Column: Vic Ball On ‘PLP Secret Blueprint’
[Opinion column written by the OBA's Vic Ball]
What follows is the PLP’s secret step by step blueprint for ultimately where it is taking Bermuda and how it will do so. Read to the end to find out how it was discovered.
Step 1 – Usurp the “old guard” of the PLP who had a philosophy of Black empowerment and social/economic advancement through education. Replace them with opportunistic, morally compromised, financially greedy people willing to do and say anything to be a part of the new power brokers.
Gain control of the Government in 1998 by highlighting historical injustices of slavery and segregation justifying the need of the Black majority to replace the old oligarchs without having an actual plan to move the country forward.
Step 2 – Come to power with a wasteful spending agenda to create an appearance of progress. The Berkeley project, Dame Lois Browne-Evans building and the infamous Grand Atlantic condos on South Shore, Warwick spring to mind. The amount of dollars in cost overruns during this period set Bermuda on its course toward billions of dollars in debt.
Step 3 – Govern a once prosperous economy into the abyss by totally ignoring the supply side of economics. Treat the country as if its wealth is a never-ending pot of gold while ignoring the need to facilitate new and reliable streams of revenue. Take the once prosperous tourism sector that was the lifeblood of the middle class and run it into the ground. Disrespect and show utter contempt for International Business causing 5,000 jobs to leave the country.
At the same time, increase deficit spending to unprecedented levels which is sure to impoverish the nation. This will create more underclass voters that will be sympathetic to the “suffering man” PLP rhetoric carefully crafted to exploit the conditions of the working class.
Step 4 – When Bermudians see through this and choose not to vote in the 2012 election in protest, thus allowing for an OBA victory, the PLP changes tactics. They accused the new government of being tied to the old oligarchs and the worst part of Bermuda’s racial history. Set Blacks against Whites more forcefully and magnify long-standing racial economic disparities between the two Bermudas that was actually widened by the PLP.
Forcefully emphasize any issue that can be used to make the country ungovernable. Immigration and the airport project are perfect subjects. Any move by the OBA will be painted as a plan to undermine black power necessitating extreme government destabilization measures by David Burt, as highlighted by Marc Bean the former PLP leader.
Accuse the OBA of being anti Bermudian although it attracted $1billion dollars of inward investment in a short four-year period. Put so much pressure on the government to force it to stumble and when it falls be sure it doesn’t have the possibility of ever getting back up.
Step 5 – Return to power with false promises like lowering the cost of living and then re-implement a tax and spend agenda on steroids. Grab civil servants pay and pensions to meet the shortfall and provide a mechanism for Bermudians to spend their pension money today because economic times are difficult and the national economy is deflated.
While the civil servants are disoriented, infiltrate the labor movement and turn its leadership against the working class to the PLP’s benefit. Always blame the former government, who governed for 4.5 years, to deflect from their current record. Do the same when social and economic pressure affects the population. This is done in the hope that Bermudians will forget that the PLP has been in power for 20 years.
Any crisis is to be exploited to provide maximum excuse for the PLP’s leadership failures and outright blunders from poor decisions. Change the narrative so that the voters get used to the new economic and social reality of hardship i.e., this is the new Bermuda “get used to it”. The good old days are gone, so accept the bitter truth that the PLP is your only choice because the other party is dead and David Burt is the best leadership that Bermuda can offer.
Step 6 – Make sure the country is threatened enough to know that you are either with the PLP or against it. Make promises to act when there is discontent but don’t actually follow through. Bermudians are feeling so hopeless that they are used to broken promises. Livable wage, lowering the cost of living, closing the gap of the two Bermudas, immigration reform, lower mortgages, fintech and a new pillar of the economy are all forgotten promises.
Signal that the end is near that our economy will be able to serve and support the seniors. Additionally, indicate that the reality is that Bermudian children will not see a bright future nor the same opportunities that their parents were able to realize.
Step 7 – In the midst of all manner of national confusion, never forgo the opportunity to call a snap election to buy more time. Use any means necessary to keep the charade going for as long as possible. When “it” finally hits the fan, those connected with the PLP will be sufficiently economically set to live comfortably wherever they want for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Bermudians will be left to suffer the consequences for the last couple decades of failed leadership.
As stated at the outset, this secret plan is revealed by unravelling the track record of the PLP as it is permanently recorded in our history over the past 24 years and it is plain for even the blind to see.
- Vic Ball
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