Senator Woolridge: “Very Encouraging Signs”
“In the One Bermuda Alliance, we were pleased with the results of the latest Business Confidence Survey. It contained some very, very encouraging signs,” OBA Chair Senator Lynne Woolridge said.
“For example, positive GDP growth and rebounding retail sales fuelled both improved consumer confidence in the direction Bermuda is taking, and wage increases greater than inflation in 2015,” Senator Woolridge continued.
“Eight out of ten businesses surveyed reported they were better off in 2015 than they had been a year before. Businesses operating internationally reported their organisations were taking an even more positive direction.
“The majority of those surveyed believed Bermuda’s economy had improved over the year before, and 75% anticipated the economy would continue to improve in 2016.
“And this strength of confidence in the future is being led by restaurants, hotels and retail sectors, which are preparing to invest more capital and raise wages in their operations in the coming months.
“That’s not a comprehensive list, but it does suggest that Mr Wight’s complaint that the din of politics is drowning out business confidence is not wholly accurate.
“This report quite clearly confirms that Bermuda is on the road to economic recovery, and that businesses and the people they employ are benefitting from the turnaround and revitalization of Bermuda’s economy.
“In democratic countries all over the world, political parties approach their work in Government with enthusiasm and zeal, determined to do their best for all the people they serve.
“As we see every day, doing their best sometimes generates controversy, which can be noisy. That noise doesn’t mean that governments are failing, or even that they are particularly stressed. It just means politics is sometimes a noisy business.
“I’m reminded of a sign that is posted outside a military training base in the United States. ‘Pardon our Noise,’ it says, ‘It’s the Sound of Freedom.”
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LOL< what did the report say: "More than one third of business leaders feel that better Government leadership/political stability would positively impact the business climate in Bermuda.”
The business confidence survey showed 35 per cent of respondents wanted better Government leadership/political stability, while 21 per cent cited a need for improvements in immigration/work-permit processes and 19 cent wanted business development/growth/increased foreign investment.
A total of 14 per cent cited the need for a better tax system.
And then this killer quote: "“Communication is poor between the Government and population — what the island experienced in March shook the island big time."
Two sides to every story Senator.
Yes Jeremy,
It is like that partially filled / empty glass of water.. it is up to you how you perceive it.
We can be like Eyore or we can be positive
I’m balancing the column – it’s important to add perspective and context.
Senator if you recall in 1998 the UBP lost the election for a great deal less than the OBA’s 4 year track record. This government’s only hope is to fire a few bad apples. I believe in you, but honestly Minister Trump/Fahy is the equivalent to a cruise ship with an A/hole in rear.
He’s sinking the votes. The man needs to distance himself from the party and sail away. The Honorable Premier needs to bring some new blood in and replace Trump/Fahy.
Trump is against immigration.
Not too sure how you can correlate Fahy with Trump.
Actually, the PLP’s stance on this subject is much more aligned with Trump and the Republicans.
Lets be honest why do you think the Premier moved Trump/Fahy from Immigration? The man’s cocky self serving attitude is bad for the party and obviously you’re socializing with the wrong school of fish if you think different Trump/Fahy is bad for the OBA. Forget the die hard voters that vote PLP or OBA until they die no matter what.
He alone has caused more damage to the OBA then the entire cabinet Ministers as a whole.
It sounded better.. have not people caught on yet…. Too hot must be Fahy…. Rained today must be Fahy…. blah,blah, blah….
Just about the only thing that the PLP stands for these days is irrational hate of foreigners. It’s just like Trump. The PLP is just about as thoughtful and impressive as Trump.
Very encouraging signs that real Bermudians are being bent over again.
The only encouraging sign is that you and your party don’t have much time left in Government! Enjoy while it lasts! Puppet
And what’s the alternative ?
And the correct answer is not ‘the other guys’ .
Dear Senator,
Please be wary of this bullish macro talk, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and (Dame) Premier Paula Cox also spoke of green shoots, macro-economic recovery, increased investor and consumer confidence in the 6 months before they were BOTH voted out of office.
A priority is fixing the way our politics is perceived by our beloved IB Guests (no Pathway Citizens), external investors and our much needed Tourists that did not reply to Mr. Hanbury’s many emails or trips to see them.
Please take your time see.
Yours faithfully,
Green Shoots
I swear this lady just puts her name to whatever they tell her to. Sad.
This article is an OBA promo piece attempting to spin a statement. Mr Wright says business confidence is negatively effected by political discourse(such as now)and at times in the past and likely very much in the future.
That is true and stated by a Business leader.
The economy seems to show improvements over months,but his statement is a snapshot and and impacts tomorrow not yesterday.
Some PLP stalwarts pen this type of confusion every day and I cant stand it.
We listen to protesters on the hill, lets also listen to business leaders and let their words educate us.
As a small business owner, the clearest sign to me that things are really turning around is that for the first time in over 5 years we were able to give a raise to our employees. Business is steadily improving from a real dark period from 2009 until 2014. I am sure we are not alone, as the GDP growth indicates there is more money in our economy, with more growth to come in 2017 and beyond, due to all the major construction about to take place. Good indicators. I am very upbeat about the next year.
Politics is politics, under the circumstances I would expect nothing more or less.
Not trying to say that you’re a liar paid troll, but you constantly have supported the OBA since day 1 on all issues BAD & GOOD! What small business is this?
Sadly this lady never adds to any value to any discussion she merely restates the party line.
If 2/3 say things are improving and 1/3 or less say something different, to whom should we listen, Jeremy Deacon? I am not saying there isn’t room for improvement, lots of room, but Senator Woolridge is giving information that is in an independent report, not out of an OBA press release. Perhaps people need to read the report for themselves – but then the incessant nay-sayers and conspiracy theorists wouldn’t believe or accept it, no matter where it came from, just because it doesn’t fit the narrative. I appreciate Lois Frederick’s comments, because, again that comes from an independent source.
The Senator did vote against the discrimination bill last week,and that took courage and was actually meaningful.