheque….listen very carefully…if i have a hundred dollars to spare and i am hungry, im not going to Ice Queen to eat ok ….im going to Port o Call or the likes of it because i know that payday is tomorrow or the next day….BUT if i know that my income has been compromised due to a decreased income…most intelligent people would save that money because of the uncertainty of it being replaced for future necessities….i just have to laugh when i think of the PLP when they saw that they had access to more money than they could even imagine….YAH!Party’s On!!
can any one tell me how much was in OUR kitty the day that OUR FATE was handed over to the PLP…?
then just take that number and “remember” it ..coz thats all it will ever be …a memory….then put 2 billion more on top of that …..thought it would be interesting to know just exactly how much WE have been pillaged.
The difference is they all still work lol.
how do unaudited accounts arise from the UBP vote for me? last time I checked they have been out of power for 14 years…..any accounts unaudited for them would be their own funds and your Government its our funds at least as far as the way they squander them…
I don’t think I have the energy for this too much longer. There is a core group of people where it doesn’t matter what is said, what the figures prove, will always “stand strong” and want to give the PLP “another chance to do it better.” That group of people interpret all attempts to open their eyes to the reality of the disaster that is the path of present-day Bermuda as mere electioneering and slapping at the PLP.
The PLP called the OBA the “Austerity Party” to try and scare the voters. Now, when it is clear their own misdirected austerity efforts have adversely affected the island’s economy, they are still trying to put the OBA in the wrong, while claiming that “their priority is job preservation but they will still be very careful about spending” and that these efforts have been successful.
I have talked with teachers who are struggling to teach classrooms disrupted by special needs children because all the paraprofessionals have been let go – so our children who want to learn are being prevented from doing so…and there are no resources for those teachers, those students or those special needs children (outside of overburdened MAWI, whose funding has been cut too).
Teen Services, whose education component bridged the gap for teen-aged pregnant mothers who were unable to complete high school, have had their funding cut – so another generation of children will be brought up by immature, under-educated mothers.
Sunshine League, Family Services, The Family Center, Child Development Program, PRIDE, Mirrors, Coalition for the Protection of Children, etc., all programs that would or could be resources for struggling parent and/or child have had their funding cut, leading to loss of programs and/or loss of staff. Perhaps these don’t count as public sector jobs. They aren’t private sector either, so I guess its OK for them to fall through the cracks.
With regard to seniors, the last I knew, only Civil Service pensions were increased, not the pensions of the general public, whose pension hovers around $1000-$1200 at most. When you deduct Future Care, costing $675, it doesn’t leave much for rent, food, or electricity. I am glad Future Care takes care of at least a portion of the cost of medication – up to $1000, which is quite adequate if you are reasonably healthy – otherwise seniors would be between a rock and a very hard place.
@PastorSlyHayward—–well put. hmmmmmlots to think about..then again not much to think about…think about it..hmmm
Pastor Syl need to go to confession and confess his sins and those of the OBA/UBP
And what of the PLP/UBP???? What??? Look at the rank and file….the PLP is just as much the UBP as is the OBA….get a grip….
“Her” sins, and no sorry that would be pastor bean…the plp candidate that got paid 160g to talk to himself…and has an island…
Well, I stand corrected. Ordinary pensions were increased early this year, to about $1300…which still doesn’t leave much for rent, food, and electricity after paying for Future Care.
@ honestly?: Please tell me what sins I should be confessing. I’m curious. I can’t think of anything that remains outside public knowledge.
Let’s assume there is at least another 3.5% contraction in 2012 of the 96.5% left of the 2010 economy: that is .965 X.965 = .93 or a 7% drop in GDP over 24 months, though I’m pretty sure the real figure is closer to 10%. In any serious economy that counts as a major disaster and yet these idiots who caused this mess have a serious chance of remaining in power – one thing I do know is that pride and prestige cannot be eaten, so for the sake of everybody not on the friends and family plan (and even those who are as there is not much left), people get real.
PLP, may you please comment on the story at hand? GDP fell 3.5%… the third year of consecutive negative growth. Please stop looking to the OBA. You are the government… please address the public about this loss of GDP.
“The PLP will continue to Stand Strong for Bermudians. We will continue to protect jobs and incomes for our people; continue to improve education for our young; continue to train our people for the jobs of today and tomorrow; continue to empower our entrepreneurs; and continue to provide pension and health care security for our seniors.”
Who is “our?”
If you are not a civil servant, or are one of the 3000+ currently un- or under-employed, probably not you.
If you are unhappy about the state of public education right now, probably not you.
If you think you aught to be able to aspire to something higher or more challenging than pot washer and nail technician, probably not you.
If you live outside of ‘back-a-tahn’ or St. George and you are trying to establish your own little business, probably not you.
If you are over 65, your pension is in the $1300 range,you have no other income, your rent is more than $700, your medication costs more than $85 a month, and you have Future Care but didn’t join the first year, probably not you either.
Correction: I should have said, if your business is outside the current EEZ zones, because I think I forgot one other area above.