The issue in Venezuela is that people are buying up in bulk the price control items and then selling them in neighbouring countries at full price to reap the profits. Not a likely scenario here in Bermuda.

Still, price control generally is not a good idea. That is why I recommended encouraging grocers to voluntarily redistribute revenue sources.

Ride

My thoughts are that fresh produce is more expensive than frozen (almost fresh) and tinned (slightly processed) so more likely to be affordable for customers and more likely to see noticeable price reductions from revenue redistribution.

The hard cold reality is that the “have-nots” are going to have to go without some things; by definition (else they would be “haves”). A low income household simply can’t afford some things. Its a hard reality but it is an unavoidable truth. Perhaps, imported fresh produce is one of the things that will have to be given up. There are the options of growing your own or buying direct from local farms. Listen, there were a lot of things my family went without in my childhood. I was simply told that we could not afford it and so I had to put it back on the shelf. However, I always had a nutrient rich well balanced diet.

As Bermuda continues its downward economic trend there will be a even more households that will have evaluate what is a necessity as opposed to what is a convenience/luxury that they have become accustomed to.

Ride

If your cost of living is out of control perhaps you should shut down your internet connection. That will give you more time to hone in on your dishwashing skills.

You bring shame to real field *******!

David graduated from Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Florida in 1996. He went on to attend The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration with a double major in Finance and Information Systems in 2001. He was awarded The George Washington University Presidential Administrative Fellowship and received his Master of Science in Information Systems Development in 2003.

Fact of the matter is, with political parties aside, is that the Civil Service has neither the authority nor expertise to lower your cost of living in Bermuda. They have more important things to do like collect a pay cheque.

In the meantime, ask yourself what your essentials are to living and act accordingly. Use non-profit resources available if you can detach from pride and confess to needing assistance. There are hybrid solutions to surviving, however relying on politicians to lead the way is not one.

While your statement is true it is a hard sell from someone on $50K who has just taken a 5% pay cut.

I’m not aware what is being discussed with the grocers but I think something could work if it they were asked to voluntarily look into shifting some of their revenue generation out of a set of foods defined as staples (e.g. rice, tin beans, frozen chicken, frozen or tin vegetables, flour, and potatoes) and spread the revenue shortfall over other items. For those that make noticeable changes, government could assist in getting the word out.

Ride