Hashtag: #LarryBurchallColumns
Column: Growth In GDP Is A ‘Dead Cat Bounce”
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] Nominal Gross Domestic Product [GDP] – Upticking? Possibly rising to and past the $6.11bn level reached at GDP peak in 2008? ResPop – 6,500 lower and 9% down from 2008; reflecting a possible slowdown in the loss of Bermudians and the addition of ACBDA sailors and others coming to live and operate businesses... Read more of this article
Column: Decrease Of Bermudians Filling Jobs
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] Hidden inside the nerd words in the 2015 National Economic Report of Bermuda, is a major point, one that may be missed in a cursory read. Inside those 28 pages, a solitary paragraph reveals this: “Jobs occupied by Bermudians were the only status category to exhibit a decline in employment in 2015. Bermudian... Read more of this article
Column: “Looking Under The Hood” At Budget
[Written by Larry Burchall] Inside the full set of papers and stuff that accompanies every annual Budget, there are always some little gems, that can hit hard and unexpectedly. Here are a few. Tax increases – Customs Duty The Minister has decreed that Customs Duty and Payroll Tax will increase. Customs Duty revenue is expected to rise by about 11%. Customs... Read more of this article
Column: “Overspending Has Not Improved”
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] In Bernews on February 3rd 2016, reporting on Government finances up to December 31st 2015, the Ministry of Finance reported:- “Gross debt increased by $125 million as the Government drew down on its credit facility in order to finance the fiscal deficit. At the end of December 2015, total Government... Read more of this article
Column: Govt Functioning On Borrowed Dollars
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] On Thursday, 21st January, on the stroke of midnight, in layman’s language, the Government of Bermuda ran out of taxpayer supplied dollars. At one minute past midnight on Friday 22nd January, the Government of Bermuda started functioning entirely on borrowed dollars. The Facts And The Arithmetic Between... Read more of this article
Column: Bermuda Is Legitimate Business Centre
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] Hillary Clinton’s promise to go after “High-income money managers…[who]..use loopholes related to foreign reinsurance – often located in Bermuda – to avoid paying their fair share.. [of US taxes]” and saying that she would “end the Bermuda reinsurance loophole” is a serious statement from a... Read more of this article
Column: Layered Pay Cuts To Reduce Costs
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] The current impasse with the Bermuda Police Association over matters of pay, regurgitates the whole matter of how Government’s personnel costs can actually be reduced. I first tackled the “how” issue in 2013. This is two years before the well-paid Three Wise Men came to Bermuda and told Government exactly... Read more of this article
Column: What Has Been Achieved In 3 Years?
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] Three years ago, all Bermuda was waiting to see what the newly elected Government would do, and how it would perform. Three years later, we have a record. The standout fact for that 2012 election of the OBA was that it was one more step in the maturing of Bermuda’s electorate. For 34 years, until November... Read more of this article
Column: Burchall On “‘Tis The Season”
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] To most of us, we’re in the Christmas season. I was reared in the Christian faith and tradition, so I and my family observe Christmas. To those who follow the new tradition of Kwanzaa or who follow the older Jewish or Muslim traditions, then like me, you’ll celebrate within your own tradition. With an... Read more of this article
Column: “Three Wise Men Came To Bermuda”
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] As Christmas approaches, we recall the story of the three wise men. In late November, Three Wise Men came to Bermuda. They were the Three Wise Men of the Fiscal Responsibility Panel. Unlike those three wise men of old, our Three Wise Men [TWM] had only one offering. Also unlike the biblical three, our TWM... Read more of this article
Column: “Continuing High-Level Incompetence”
[Opinion column written by Larry Burchall] The recent Auditor General’s Report covers the Financial Years [FY] 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12. It is 305 pages long. I have read and digested that report. Within those 305 pages there are many examples and references, by the Auditor General, to financial mis-management, uncorrected errors in payments,... Read more of this article
Recalling The Bermudian Soldier Buried In Italy
[Written by Larry Burchall] Devonshire man and son of Ms Elvira Baxter of Devonshire, 21-year-old Pte Baxter W C joined the Bermuda Militia Infantry in 1943. With 100 other black Bermudian volunteers he shipped out as part of a battalion of the 1st Caribbean Regiment and was sent to Italy. The unit arrived in Italy around the time of the epic Battle... Read more of this article
