Comments on: Video: Premier On Cost Of Living Commission

By: bee

bee — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 14:32:58 +0000

YES!

By: JUNK YARD DOG

JUNK YARD DOG — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 12:42:33 +0000

I know , you know , and they know , what is hurting Bermuda …….they still are ! & its Rain days ?

By: JUNK YARD DOG

JUNK YARD DOG — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 12:31:43 +0000

And what plantation did you work for ? Finance , Comunications, Utilities or Your self !

By: JUNK YARD DOG

JUNK YARD DOG — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 12:26:53 +0000

There are pleanty of jobs available. BUT !

Have you ever heard of 6 for a 9, or 6 for workdone with 9 for pay

The problem is two fold Incompetance and Lazy.

People can’t do them, and people don’t want to do them.

We have no apprenticehip program here to speek of.

Management have no management skills.

I have worked under a bunch of incompetant managers.

Dont buy a house ! you may wind having to paint it ,and cut the grass.

Actually,the day the U.K. incredibly went under was when……………………….

By: Created

Created — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 09:21:57 +0000

36 because w need 18 to govern while the other 18 take turns travelling

By: Paid blogger

Paid blogger — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 06:06:02 +0000

Oh I see a premier who has read a bt about the new technology bit coin block chain etc whic has not been fully embraced by the business word and is know going to have a commission to tell us how to save money on imports. A dreamer a best. When u look ant an import it is all the extras that add up for the cost. Let only nothing on the as a percentage for shelf life
Ask any of the importers what the throw away percentage and you might be astounded asxthis will still have to be in the accounting mix.

Burt Maths always astounds even some one that has a little knowledge.

Let alone when the Bitcoin bubble blows up there is going to be some mighty pissed off people

By: Ringmaster

Ringmaster — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 22:43:05 +0000

The vast majority of the costs are labour. Will you be willing to take a pay cut? If not you are a large part of the problem.

By: Ringmaster

Ringmaster — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 22:41:33 +0000

Cut out the middleman = reduce Government. What do all these admin people do to create a benefit to Bermudians? Government is the most inefficient use of revenue. Most of the tax receipts go to pay the public sector, and I would say 30% at least are not needed. $200 million a year saved straight away, plus 18 MPs. Why do we need 36?

By: Rocky5

Rocky5 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 22:10:16 +0000

Start with privatizing Govt. Depts. Then less tax revenue is required and import Duties can be lowered leading to lower prices of imported goods & transportation costs (lower gas prices).

By: Created

Created — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 21:58:36 +0000

Seems like every day, there is another Commission, another board, another panel set up or consultant hired!

Why !!!!! You had all the answers to the islands problems didn’t you! At least that is what you and your members promised during your campaign.

Every day the buses remain broken, and so do many of the things you promised to fix. You sure found the time to swiftly knock down the Shelly Bay Beach complex! If only you could build is quickly as you destroy.

By: Toodle-oo

Toodle-oo — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 19:51:39 +0000

Oh yeah , that’s going to make a huge difference . How much of one’s monthly expenses consist of eggs and flour ?
(Groceries are expensive but they’re an absolute bargain compared to eating out )

Meanwhile they’re struggling to pay rent on a place that is being charged out for 3xs what it’s really worth .
That’s where the root of the problem lies .

By: aceboy

aceboy — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 19:42:59 +0000

Burt’s brilliance is going to lead to price controls…and bread lines.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 19:21:50 +0000

why not subsidize or make them duty free, stable items like flour milk eggs etc ?

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 18:18:43 +0000

True
This guy is a joke. Cut taxes on essential items and items that will create jobs ie food, some building supplies, vehicle/boat and electrical parts etc. People are rather throwing away stuff that could be fixed rather than paying for a part or parts to fix. The other problem is high rents and high healthcare/insurance. High rents from people being greedy and high health care from doctors, dentists and hospital charging crazy prices.

By: Jus' Wonderin'

Jus' Wonderin' — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 18:11:01 +0000

WHERE ARE THE JOBS AT?!

By: Trufth

Trufth — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 17:36:21 +0000

Don’t get me started on the over-bloated Civil Service. Start the cuts there!

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 16:52:03 +0000

And well over 60% of building a house is labour. Labour that loses a good portion of its gross pay to taxes. Taxes that pay almost one in four wages in Bermuda.

Cut the cost of Government & everything else can go down. The cost of financing the debt alone is huge. Almost $10 per person per day, 365 days a year. THINK about it. It is real. Who is responsible for this debt?

By: Anbu

Anbu — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 16:35:56 +0000

Plantation question………next

By: Izzypop

Izzypop — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 16:00:42 +0000

Don’t forget to ask our dear Premier to find a way to pay the huge debt he and his fellow plpers left us
And instead of giving everyone pay increases how about they give us a propers day work for what they r getting paid.
Ever watch W and E build a bus stop or make a side walk.
The workers are ripping the govt off

By: Politricks

Politricks — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:46:45 +0000

Local mortgage rates are very reasonable when compared to other similar sized jurisdictions. Do some research if you don’t believe me.

Of course they will be lower in the US and Canada where they have central banks that provide for rate discounts etc.

The real problem in Bermuda is the housing prices.

By: Politricks

Politricks — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:45:05 +0000

So you think by cutting out the middleman (Butterfield & Vallis, BGA, Pitt & company et al) that it won’t result in some potential job losses?

I agree that cost of living needs to be contained, but the current proposal will result in further job losses for Bermudians. Just because it doesn’t affect you directly, doesn’t mean it is a good thing for all.

By: jt

jt — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:14:22 +0000

Excessive costs and inefficiency – now where might one find a shining example of that?

By: Joe Bloggs

Joe Bloggs — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:12:37 +0000

Absolutely. Then try and find a bank to lend money by way of mortgage. That is price control. Eliminate the financial incentive and eliminate the availability of the product.

By: Joe Bloggs

Joe Bloggs — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:11:01 +0000

Guernsey and Jersey are 110 or so miles from the UK and less than a 1 hour ferry ride from France.

They have DAILY ferry service to and from the UK, both mixed passenger and freight and dedicated freight.

Comparing Bermuda to Guernsey or Jersey is like comparing Bermuda to Martha’s Vinyard. It is simply unrealistic.

By: Lavern Simons

Lavern Simons — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:00:39 +0000

Stop sounding silly. It will not be an unemployment risk then what it already is. We do need to do something with the price control in this Island. Stay at the wicket Premier, no matter they have to say. It is always those whose grass is green on their side want to have all the say. Enough is enough!!!!! Premier you do what you have to do in regards to the high cost of living. Our Bermudian people are suffering etc. groceries, health etc.

By: Toodle-oo

Toodle-oo — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 14:30:59 +0000

This is Bermuda. Decreasing taxes will simply mean a greater profit margin for suppliers of goods. As far as they’re concerned we’re all used to the high prices and will continue to pay anyway .

Besides , weren’t we supposed to see a marked decrease in freight costs when the price of oil plummeted a couple of years back ?

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 14:24:48 +0000

“In the broad sense, someone would say it would risk unemployment…”

A useful word “broad”, as you find yourself unemployed.

By: ConcernedBermudian

ConcernedBermudian — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 14:05:57 +0000

Great job Burt. This is a serious issue in Bermuda, from tourism products to groceries, to health insurance to getting your car fixed, every industry needs to be looked at. So glad finally someone is looking into it.

By: Chingas

Chingas — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 13:45:36 +0000

Start by crushing the ridiculous interest rates we are forced to pay to the banks for our mortgages.

By: Legalgal

Legalgal — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 13:43:26 +0000

Perhaps also consider lifting restrictive, protectionist practises which prevent supermarkets trading here. Other islands like Guernsey have real M&S and Waitrose stores with only a small premium put on prices to cover cost of importation. Those big companies can afford to operate there and do not need to mark things up by 2-5x retail cost. Cut out the middleman. For food basics we cannot be expected to prop up the Bermudian import companies. And these businesses will still provide jobs for us.

By: Joe Bloggs

Joe Bloggs — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 13:15:17 +0000

“The costs of living and the costs of doing business is what is “crushing us, and we have to find a way to improve that,” Premier and Finance Minister David Burt said, adding that we need to look at how “efficiencies can actually drill down to the consumer.”

Well, if we did not have a crushing debt that cost Bermuda $500,000 per DAY in interest we could perhaps lower import duty on certain items and reduce the cost of goods that way. Just as increasing taxes will increase the cost of goods, so will decreasing taxes.

By: Ok

Ok — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 13:14:30 +0000

By the time we stop hearing about the “plans” it will be the next election….can anyone tell me something positive that has been done so far? Where the jobs at?