For a long time we have been an import tax and tariff nation.
If I buy a box of kellogs cereal, the reason why its so high at $8,9 is because i had to pay 4 or 5 people with their margins on top (marketplace -> B&V -> Gov’t -> kellogs manufac. -> shipping etc).

Point is no one is focusing enough on the bottom half, the cost side. There are 0 cost controls, 0 consumer protection. bermuda is even expansive compared to other similar import island nations.

I think its import to look at changing the structure of our economy so that we remain competitive, we are not pricing out our own citizens, and more social services$ flows back to people who need.

Who will pay you, OJ?

Do you really think business people will remain in Bermuda now that you have declared that as the PLP Government policy?

Agreed. But that is a medium to long term view. In the short term, the PLP Government will appear to be making real change in socio-economic conditions in Bermuda in advance of the elections due in 3 years. The real consequences of a “Living Wage” will not be unmistakable (though they will be felt) before that time.

Better yet, leading economists predict a world-wide economic downturn in 2021 or 2022, so the PLP Government can blame the job losses on external factors and continue to pretend that the “Living Wage” is a good thing for previously disadvantaged Bermudians.

There is no anti-monopoly law, so many monopolies just charge whatever they want with no competitors to worry about.

The 60-40 rule makes it almost impossible for businesses to get foreign investors. This kills any potential for competition to exist in Bermuda. There are even more laws to directly block foreign competition – milk and carrot imports are banned, McDonald’s is banned, all to drive up food prices.

The dentists, lawyers and even the tennis coaches get to veto their competitor’s work permits, to restrict competition even more and protect their high prices.

The import duties of 20-30% make everything more expensive.

Those are choices the Government has made. Bermuda wouldn’t need a minimum wage (which will cost some people their jobs because their employers won’t be able to afford to pay them), if the Government changed their policies.

So if you lose your job next year because your boss can’t pay you $18.23 an hour, just remember — this is what the people you elected did to you.

The evidence from most parts of the world is that productivity is enhanced by enhanced technology. For example, gas station attendants are replaced by self-service: or restaurants reduce staff so that customers wait longer. Who remembers bell hops at hotels.

There is compelling evidence from almost everywhere that the burden of costs are mainly met by younger workers with little experience and limited education who are the first to be let go, or they never get hired in the first place.

As a general rule they are workers with poor education, limited skills, or are otherwise deficient in the skill sets required by an employer.

It ought to be obvious that a living wage law will hurt most the very people they are designed to “protect. When a law exists that no one is to be paid less than the legal living wage, then no one whose services are not worth that amount to an employer will be employed at all.

We cannot make a person worth a given amount by making it illegal for anyone to offer him less. We merely deprive him or her of the right to earn the amount that their abilities and opportunities would permit them to earn, while we deprive the community of the moderate services they are capable of rendering.

In brief, for a low wage we substitute unemployment. When that unemployment arises I hope those responsible for it will confess their limited knowledge of what a living wage will lead to.

To put it bluntly, a living wage will penalise the most vulnerable workers in Bermuda who are largely young, black males, with limited education and social skills.

How about we institute a “minimum effort” clause on the employees? If the employee does not provide a minimum of effort/time then they do not deserve to have a job….

Yeah those numbers are straight from the Living Wage report

If DeeDee is correct (above) most Bermuda businesses will probably survive the first year (minimum wage of $12.50). The second year is a problem. A year on year increase in gross wages of 45.84% will have to mean an increase in the consumer. That means that the cost of a construction labourer, for example, will go from roughly $27 per hour to roughly $37 per hour.

Anyone building a new house at the moment?

If I am forced to increase my employees’ wages, where will that money come from?

A.) I will have to raise the price of my product to cover that increase.
B.) I will have to fire some of my employees or make everyone part-time.
C.) I will have to go out of business and fire ALL of my employees.
D.) All of the above.

The real question is what will the “living wage” be and how much additional strain will it place on the economy? Will it drive small businesses into bankruptcy? Will it drive international businesses out of Bermuda? Those are the big questions for me.