Column: Cannonier On Politics, Economy & More

[Opinion column written by Craig Cannonier]

Surely the Bermudian public must be growing weary of the PLP government’s hyper-political and factually flawed commentaries, particularly from government Ministers. The public deserves convincing plans for the future betterment of Bermuda rather than rehashing tired misrepresentations of facts.

But we cannot leave untruths unanswered.

Firstly, this constant refrain by PLP operatives that the OBA is “anti-Bermudian” is a racist dog-whistle that really means that the OBA is anti-Black.

So, let’s be clear about what it is –the same old, same old – race baiting politics that has zero connection with moving Bermuda, as a multi racial society, forward.

In fact, it cynically pokes, for political gain, a psychological sensitive spot that most Black Bermudians have.

Secondly, perhaps Mr. Darrell is too young to remember, but the OBA’s time in office did not happen in a vacuum. The OBA inherited the results of the worst case of economic mismanagement in the history of Bermuda, at the hands of the PLP.

Huge and spiraling government deficits and mounting debt were the order of the day. Six quarters of USA recession translated into 6 years of recession in Bermuda. Never had a Bermuda government taken over the reins of power under such dire circumstances as did the OBA in 2012.

When the OBA took office, thousands of Bermudians in the private sector were unemployed, accompanied by many local business failures.

The “shared sacrifice” that Mr. Darrell ridicules refers to the fact that, at that time, no one in the public service lost their jobs, neither had their pay been cut.

It was this imbalance that the OBA addressed with voluntary furlough days.

While this was not popular with the civil service, the fact that it was voluntary was proof of the acknowledgement of the imbalance between the effect the recession had on private sector employees and their public sector counterparts.

It took two years for the OBA, through fiscal constraint coupled with targeted economic stimulus, to turn the economy around.

During the OBA administration, the size of the civil service was reduced by about 12% — with not one employee being fired.

The PLP like to reference the cost to government as a result of the financial failure at Morgan’s Point.

The inconvenient truth is the OBA inherited a potential $100 million contractual obligation to Morgan’s Point Ltd. which, if we did nothing, would have had to be paid, all without any pollution remediation or any project development.

It was indeed a poisoned chalice at the behest of the previous PLP administration.

The current PLP administration has been in power for over seven years years now, with its xenophobic approach toward immigration.

How much has it achieved? The only tangible thing is the further exodus of Bermudians to other lands, thereby lumbering the burdens of the cost of health insurance and retirement benefits on a smaller base of taxpayers.

Such policies have hollowed out the middle class, thereby increasing overall wealth inequality. This speaks to either lack of understanding basic economics or the sacrifice of said economics upon the altar of racial politics.

The original PLP administration had been in power for 14 years before 2012, but it was the OBA administration that initiated progressive taxation for payroll tax, thereby reducing the tax burden for lower income Bermudians.

Lastly, Mr. Darrell’s statement that the PLP has apologized for its mistakes is laughable. Does anyone remember the Honourable Premier, David Burt, apologizing to anybody for anything?

- Craig Cannonier

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