Government runs out of cash

| 27/08/2009

(CNS): With literally no money left in the treasury coffers, the government was unable to meet all of its financial obligations this month to enable it to pay civil servants, Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush told an audience at a special meeting called to discuss the financial situation with private and public sector. Government was forced to delay payments on health insurance premiums as well as general contractors to meet the public sector pay role. The situation for next month also remains dire, with a forecasted financial position for 30 September of government incurring around CI$78.1 million in expenditure but expecting to only collect CI$29.5 million in cash. 

 “In order to pay the salaries and wages of civil servants on payday on 25 August 2009 the government also had to take a deliberate action to postpone the payment of other expenses such as pension, health insurance, and postpone payments to contractors and other general suppliers,” Bush said at the meeting at Ritz Carlton on Thursday, 27 August.

Bush said that when the United Democratic Party came into office there were a number of capital projects that were already underway and unless the government takes the decision to stop construction and incur excessive penalty costs it is legally obligated to cover all costs associated with completing these projects. 

“It is estimated that these existing capital projects will incur approximately CI$150.5 million in costs during the 2009/10 financial year.  This does not include furniture and fixtures for the schools. This amount includes CI$74.5 million for the high schools and CI$39.0 million for the Government Office Accommodation Project,” Bush explained, adding that holding back the payments on these existing construction contracts to pay civil service wages was not a sustainable situation.

With no cash in the government’s day to day account, it is now using an overdraft facility and the LoGB said next month the government would be facing a cash shortage of CI$44.1 million unless the UK changes its mind and allows Cayman to draw the funds from local loans that have been secured. Government currently has around 76 million to its name but cannot easily access it. $43.4 is in the General Reserves and $25.7 is in the Environmental Protection fund. Kenneth Jefferson, Financial Secretary explained that these funds could not be used for day to day expenses and so government was already overdrawn in its regular account which he said Bryant was well aware.

Bush stated: “The government has already negotiated with local banks to borrow up to CI$372.0 million, which is required to take it through to 30th June 2010.  The loan funds are ready and available and all that is required in order to draw down on the funds is the approval of the FCO.” 

However, the FCO is currently withholding its permission on allowing borrowing to be increased until the CI government offers a new sustainable plan for revenue generation in Cayman outside of the financial services sector and preferably in the form of taxation. (See UK tells Cayman to levy taxes.)

“On 20 August 2009, the FCO informed the government that they were not convinced that the government can sustain these cost savings and therefore they were unlikely to permit any additional borrowing,” LoGB said, adding that he had asked if the CI government could at least draw on $30 million of the loan before the end of August to meet expenditure, but he said the FCO informed him that it was neither “approving or disapproving” the request but it would need to demonstrate new revenue sources for the 2009/10 financial year first. With no cash and the coffers and no approval to draw on the load, Cayman’s financial situation has reached unprecedented circumstances.

During his presentation Bush told the Ritz audience that the government had done another revision on the final sums for the financial year 2008/09 which revealed the deficit was even higher than previously thought. Government currently has loan balances of CI$598.0 million comprising of CI$416.5 million for central government and CI$181.5 million for public authorities.

Preliminary final figures, which included government’s operating revenue, was CI$487.4 million, while expenses of central government totalled CI$557.1million, and the net loss of the public authorities was CI$11.4 million, he said.  Taking the Operating Expenses and net losses away from the Operating Revenue, public Sector ended up with an operating deficit of CI$81.1 million for the year ended 30 June 2009.

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  1. Anonymous says:

     

    Please go and vote for the National Lottery and Property Tax.

    http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/poll

    Thanks!

  2. Leroy B. Whorms Sr. says:

    Did we really need the British Goevrnment to tell us that sustaining our lifestyle by borrowing is a stupid idea?

    I think we have only ourselves to blame for this by electing Politicians to run our affairs that are completely clueless.

    I can remember not too long ago when we always had a Budget surplus. What became of that breed of politician that managed our affairs back then.

    I am sure many7 of them are still around and could advise our Government how to be fiscally responsible.

    Or do we need an uneducated Politicians to run our Financial affairs.

    I can remember laughing when I heard that the present LOGB was creating a Ministry of Financial affairs to be run by him. My words at thattime was "LORD HAVE MERCY ON US"

    Its really time for the Caymanian people to wake up and see where we are headed and save our childrens future.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Bryant, Bryant, who the hell is Bryant?

  4. Anonymous says:

    As I posted on another blog, taxes are a slippery slope and hard to get off once on. Do you want to risk that everytime going forward gov needs more funds, they will be creating another tax? I believe that just opens the door for them to continue their crazy spending because they know they can recover it from the people somehow. Once a tax like property or income tax has been implemented a bad precedence will have been set from which there will be no return (just like the first 7 story building that went up on 7 Mile Beach and look at 7 Mile Beach now)………

    There are other ways to raise funds and there needs to be a more serious effort to cut spending. Not just the usual bla bla and nothing comes off it.

  5. KMANISPARADISE says:

    My fellow Caymanians don’t you see if expats are the only ones made to pay taxes (property or whatever else), then they will be the only ones making a monetary contribution to our economy.   Is that what we want?  Do we want someone else paying our way our do we want to do our part?

    Government subsidizes mostly all the essential services on this island…  this is not sustainable…

    Plus this us and them divide that seems to be the MO of this forum is not helpful.  Taxes are a necessity for everyone domiciled in Cayman.

    You want a better education system- then you will have to pay for it.  You want a better healthcare system- then you will have to pay for that as well.  You want to insure we continue to have the type of first world infrastructure…  then we will all have to show(our dear island) the money!

    Moreover you want to preserve the little piece of heaven that is Cayman, then you will have to pay for that too because government cannot do it alone… there is just not enough revenue here for that.  And oh, for those of you who don’t think we are living in paradise, pick another travel route besides Miami,  or better yet take the time to talk to someone from say Tegucigalpa, or Saschatewan.  

    Our forefathers/mothers understood sacrifice when they had to go to sea for years on end or had to leave school to work the land to feed themselves.  

    Is it such a great sacrifice to contribute to preserving our way of life?

    Two words that everyone should get familiar with is: personal responsibility.

     Oh and Tim Ridely, its about time!

      

     

     

  6. Anonymous says:

    Let’s see  if I got this straight.  Mac, who I understand owns more than one of the Ritz’s condos, give a press conference at the Ritz to say that the country is broke then  flies off first class, with 28 of his cronies to the Ms Universe contest.  What ever happened to leading by example???

  7. Anonymous says:

    This is an historical moment in the Cayman Islands and how it is dealt with will impact the country perhaps forever.

    Expats have regularly listened to angry Caymanians who want to either get more money from them or remove them from the country.

    Any Expat focused tax program will forever change the Cayman Islands.

    It is critical for level headed Caymanians to rein in those extreme views held by some of their fellow countrymen. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Also, do not forget majority of ‘Expats’ living and working here do not own property here, they rent……….

      • Luke says:

        ……as they are only allowed to stay for 7 years or less, so not enough time for any investmnet in property to increase over the stamp duty and Agents fees.

        Can hardly blame them for not investing in property

  8. Lavonida says:

    I wonder if CNS could get information from the Bankers Assoc. or from any of the banks as to how much money has really left the country since this announcement?

    Since people are posting on here that they have transfered their money, imagine the one doing it in silence.  It would be interesting to find out. which bank can manage a run on it and still end up functioning normal?

  9. Anonymous says:

    🙂 NOTE:

    UK tells us to impose taxes…

    Well, definitely, we should NOT allow income tax legislation.

    We should avoid gas taxation and increase in Custom duties.

    I think Property tax is the best option, because there are lands or properties that are of significant value to all Caymanians, and once these natural reserves are ruin, they can never be replaced. Such as people living along our sandy beaches and non-Caymanians who come here and only live here during the summer time. I think they all should be regularly taxed, and I believe the government can make millions of dollars from it. Also, undeveloped lands that are not cultivated and being used, can be regularly taxed. This kind of tax won’t hurt the financial industry, and it doesnt have to apply to all Caymanians, especially, Caymanian residences.

    Peace 

    • Anonymous says:

      Again a Caymanian saying: "I absolutely support taxes to support Caymanians, our way of life and our government, as long as I don’t have to pay the taxes.  Let’s tax only the expats."

      And you wonder why we are afraid of you. 

  10. Anonymous says:

     

    Expats moving money is very dangerous to the stability of the Cayman Islands.  For those of you who don’t’ believe it is happening, trust me it is happening at an amazing speed.  For those that say "good riddance", you really need to think about this for a second before you utter such an ignorant comment.

    By the numbers:

    Expats: 22,000.  Assumption of 30 % of expats moving money off islands (6,600).  Average amount of money moved off island (6,600*50,000) = $165,000,000 (that is 165 MILLION).  Government wanted to borrow over 300 million from local banks.  Do you think the local banks have it if expats take their money and move it off?  

    Let’s not forget if those 6,600 expats do leave, then the penion payment (assuming a $40,000 a year job @ 12%) woudl be another 126 million.  So the point is that you might have clost to 300 million leaving your islands because expats don’t feel their money is safe or their personal lives are safe (due to instability).  Couple that numberwith what amount of real estate goes down because these expats leave, and that adds tens of million more.

    So be ignorant, tell expats to go home, take their money with them and whatever other crazy stuff you have to say, but you will be left only with an island full of abandoned houses and mosquitoes.  Money is flowing, and power goes where the money is.

     

    • Anonymous says:

       I agree with some but not all that you say.

      • More than 30% will probably send their money away.  Everybody in the Cayman Islands knows how to wire money somewhere (go to the bank and ask them) and I expect most expats still have accounts back on-shore.
      • I expect the average amount is much greater than $50 grand. Probably averages in the hundreds of thousands, given the concentration of professionals who are well-paid.
      • Remember that sending money back on-shore doesn’t mean you have to quit your job here right away. They can send the cash now and see if income taxes are imposed, then leave if it makes sense for them to do so.  Sending the money now only costs the price of a wire transfer.  
      • On this logic, the rate of the export of expat cash should hit 100% almost immediately, or 22,000 expats times an average of say $200,000.00 in savings, or $4.4 billion dollars gone in the next week or so.  That is unless the government declares that no tax will be imposed.
      • Don’t forget the very rich expats.  They can remove hundreds of millions with a phone call.   They are on top of all this.

      Having said that, the Cayman banks should be able to handle a run on the banks of that size, right?  It’s not like they will collapse, right Burger Flipper and Expat whatever-your-name-is who were arguing together?

      Either way, mine left on Friday.

      Last point – it’s not a matter of loyalty to theIslands.  It’s just economics.  A person can love a country and still try to pay the least amount of tax they are obligated to pay.  Anyone who argues with that must have forgotten the very business that makes Cayman an off-shore financial centre today.

  11. California Girl says:

    Here are a couple of sites on private prisons in America. This one is about corrupt judges getting kickbacks on sentencing.

    http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5545-prisons-for-profit.html

    http://www.talkleft.com/story/2009/2/1/111/80497

     

    *****Here is a Youtube video (I have not viewed it) – moderators, you may want to view to see if suitable

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0mAjolstoy  "Deadly Prison Riot" private prison

  12. GT Ninja says:

    Yes. The meeting at the Ritz was hosted for free.. compliments of Mike Ryan.

    The blankets the army gave the American indians were free as well… the blankets were also contaminated with small pox… but hey…they were FREE!

    That was a great deal huh?

    Everything "free" comes with a hefty price. This meeting could have been held at the school just like the one for the civil servants.

    The meeting held for free at the Ritz was historic. The ritz was the first 7 storey building allowed to be built in Cayman to desecrate our once beautiful 7 mile beach. (Law passed by McKeeva.. thank him).

    You call it "free" I call it a "bribe/deal sweetner" for all of the upcoming "infrastructure projects" Mckeeva is trying to scare the country in to allowing that will only benefit Mike Ryan. Hope the A/C in the luxurious hall was well worth the price the islands will pay shortly.

    Caymanians are so gullable they put 2 and 2 together and come up with $300,000,000.

    We are going to be a corporately owned island. We are going to sell out government assets and the government will be totally controled by mega-corporations.

    I think we should change our name from the Cayman Islands to "SPRINGFIELD".

    Homer Simpson is the head of our houshold and Mr. Burns is his boss.

    People with half a brain will get the analogy.

    • Anonymous says:

      Sweetheart deals is something the PPM knew a lot about.  If you are going to accuse anyone of sweetening anything than do it fairly.  If there was ever one sweetheart deal it was the CUC deal by Arden McLean.  Why so much favoritism towards CUC instead of watching out for the country’s interests?  Wasn’t Arden a former employee of CUC and does he not own shares in CUC?  If he lost the election would he have gone back to work for CUC? What about the Matrix fiasco that he was in charge of too?  It was public knowledge that the company (Matrix) didn’t even have a business licence but yet they were awarded the contract despite that and their inexperience.  I wonder why?  What about the big school contracts to the cheapest bidder Tom Jones?  Now the overruns will likely cost more than the most expensive bidder.  Who are the Caymanian partners?  Are they PPM supporters? What about about Chuckie and his "let’s build a dock by the developers land".  He was pushing so hard for that that it makes you wonder.  Lots of questions to answer so when you can answer them all, and not by using stupid "Indian" analogies, people might think your comments about sweetheart deals hold water.  If you want to stay in the backwards ways of the past then go to Little Cayman.  The rest of us like our Island to prosper and thank God that McKeeva had some foresight to bring the Ritz here because it brings in lots of business.

      • Anonymous says:

        I would ask you to explain how exactly the new CUC licences reflect a "sweetheart deal’, but since you are only McKeeva’s parrot you would not have a clue even as to how to begin to answer.  Stop repeating nonsense and read the licences. 

    • Drive your own car McKeeva - set an example nuh!! says:

      GT Ninja,

      You have it right. 

      They say it was "Free" but I can promise you there’s still a price to pay. 

      What’s their motivation for offering it up for the meeting for Free.  XXXXXXX

      And even if it was truly free (which it’s not), what image does that give?  Doesn’t McKeeva have all kind of ‘advisors’ who’d know better than to have a meeting at the most expensive place on the island (to the general public) to announce that the country is broke (even though the numbers didn’t make sense so the verdict’s still out as to whether or not this is all a bunch of hype)? 

      We have many town halls, community centres, school halls where this could have happened.  There was absolutely no reason this should have been held at the Ritz. 

      McKeeva is certainly not thinking of the effects and consequences of what he (and his administration) does.  Short-sighted. Shameful.

  13. Anonymous says:

    RITZ MEETING WAS FOR FREE! Once again, I repeat, to the morons who keep on harping about why the meeting was held at the Ritz, are you deaf dumb blind or just stupid? It was in the papers and McKeeva said it at the meeting, which was heard also on the radio that the meeting was FREE sponsored by the Ritz.  Some of these PPM sore losers still go on about foolishness instead of being useful.  Now they even harp about McKeeva driving in a nice car (which the PPM bought) with a driver.  He is our Premier Designate and who at his level in other countries do you see driving themselves? Not even in the poor countries does that happen. Why is he different, because it’s not your leader Kurt?  You all are so useless and look how you all left this country.  If McKeeva gets us out of this mess I say he should be knighted!  Kurt, Alden, Arden and especially do-nothing Anthony should resign and let their salaries be given to people that will at least represent the opposition as they can’t even do that.  By the way, since when does a public meeting require special invitations for the opposition? That was the PPM’s excuse for not attending the all important meeting for our country and they are worried about protocol issues.  Who has the time? The country is in dire straits in case you forgot how you left it.  Like what Joey said on Rooster talk show today, they were "not aware" that it was open to the PPM also.  Hellooooo.  As usual, they are the Misled, Misinformed, Bamboozled, Unaware, useless bunch. Guess they just could’nt leave "Over the Edge" long enough to earn their day’s pay!  Does anyone know the process to "impeach" the current PPM opposition members of the LA?  Please let us know and we are all on board with you.

    CNS NOTE:  May we also add that the fact the meeting was held FoC at the Ritz was mentioned in the first news story posted on your favourite news website!

  14. Joe Average says:

    We’re missing the point here.  Governments do not run economies.  Banks do, financial institutions do, multi-national corporations might take a swing at it.  But our elected governmentsare impotent when it comes to deciding who will prosper.  And who will utlimately pay the price for that prosperity.

    This my friends, is called The New World Order and we may as well get used to it.  The recent supposed financial collapse and the plundering of treasuries everywhere is a first move toward impoverishing people and making them panic, accepting that unless we bail out these moth**f***ers with our own money or allow our governments to do it we will all surely perish.

    You can be assured….that as we scramble around in desperation….some people…somewhere…are laughing all the way to the bank.

    Read Naomi Klein’s     The Shock Doctrine    for more information on how we allowed this to happen.  How we allowed a few greedy individuals to take control over our lives, our freedoms, and our prosperity.

  15. PROUD CAYMANIAN says:

    After the initial shock, one that I really should not have had as the writing was on the wall. Yesterday I thought to myself, don’t PANIC, remember IVAN. Hey we were all broke then too, Government was in a frenzy etc. etc. As I reflected on the masses that left Cayman, some returned, some didn’t, what stood out to me was this. Cayman is likened to a sinking ship, at the very least one with a large hole that is taking on water. Here is the good news is, it has not sank yet, it is repairable, none the less water has seeped in and panicked the crew and passengers alike. More so it has panicked the RATS and that’s OK. Right now we all have to decide if we are RATS or CREW, or passengers. Are we going to be a part of the solution to our beloved Islands or are we gonna jump ship and swim. And then I thought how wonderful if the RATS jump ship; hopefully we can patch things up so they can’t get back on.  Just my two cents on the matter.

  16. Bob says:

    FACTS:

    Monthly civil service salary: $21 million.

    Civil servants number: 3199.

    AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY PER CIVIL SERVANT:   6500$/mth   !!!!!!!

    Well and truly overpaid.

    • Anonymous2 says:

      Bob I don’t even make half of that.  Guess I better try to get a raise.

      • Bob says:

        Those are the numbers published in the netnews recently. I just made the math myself.

        For every civil servant below the average salary, there is another one above it. Obviously, some are truly overpaid.

    • Anonymous says:

      No that’s total nonsense, Bob. The amount must include all people paid by Gov -eg government companies- or include pension/health etc. VERY VERY few civil servants earn $6500 pm. Do an FOI on it. You’ll be surprised.

  17. Billy Joe Royal says:

    Should we really be bragging the govt is broke on the net, If i was a tourist i wouldnt come here!!!

  18. Anonymous says:

    nice to see that the tresaury still has enough money to redily pay for an emergency meeting at the RITZ CARLTON. If i dnt get paid this month and cant pay my rent I hope the government puts me in a room in the ritz too.

    • Bob says:

      I’m with you on that one. I don’t think the reality has sunk in for Mac and his party. The gov is out of cash and deep in debt and they hold a meeting at the Ritz of all places!

      If they are going to tax incomes, they better cut the fat out of the government first. No more overtime, cut salaries, no more 2-3 hours lunch and not coming back to work in Friday afternoon, increase productivity, etc.

    • anonymous says:

      Can you people please read the thread before posting.  At least 8 times it has been posted that Mike Ryan and the Ritz paid for that meeting.  It was free to the government.

  19. Anonymous says:

    I’m from California, and want to add my two cents. I can say the "rich," don’t always spend any money, at least here they don’t. They normally spend for a home, boat, or cars, maybe jewelry.

    To explain this, notice how when celebrities go to award shows, they are wearing borrowed clothing and jewelry, or it is simply given as a gift (free publicity for the designer). Sports figures are given shoes by shoe manufacturing cos. Paris Hilton, is sometimes paid to "show up" at a club. They go to a restaurant, and most of the time the meal is given for free.

    In my opinion, that is what made them rich, everyone giving them things. I’ve met rich people that don’t like taxes, they don’t like buying what they can get free, and will most likely have $5 in their pockets.

    • Anonymous says:

      I don’t know how the rich do it in California but in my ten years I’ve learned quite a few things about the rich folks in Cayman.  The rich here are quiet money, and they’re real money.  Cash, liquid, bank, the real deal..  call it what you will but there are plenty of International folk here who quietly go about their business and invest a sliver of their net worth here.  Some are here for a month of the year, some arre here for most of the year. These people, quietly underpin a significant part of our economy. They bring talent here, they invest in local businness, they provide bank-alternative financing and liquidity to local businesses. Big, big projects here in Cayman are funded with the spiill-money that sloshes around in these folks pockets.  So when our government recklessly talks in the press about "maybe rolling out income tax" what they are in effect saying is:  " "maybe" I’ll detonate this nuclear bomb" ..  Tax is not the type of thing you talk about publicly or kid about.  Tax (or the lack thereof) is what "brought" these folks here. Their money would be in the Bahamas, Switzerland, or Monte Carlo or Bermuda if they thought we were going to tax them.  2% of your money may not be much but 2% of their money is a fortune..  and those folks know that todays 2% is tomorrow’s 5% and next years 10%..  Taxes are the beginning of the end for this fair land. If the government can’t live within it’s means and thinks they can dip into the pockets of those here without consequence, they are kidding themselves.  This money will flee in ten seconds flat, homes will go for sale, bank accounts closed, middle-class jobs lost, and then we’re "really" screwed.  This will not happen overnight..  it will leak out like a balloon but make no mistake, if direct taxation begins here, no Caymanian will be better off in 5 years time.

  20. bungalow says:

    Expat Accountant 99 (and the other rats proclaiming to jump ship)

    I must have struck a chord with a few bean counters out there. Seems bungalow is getting a lot of hate for straight talk. My point is that those that come here with this attitude wont be missed (nor their savings) anyways as they tend not to contribute much outside of their workplace. And yes, I stand by the fact that your piddly savings after a few years of work will not be missed by our institutions.

    Everybody in the know, knows that the work ‘CA’s’ do down here is pretty much all entry level audit stuff that you can pretty much teach a chimp to do. Furthermore, many employers are starting to find that you can get a Filipino chartered accountant to work much harder for much less. The nice thing is they wont bring ‘pain in the butt’ spouses that always seem to have permit issues (then blame all their problems on immigration) and they wont waive it in the face of Caymanians that they can leave at anytime if ever inconvenienced.

    Good luck to Cayman getting thru these troubled waters, and know who your friends are. There are actually expats here in Cayman that love this place and are willing to ‘pitch in’ work towards a better Cayman. For those schmutz permits that have a superiority complex, we (Caymanians and residents) are all better off without you. So, Go, send your laughable savings elsewhere.

    As for my identity, I openly share these views with my expat friends so those that know me will know who I am.

    Bungalow the ‘burger flipper’

  21. Anonymous says:

    Until the govt exhausts the civil service and private sector recommendations,

    until Boatswain’s Beach is put up for lease

    until we stop importing poverty into this country

    There will be a desire by any government to place increasingly heavy taxes on  the population. 

    • Bob says:

      I fully agree with you. Botswain beach needs to be sold, Cayman Airways needs to stop loosing money, the gov itself needs to take seriously their responsibility and increase productivity, etc.

      Not so long ago the gov expenses where significantly less than right now. Let’s go back to responsible spending and cut the rest.

  22. Anonymous says:

     

    Sounds to me that the property tax you are willing to support is one where you as a Caymanian pay next to nothing or Nothing at all, whiles all non-Caymanians get stuck with the full bill for whatever property they own, all to reduce the country’s debt and bail out your Caymanian Government who is mostly responsible for this mess with their grand over expenditures? At least for the 7 years expats are allowed to remain on island before they get the boot
    Yeah….  Right…..
  23. Anonymous says:

    "If you fall into this category and think it makes a difference to cayman, the banks or anybody else here that some schmutz audit manager moves their ‘savings’ to the US/Canada, you are mistaken by dillusions of grandeur. Go ahead and move your 200K life savings. What a joke."

    Well, that’s sure not a nice way to speak to your neighbour.  Cayman does tend to get very rude with the postings when times get tough.  Funny that people are not like that face-to-face usually.  Maybe anonymity allows people to show the worst parts about themselves, without having to worry about saying sorry.  Something to think about maybe.

    Anyway, all this does show the speed of cause and effect.  Mention remittance taxes and money starts to flee the jurisdiction.  Mention property taxes and land values being considered start to drop just on the speculation that it might happen, and people start talking about selling.  Mention income taxes and people start looking at other jurisdictions to work in.

    All in all, the casinos are the only play where everyone wins and no one loses.  Sell the rights to a couple of casinos now and the immediate problem is solved.  When they get built you’ll have more jobs as well, both in construction and in operating it.  No money needs to go to another jurisdiction.  No investments need to be cancelled for fear of taxes or appropriations.  No expats need to take their businesses or professions and leave.  No civil servants need to be fired.  Sound about right?

     

    • Anonymous says:

      You are right. 4 licenses at 50mm+ each + 20% of gross should keep the wolf off the door.

      The tax talk here is POISON for Cayman.. we shouldn’t even bediscussing.  I know of one family who this weekend is drafting contingencies to liquidate in the event of direct (income) taxation. We’re talking about 25mm and 6 full time Caymanian jobs at premium rates. Those Caymanians employ people themselves.  Trickle down economics are very real in such a small Country and we are risking a great deal by chasing the wealthy away with talk of taxes (income or other).

      Nobody should be bitter or surprised to see cash leave Cayman as a result of this reckless tax talk.  Few complained when the billions flowed in, so none should be surprised when the billions flow out as a result of taxation.

  24. Anonymous says:

    I have always predicted this. This is precisely why they should not have permanent rights here. Most of them are here to grub while the going is good. There is no loyalty to these Islands.  

  25. EXPAT ACCOUNTANT 99 says:

    Bungalow the Burger Flipper: 

    When you learn how to spell "squirrel" and "delusions", someone might take you and your empty bank account seriously (actually probably not, loser).

    The point is that I am not at risk of a remittance tax on my cash any more.  If your burger-flipping job paid more than $5 per hour so as to allow you to have any savings, that would have occurred to you. But it didn’t.  Pinhead.

  26. Anonymous says:

    I love the Caymanian who supports property tax as long as he doesn’t have to pay it.

    Don’t kid yourself once the "tax the expat" idea takes hold in the Cayman Islands then you will open a Pandora’s box of problems.

    Once you open the tax door then you must be prepared for the consequences. It heartens me that the Bush government will be making the decision because they understand the mentality of foreign investment and investor.

    If Caymanians think they can pass this problem and untimate solution off to the Expats to pay for then they are sorely mistaken.

    Everyone will need to step up to deal with this problem.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes Everybody needs to step up to deal with this problem. Then why is it that there is all this talk about getting rid of civil servants and cutting their pay and their benefits. Why should the country’s recovery be based on the civil servant’s contribution only. Not only should there be cost cutting measures there also needs to be revenue income measures. Stop bashing the civil servants as if we are overpaid and that if we just dont get paid it will solve the whole economic crisis that this country and others are facing.

  27. Anonymous says:

    Spending is inevitable in any Gov’t, you can’t fault a Gov’t for doing what they do.  Missing here are a functional treasury dept, a financial controller, and audited public financial statements which hold the government accountable to their expenditures – some of them massive.  For decades the CI Gov’t has entered into contracts and obligations, typically without a plan or intelligent consideration of alternatives.  There is no Congress that needs to approve expenditures, no amortization schedules…on an island teaming with MBAs, CFAs, and CAs, the Gov’t might have accepted some help. Where are the adults? 

  28. Anonymous says:

     

    I am in full support of property tax. It is just what kind of property tax do you want? I believe all properties consisting along beaches, next to natural sanctuaries, and undeveloped land, whoever claims ownership, should be taxed. If they are born Caymanians they should be tax lesser than the non-Caymanian. Besides, beaches and natural sanctuaries belong to the people and not to one man or owner. When these lands are destroyed nothing can replace them. Now, if you are a Caymanian and have commercial or have residencial land with house on it, you should be exempted. This is the kind of property tax I will fully support.

    It will not harm our banking industry. It will not harm the people’s income.
    It will not harm Caymanians.
    In fact, it will generate millions upon millions of dollars, and pay our country’s debt in less than 3 years if regulated properly.

    But income tax, gasoline tax, and increasing Custom duties – squeezing the pockets of hardworking Caymanian people, is not the way! Neither is Lottery or any form of gambling, because it will pose a moralistic problem for these small Islands. From the greed of Lottery – crime, ill-will against others, and employee theft will increase! So that would not be a good option for the young people.

    Peace

    • Anonymous says:

      The property tax idea was addressed in the post on Fri,08/28/2009 – 07:20.

      It will hurt ordinary Caymanians. Many Caymanians own undeveloped land but would not have the cash to pay taxes on it. This would be particularly harmful to retirees esp. with the crisis with regard to civil service pensions which is already underfunded to perhaps $200,000,000. If you remove anothe year or two funding that can only compund that problem. Obviously it harms people’s income when they are forced have to pay taxes out of it that were never figured into the equation.  

      Property taxes is a bad idea that should be quashed immediately.

      The real objection to personal remittance taxes is that certain prominent inner circle members of the UDP have money transfer services businesses.

  29. bungalow says:

    EXPAT ACCOUNTANT 99 – and the other expats claiming to move their dosh outta Cayman:

    There are many professional expats here (and I know many as I am an expat and as such know many expats) that come and squirell away a couple hundred thousand so they can move back and ‘start’ their lives. Nothing is wrong with this, as it is mutually beneficial for the (on average) 3 years that its lasts for both cayman and the person. Just remember that whilst here, you are a visitor and nothing more, and should respect this fact.

    If you fall into this category and think it makes a difference to cayman, the banks or anybody else here that some schmutz audit manager moves their ‘savings’ to the US/Canada, you are mistaken by dillusions of grandeur. Go ahead and move your 200K life savings. What a joke.

     

     

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Very well said.  I, too, am an expat who loves this country and wish only good for the people who live here and enjoy it as much as I do each day.  The expats who wish to run when the going gets tough I say "good riddance" as we don’t need or want those like you who only come to take advantage of this island and give nothing in return.  You are the very reason that Caymanians don’t like some expats. Don’t let the aircraft door hit you where the good lord split you as my mama would say and  PLEASE  follow your money wherever you send it.

  30. Anonymous says:

     Caymanians, much of this is smoke, I was at the meeting and the numbers were even wrong in the speech. In fact McKeeva admitted they were. It is a decade of this knee jerk reaction that has got us in this position in the first place.

     Its was a shock tactic to introduce Property Tax, again to hurt the average Caymanian, make it impossible for us to be home and property owners in our own country – justify the previous 3,000 status grants and open the door for more, get a new cruise ship landing dock and cover up the failure of the current cruise ship landing which McKeeva built,  and almost  forgot, legalize gambling. Well the positive aspect of legal gambling is that McKeeva can now gamble at home with our money, rather than we the hard working Caymanian tax paying public having to pay for his many trips oversea to so do.

    Note you can rent at Caymana Bay not own, and well for the Ritz the only Caymanian who I think might own there is McKeeva himself.

    It was hard to really find any substance in the discussions, it was just hot month put downs and bullying much of the time.

    Sad, but we as Caymanians have allowed this to go on too long in our country. Can we get some educated and competent leaders in the L.A. soon or we will be just another banana republic without bananas.

    You might not like Ezzard Miller’s pushy nature, but he is the only MLA I see doing anything to change the representation landscape, and the way our MLAs work with their community. Using dialog and practical solutions to solve current issues. Look at the PAC its functioning on a professional level for the first time in many years. That is the only "A" I see on the political report card since May 20th. 

    Come Cayman lets standup and say enough is enough ! demand leadership and results. 

    • True Caymanian says:

      I agree with you. During the first 100 days of new UDP administration, it is only Ezzard who has done something tabgible and worked for his salary. Eugene has gone to sleep and packing groceries for the next election.  Some of others got a fully paid vacation to Europe before the government is broke. I am sure and hope that Ezzard will not allow our cayamnian citizenship papers to go under the hammer for top dollar. 

      • Storm says:

        The phrase "True Caymanian" sounds very right wing and unsettling.

        • Anonymous says:

          Only for someone who has been here for less than 15 years and does not recognise that such a person exists.

  31. Verticalpig says:

    Governments financial crisis. Why It doesn’t add up. 

    Despite rumors to the contrary no British MI5 agent held a gun to anybody’s head in Cayman and said "Spend like there is no tomorrow or there will be no tomorrow".

    The government’s funding gap was incubated and hatched by the Finance Department of the Civil Service which lost financial control after introducing new accounting procedures into an environment prone to profligate spending. The cure proved worse than the disease. Allowing inadequate accounting to persist for years compounded the problem and emboldened the overspenders.

    As recently as last year the Financial Secretary said there wasn’t an accounting problem, only some technical issues surrounding the new accounting rules; some departmental Accounting Officers had experienced difficulty in distinguishing their inputs from their outputs. In an organization where arses and elbows are routinely confused this excuse may have been expected but it should not have been accepted.

    Though the Governor (titular head of the CI Civil Service) has investigated several petty professional squabbles at great length and expense he hasn’t pressed the "good governance" nuclear button on something as serious as this financial crisis is supposed to be.

    It’s no good the Governor delegating his authority or relying for advice on the same people who were supposed to improve financial control and/or have management oversight, they weren’t up to the job the first time around.

    Get an FOI request in for the senior people involved in implementing the new financial controls, including those "retired" but panhandling as the Governor’s advisors. In at least one very senior case they have not only no professional financial or managerial qualifications but no post high school professional or academic attainments of any kind. And I don’t mean Bush although that is true of him too. Is it a case of those who pray together stay together?

    Until government’s financial accountability problem is fixed any money that Cayman borrows will be spent exactly the same way as the first wad was. Unaccountably. Who is going to lend money to a borrower like that even if the UK lifted borrowing restrictions?

    Loan sharks maybe?

      ~ ~ ~ rest of this post is on my new blog ~ ~ ~
     

    http://hogstybay.blogspot.com/

    • Caymanluvr says:

      Nice to see you on here VP!  I remember you from the Marlroad.  I look forward to reading your blog!

  32. Anonymous says:

    Many MLA’s have their own businesses and could do without their Govt. salaries for a few months while this mess is sorted out.  If you really have Cayman’s best interests at heart, then do what is right and suspend your own salaries for a few months or drastically reduce your pay. 

    I don’t want to see anyone lose their job either but it is happening in the private sector.  None of us know if we will have jobs in the next couple of months. The Govt. has to cut costs.  Many of us have had to cut spending in order to survive so you have to do the same.  Have you ever thought about job sharing?  In the UK, rather than let people go, you cut the hours and 2 people share a job.  Yes, there willbe a pay cut but woudn’t that be better than losing your jobs?  I thank God every day for my job, but really don’t know how long it will last.  We are all in this mess together.  Please stop blaming PPM and UDP.  This mess was not just made in the past four years. This has been years and years of poor financial management by previous Governments. The govt. has to do somehing and if you have no money to pay the civil servants, shouldn’t you really have a good long look to see if you really need all hte staff you have.  In this sort of sitaution, you need to put  Caymanians first.  If you have to let people go, then make sure its the expat who can at least go home and find a job back home.  I have nothing against expats but this is not their country and this is a risk they take whenever they go to another country.  I am not prepared to pay taxes unles the Govt. is run more like a business with much, much less wasted spending.

    Stop wasting money.  Cut back whereever you possibly can. 

    The Leader needs to consult with the top financial and legal minds in the country and come up with solutions.  But remember, many of us are struggling already. The price of food has sky rocketed.  Many people are now having to choose between buying food for their families and paying bills.  We are not in a position to pay any more.  If you add more burdens on the businesses, some will not be able to continue and then there will be more people out of work.  I’m not a financial expert but there are many financial experts here – take advantage of their expertise.  I’m sure they are more than willing to help.  I don’t believe anyone wants to see Cayman go down.   

    Ex pats and Caymanians stop bashing each other.  We need to work together to save the Cayman Islands from complete disaster. 

    Rather than build a new cruise ship facility at this time, clean up the one we have.  Belize has to tender passengers ashore from a much greater distance. Their boats are clean, fast and they are well organised. Our poor passengers have to line up like sheep in the hot sun.  Have a couple of people directing passengers, spruce up the signage and make it more efficient.  Hand out small bottles of water,fruit punch or coconut water and mini patties, etc. while they are waiting and maybe some sort of freebie, a key ring, a drawing book for the kids, small toy, etc.  Make the people feel that they are valued.

    Forget about capital projects for now. We don’t have the money.  Focus on ways to get out of debt.  Let the cruise passengers gamble while they are anchored at night.  They may even come ashore for dinner and shopping.  Set up a national lottery but make sure that the proceeds go towards education, medical, roads, etc. 

    We don’t have to have the best  everything.  We don’t need state of the art this and that. After Ivan, many of us realised that we could manage with 90 – 95% less than we had before.  We don’t need luxury cars.  WE do need to work together, stop bickering and especially put out faith and trust in God and pray for Him to give us solutions to this mess and continue to bless these Islands. 

     

     

  33. Anonymous says:

    General Ideas:

    Continue to spend money to avoid a complete collapse of the economy.

    A national lottery would be good.

    Tax free? Off shore banking? All banks, law firms, accounting firms should be taxed.  Money is needed, now.  

    When sending money overseas using a money transfer—gov’t should get a percentage.

    Cayman doesn’t have a dictator—but if one should arise the first thing to do is freeze all monies. Lots of money leaving the country right now as I type this.

    Avoid borrowing from the IMF for as long as we can.  This will save the CI dollar from devaluation.

    Those with vision and those who can see clearly what is happening in the Cayman Islands should plan to be part of the solution or be left behind.

    No longer them and us.  Those who remain behind will be the Caymanians.  The words of Beloved Isle Cayman will reflect the sentiments of Caymanians living abroad and those living in exile.     

    Attract more wealthy people to the Cayman Islands—stop importing poverty.

    We have over priced ourselves —– let us learn from our 3rd world brothers and sisters.  Offer an excellent product at affordable prices.

    Zero tolerance on crime.

    Be kind to one another.  Let us help one another.

     

    Quincy Brown 

  34. Anonymous says:

    It’s the spending Folks.  You can not run a country this small where 10% of the population is directly (or nearly directly) employed by the government, and at premium pay-rates. We do not have the luxury of printing a reserve currency to paper over our problems. Spending will have to be cut or taxes raised.  If taxes are raised then the smart settlers who helped create our foundation will change their spending here or outright leave (these conversations are thick in the air now). The problems here are entirely within control of the present government.  All they have to do is CUT THE SPENDING!  We have all had to adjust our spending due to the new global reality.  Cayman is no different and must adjust or face the inevitable consequences of taking on too much debt or raising taxes on those who came here for the security and absence there-of.

    • Anonymous says:

      Absolutely.  It is the only answer.  A government does not need "great workers like a business, only competent ones.  Cut the civil service by 30-35%, reduce salaries of those staying by 40% and take away the perks.  In this job market they will not have a choice.  Civil service pay elsewhere in the world is terrible and there is a good reason for that. 

  35. Chet O. Ebanks says:

    As I read all these posting on here, it amazes me that very few people have the nerve to leave the name. What a pitty, who are you so afraid of, voice your opinions and be proud that you can do so in a free country. I am sure there will be lots of expats taking the chance now to transfer their savings overseas. Well seems that one post on here said the have already done so. I wonder why?

    A suggestion on how we can help the government get some qucik cash into the coffers. As I ride the bus each morning from West Bay into George Town, I see a lack of police cars or police motor cycles on the West Bay road. Maybe if the powers to be within The Royal Cayman Islands Police force, would place a police car or motor cycle at set points along both sides ofs the roadway to catch those drivers who are speeding and driving with expired vehicle tags on there cars, trucks, suv, and triple those fines that would do some justice. And don’t forget the scooters flying pass those vechicles on the left going down the middle lanes. Wake up RCIP, and start policig our roads more often. Your getting paid to do a job, and I am helping to pay your salaries., and I want to see more police presence.   HELP a concerned Caymanian.     

  36. Expat Accountant 99 says:

    "Just transferred my savings out of here, like many other expats I know."

    Yup, me too.  Gone at the speed of light. 

    You know what’s REALLY funny? 

    Now it’s in a major US bank earning interest that I, as a non-US resident, legally DON"T HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON!!!  Hilarious!!!  I’m avoiding taxes by sending my money TO the United States FROM the Cayman Islands.

    How funny is that? I bet Obama would love it…

    • Anonymous says:

      …and covered by FDIC insurance! 

    • A YOUNG CAYMANIAN!! says:

      You are crazy, people like you we dont need here. Only to milk the country and then leave.

  37. Anonymous says:

    REMOVE PPM TO SAVE SALARIES!  I say that the PPM who left us in this disaster need to resign so that their salaries can go to the country’s coffers.  To those who suggest that current government reduce their salaries, what did they do to deserve that?  Was it not the PPM that left the country in shambles? Take their salaries and leave everybody else’s alone. Some of those opposition members in the LA don’t do a thing.  When was the last time anyone saw Anthony Eden? Don’t hear a word out of Kurt, but I see him fishing all day or at the watering hole for sure while earning just a bit less than McKeeva who is now taking all the heat (shame on you Kurt).  Alden just comes out when he needs to defend one of his "glory to the King" over expensive projects that got us broke and Arden fools everyone with a few roads, but kills us with sweetheart CUC deals!  Please Cayman, wake up and lets make sure these guys never come back.  To you PPM blind supporters, what more proof do you need?  I hear so many of you are now really disgusted SO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! You put them there so you are partially to blame.  Think of your children’s future. Ask your PPM leaders to step down or replace them somehow!  Why are you allowing them to make all these big salaries while all else goes down the Sh…hole?

    • Anonymous says:

      I have always heard that it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. Well you just did. Dont you know that even it the PPM members were to resign they would have to be replaced and thus no savings to the government.

      As for the PPM not doing anything now, what about the last four years what did the UDP do? They were a part of the problem. They help approve all the budgets, did they not?

      It amazes me how people who have no clue about accounting can post such stupid remarks. The way I look at it Mac has caused more trouble in the first three months of his reign than PPM caused in their entire four years. Mac thought when he was shooting off his mouth about the mess that the finances of the country were in just to make Kurt look bad that this would not hurt the country. He really thought that the UK would approve more borrowing  since he claimed the country is broke. Did he not think the first question the UK would ask themselves was, how are they going to be able to repay additional loans if there is no money?

      Get real!! More loans means more operating expenses!!

      As for encouraging more investments into the country forget it. Who in their right mind would want to invest in a country that is as broke as he claims and loose their money? No one!! unless their is a hidden agenda.

    • Anonymous says:

      Enough of the UDP vs. PP rhetoric!!! Let us deal with the problem at hand.

  38. Anonymous says:

    Is government going to stop paying itself and calling it budget? Or in other words interdepartment expenses?  If departments stop paying each other maybe you can see where savings can really be made.

    Is government going to stop paying rent?  Would some one publish how much money a month is going to rentals?

    How can the answer always be more taxes for the same thing over and over? 

    Why do we the people always have to pay for politicans egos who are trying to make a name for themselves with extravagence?

    • Anonymous says:

      "If departments stop paying each other, maybe you can see where savings can really be made".

      Can you explain why? Or is this yet another knee jerk reaction to the fact that Govenment has been trying to explain its finances better? Please explain in logical terms -not rant- what you mean. It might help the discussion.

      I have some wonderful examples "from the good old days" to explain why  you are so terribly wrong but I would like to give you the opportunity to present your case.

      The rest of your post is valuable-but has anyone done a study to see whether renting is so bad? It seems to make sense, but maybe in these times it’s the best option.

  39. Anonymous says:

    Ritz Meeting was Free! To the morons who keep on harping about why the meeting was held at the Ritz, are you deaf dumb blind or just stupid? It was in the papers and McKeevasaid it at the meeting, which was heard also on the radio that the meeting was FREE sponsored by the Ritz.  Some of these PPM sore losers still go on about foolishness instead of being useful.  Now they even harp about McKeeva driving in a nice car (which the PPM bought) with a driver.  Which head of state do you see driving themselves fool? Not even in the poor countries does that happen. Why is he different, because it’s not your leader Kurt?  You all are so useless and look how you all left this country.  If McKeeva gets us out of this mess I say he should be knighted!  Kurt, Alden, Arden and especially do-nothing Anthony should resign and let their salaries be given to people that will at least represent the opposition as they can’t even do that.  By the way, since when does a public meeting require special invitations for the opposition? The country is in dire straights in case you forgot how you left it.  Like what Joey said on Rooster talk show today, they were "not aware" that it was open to the PPM also.  Hellooooo.  As usual, they are the Misled, Misinformed, Bamboozled, Unaware, useless bunch. Guess they just could’nt leave "Over the Edge" long enough to earn their day’s pay!  Does anyone know the process to "impeach" the current PPM opposition members of the LA?  Please let us know and we are all on board with you.

    CNS NOTE:  May we also add that the fact the meeting was held FoC at the Ritz was mentioned in the first news story posted on your favourite news website!

    • Anonymous says:

      McKeeva is Leader of Govt. Business, not Head of State. 

      You have got the nerve to talk about impeaching the PPM for over-spending when your Leader is the only Minister/ExCo member in the history of the Cyaman Islands that had to be relieved of his duties as a result of a scandal, and one in which Caymanians who he had convinced to put their money there lost hundreds of thousand of dollars?!!  What was his claim? I wasn’t really a Director of First Cayman Bank.They gave me a Volvo car but I don’t know why. I didn’t attend any meetings. I wasn’t aware.You should be ashamed of yourself, cretin!

      • Anonymous says:

        Throw a stone in the pig pen and the pig that squeals is the one that got hit.  Well I guess you must be PPM.  The PPM left the country broke and no one will ever forget that no matter how you try to deflect blame to others.  Mr. Bush is now the Premier Designate and has a lot on his plate but I am glad it is he that is our leader and not Kurt Tibbetts.  I cringe at that very thought.  I would hope that instead of trying bring him down you PPM people would put that same energy into helping him because basically, by most accounts, your party is dead.  Better start jumping ship.

  40. Storm says:

    We are one bad hurricane from being finished.

  41. Anonymous says:

    Just cut the freaking spending already!  Here’s what someone said (that sounds really on target) on the "UK Tells Cayman to Levy Taxes" page about taxing folks:

    "No. The answer is not in that.  It is not even on the revenue side of the equation.  The problem is that Cayman is spending money it does not have, and that needs to stop.  It’s like a person who spends twice what they earn and who uses their credit card to keep up the spending and draws cash advances on the card to make the monthly payments.  It simply cannot be kept up because that person will never be able to pay it back and will soon be bankrupt.  Asking the bank to increase the credit limit makes no sense.  If they say yes, the problem just gets even bigger and there is still no solution in sight.  

    The only solution is to spend less than you earn.  Shut down all but the most essential government programs.  Pass a law that says Cayman won’t build Kurt’s gold-plated schools and doesn’t have to pay penalties to stop work.  Law-makers can make those kinds of laws.  It costs some credibility with the contractor, but not as much credibility as general government bankruptcy costs.  

    Cut the civil service to a third, and make them work overtime for free (as the private sector does with the professionals).  It’s time to take some pain Cayman.

    Get your spending under control.  The drunken sailor days are over.  If you want them back, best let Mike Ryan build a casino besides the Ritz for the wealthy tourists, and require 40% of the take go to government.  

    You have some choices to make."

     

     

  42. Tax avoidance says:

    I fnid it ironic that I have been spending my day transferring my savings offshore and trying to find the quickest way to liquidate my local investments. 

     

    • Expat 333 says:

      You and me both.  Having brought a lot of my assets here to enjoy tax-free status while I live here, I too spent the afternoon with the transfer of my liquid funds and paper assets to another jurisdiction and reviewing the liquidation of my immovable assets. 

      Now at least the cash is gone, but owning realty here right now is most unfortunate.  I’m portable and I can be on the next plane, but the property isn’t. 

      Some choices you just live to regret.

       

      • PROUD CAYMANIAN says:

        You are the epitome of what is wrong in Cayman.  People like you using, raping, plundering society and hitting the road when times look rough.

        GOOD RIDDANCE TO YOU AND YOUR DIRTY MONEY!

        • Expat 333 says:

          WRONG!

          My money was cleanly earned on-shore through my professional job before I came here.  The money that I made here in my professional job was for the most part spent here.  Now when the UDP starts looking to take a percentage of my savings when I go home, to pay for the mistakes of the PPM and none of which I had any say in as one of your hated expats, then it is you who want to rape and plunder me to fix the problems YOU made.

          GOOD RIDDANCE TO YOU AS WELL! 

          You are what is wrong in Cayman.  Always looking for a free ride courtesy of someone else, and completely unwilling to accept personal responsibility for your own incompetence.

    • Anonymous says:

      You are not the only one!  CD are called in and savings have been wired.  I have also decided to kill the condo purchase I was looking at since any tax and the market will plummet.  I would expect savy American property owners to start dumping their holiday condos too (I called one former colleague yesterday and told him to do just that).

      It is sad but I really get the sense that this is the start of the end of Cayman’s prosperity, and it seems to have been caused by the last government spending money like confetti.

  43. Anonymous says:

    So where is the funding coming from to send teams to the Olympics or isnt that going to hapen anymore 

    • No sense of priority? says:

      I think we are more interested in what happens in the rest of 2009 rather than the middle of 2012 right now.

  44. Anonymous says:

    How much has this governor cost Cayman?

  45. BA flight anyone? says:

    This may be a good time to query the 1.5 billion dollars that were announced in August 2008 as ‘un accounted government expenses’!

    This is just the unaccounted expenses, not the portion that can be accounted for, which is the equivalent in US dollars of  Indonesia’s Military budget. Bearing in mind that this is the biggest Muslim country and spans from the North of Australia to Malaysia, it is quite impressive that a small Island 22 miles long has managed to spend the equivalent on expenses alone!

    Looking at this another way, if every person in the Cayman Islands was employed by Government, the amount of expenses that would not need any accountability, up to now, would be 276,000 dollars per person!

    Even if 25 per cent of the population  were employed by Government, the total for un accountable, un supervised spending in expenses would be the equivalent of around 800,000 dollars per person!

    I really am not surprised by the UK government or any banks being hesitant in lending any more money.

     

     

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Ok ok ok……Here is the best Idea yet! Lets tax expensive cars i.e luxury cars at 100% i.e. anything above $40,000 for personal use and tax transfer of cars at a high rate to go retrospective for those expensive cars already here….Also, we can look at unpegging our currency and letting inflation run it course so that we can get from under all these loans.  It would be great for every land owner who is mortgaged and the international banks that operate here would only lose a couple billion depending on the contract wording of loans with government and private citizens.  Next you can implement the land tax as a percentage of vaule payable in USD however no confiscation of property rights against caymanian as the enforcement for the debt.  Then we can repeg ourselves in the future after we get from under this mountain of debt.  Weshift the liability for all our irresponsiblity back onto the people/governments trying to shut us down…sorry Canada you were in the wrong place at the wrong time Sorry Bermuda but you should have though of this first….

  46. Anonymous says:

    I do not encourage levying a tax on salaries, however 1/4% annual property tax would do no harm.  In addition, it would not hurt to look at what we pay for Garbage collection services.  What is it $100 per annum, per household?  This could certainly be linked to the water bill and be at a minimum of $25 per month, per household.  I can only imagine the amount of ACTUAL revenue this will generate as there are many homes now who do not pay their garbage collection fee (not that they cannot afford it cuz they surely find the money for something else).

    In addition, I totally agree with the MLA salary cuts, and that goes for everyone elected! 

    Also, there is no need to have security guards at every MLA, Minister, Senior Government official home.  How much is that costing us?

     

  47. Thankful for small mercies says:

    So far all we have heard from this UDP government is their constant justification for doing the wrong things. Why don’t they find solutions and stop complaining and playing the blame game?

  48. Mr. Dread Man says:

     I cant believe what I’m hearing here man, the Goverment gone broke, this must be some sort of joke or something man,  I hope that they do bring in some United Kingdom Investigators to investigate on the past MLAs that was in the house man.  

    They need to check out how much their salaries was?  

    Did they spend extra money on their personal selves?

    How much big time trips each one of those MLAs were taking per year?

    Who paid for their big time cars?

     

    Where in the world is all the money gone to man?  You could at least save a little to let eye and eye buy some little pot man seen! Respect 

  49. Drive your own car McKeeva - set an example nuh!! says:

    Sad news, but please explain why the ‘man at the top’ is delivering this message at the RITZ (hello, that’s unnecessary expenditure).  It’s not like the RITZ is cheap or an economical choice!  (or maybe it’s a ‘deal’ he’s struck up after his ‘sweetheart’ deal on the real estate side of things?)

    Government shouldn’t be spending no things like that in these times (or ever, for that matter).  Be smart people!!!

    Meet at one of our Town Halls, or in a Government conference room, or a Statutory Authority’s Boardroom, or at a Community Centre.   Come on people….. if we’re in debt so much and don’t have money, why does he continue to spend money unnecessarily.

    Another thing….why can’t McKeeva Bush drive himself around the place.  How can he justify the unnecessary expediture and salary for his driver, the additional cost of insurance and gas money (it’s a big SUV, so you know it’s not cheap on gas).   Don’t be a hypocrite.  How can you be so happy to spend money that we don’t have on something so trivial!  Start small, save big!  Every penny counts!

    That vehicle was purchased for other purposes, not to chauffeur the LoGB around everyday, everywhere.   Get real McKeeva.  If our country is really in this serious mess, set an example and start cutting your own unnecessary costs.   It’s not just your country to mess up.  Set an example so that others in the civil service will follow suit.   This is OUR country, and may God bless us in these hard times. 

     

    McKeeva, as our "Leader" please stop and take a look at this and do what’s best for our country as a whole, not what’s best for you and your friends and your bank accounts.  don’t spend our money for your personal gain or comfort.  Go and collect the money the Dart and Ritz  (and probably  other) developments owe us on their ‘duty concessions’ or waivers. 

     

    To the current Government (and future ones for that matter!)….

    Cut back, be thrifty.  Do what’s right for us LONG-TERM, not the short-sighted view which seems to be the winner today.

    THANK YOU!

  50. AJ says:

    I thought that before the elections all candidates said they would cut their salaries to help alleviate the financial woes of this country.  I think the time has come for that to happen.  It won’t be a drastic difference but it will help.

    How about making cuts at the prison?  If it costs so much to maintain people that broke the law, then shouldn’t they be the first ones to have cut backs rather than the people who work in the civil service who are there to help us?  Put them on chain gangs and let them clean up the garbage around the road or other little jobs here and there.  Make them work for their accomadations, that’s what the rest of us have to do!   

    • Anonymous says:

      FCO/ UK Prison Services (they send inspectors down here to do regular checks) wants us to treat our prisoners humanely.  So they wanted us to serve 6 meals for these criminals. They get breakfast, midmorning snack, 3 course lunch, 3 course dinner and a snack before bed time.  Also, they are served a desserts (ice cream or pudding and a lots of seasonal fruts such as local mangoes) after lunch and dinner.  A full glass of milk is the starter in the morning. They have a set menue which is updated weekly.  Believe it or not they get ham, bacon, sausages regularly.  Every lunch and dinner comes with fish or other meat items. Of course, they have their own chicken for consumption as well.  CNS should get a copy of this menue and publish this. 

      I believe they should get 3 simple meals and a little snack.  Fish/meat should be served only one or two times.  Because of these great meals these guys keep coming back.  Do not try to maintain these criminals according to European conventions or orther stupid international standards.  Ask FCO to go to hell with those.  Our children are straving in the schools, so why do we have to treat these rascals this way.  These are hard times man.

  51. Anonymous says:

    The entire Civil Service wants everything handed to them on a silver platter.

    They get coffee or tea in the morning, when some private firms get none.

    They get free medical, when private firms get none.

    They get a car to drive and paid gas, when some private firms get none.

    Each Gov Dept gets a nice Christmas Party, when all of their departments don’t even work to their full potential.  The firm I work for only have a lunch party which cost less on the firm.

     

    So Gov need to cut some this out, TODAY

     

    • Anonymous says:

      You are so right, the Civil service needs to get real…while I applaud Mr. Suckoo for his spirited speach yesterday I must say that I disagree with him, the civil service has been a gaping hole in the government coffers for many years, and its time they face the music….

    • You Have Got To Be Kidding says:

      What a load of crap!  The coffee I get in the morning is the coffee that I bought at Foster’s.  The car I drive is the one I bought just after Ivan.  I pay for the gas.  My office has a pot luck lunch at Christmas in a conference room.  You have no idea what you are talking about. 

  52. Anonymous says:

     Why doesn’t the government do like the US and UK governments and just print more cash?  

    Yes, this was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion

    • Rolling me over early says:

      Why not just trade in commodities which are more stable, have some real worth and are realistic in value when they are government backed.

      I am willing to accept next months salary or pension in Rum cakes or Patties whichever has the better rate of exchange that day!

       

    • Anonymous says:

       Because it is all printed in the UK 😉

  53. Anonymous says:

    Aren’t we making a bit of a mountain from a molehill? All the UK is asking for in order to allow us to take these short-fix loans is to have a good plan in place for increasing government revenue/decreasing costs relative to our current situation. A plan! Not an overnight solution implemented tomorrow without due discussion and investigation. Surely we can come up with good ideas that can be incorporated into a coherent plan to be presented to the FCO to show that we are aware traditional revenue won’t make the cut and are going to take appropriate, responsible measures to fill the coffers through additional methods. That’s all. Nothing need be done in urgent haste, the plan, once accepted, can be modified and improved upon as time goes by, with portions introduced slowly and thoughtfully as the need arises for revnue generation. (And yes, the loans will one day have to be paid back, so this is the case for all governments, so we needn’t worry too much regarding having to borrow for now.)

    Come now, enough with the PPM v UDP crap, enough with the vitiriol running back and forth over small, petty issues. Now is a time to come up with good ideas and have an intelligent discussion until we’ve got a presentable plan about how we want to move forward as a country.

    I’ve seen some positive comments about taxing remittances, taxing luxury items like tobacco and alcohol, as well as talk about increasing fees associated with multiple car ownership. I know there are more good ideas out there that will allow us to bring in more money without losing our "tax free" reputation which brings us so much business. I’m looking forward to reading about those ideas and discussing their merits.

    • Anonymous says:

      This should not be hard for Mac. He campaigned saying  when he got in he would get the country back on track. What plans did he have for this? NONE AS USUAL ONLY POLITICAL TALK.

  54. ExPOOtraite Ciwil Serwant says:

    Dearest Anonymous at 0813, first off, don’t believe everything(or perhaps anything) that you read in the Not News.

    While I wasn’t able to attend the meeting, as I am a Civil Servant and needed to be at work, I did manage to catch some of Mr. Suckoo’s comments on the radio broadcast of the meeting and while I certainly don’t agree with everything he said (Eg; Prayer hasn’t helped thus far, not sure what good a National Day of Prayer would do), I certainly do know that Mr. Suckoo is smart and well rounded enough to know that expatriate workers are not the root of the problem.

    Some of the comments that he made do ring true when put in to the correct context. There are many positions within the Civil Service which could and should be made obselete. There is an awful lot of piggybacking of jobs, people doing the same thing on top of someone else. There are far toomany management postions, etc. Some held by Caymanians and some by Expatriate workers. There are plenty of people sitting behind their desks wondering exactly what it is they are supposed to be doing, trust me.

    There is nothing wrong with downsizing and streamlining the Civil Service, in fact, in my opinion, it is something which must be done for the betterment of the Country at this point.

    I don’t believe that Mr. Suckoo or too many others for that matter believe that the Islands could survive in their current form without a significant number of expatriate workers in many fields. When he said that Cayman was in a unique and ideal position in that there is no excuse for not being at 0% unemployment amongst Caymanians, he was 100% correct. Of course this comes down to effective management and immigration policies. We understand there are some Caymanians who are either unemployable or simply don’t want to work (I know a few myself). They should not be included in unemployment statistics quite clearly.

    So, to eliminate some positions currently held by expatriate workers at the end of their contracts is not necessarily as bad as you would like to make it out to be. To move suitable Caymanians in to other positions currently held by expatriate contracted workers is not a bad idea either.

    I’m an expatriate Civil Servant who chooses to see things as they are.

  55. Anonymous says:

    How about a 50 percent Tax on the 15 percent profit CUC is now guaranteed. That should help.

    How about a 50 percent Tax on all the Money That the rip off shipping companies are allowed to take out of this country. Thats a whole lot of money.

    I bet Big Mac friends in the shipping industry would not like that, but the truth is they are such a rip off that they should be heavily taxed. They just drain this countrys finances with their exorbitant freight rates and with the assistance of their local fronters take away all our money.

    • Anonymous says:

      Who told you that CUC is "now guaranteed" 15% profit? You are confusing the old licence with the new. There is no guaranteed level of profit under the new licence. Read the licence and see. Don’t let others fool you.  

      If you tax the shipping companies they will simply increase their rates to cover it. Counterproductive, don’t you think?  

      • Anonymous says:

        A Tariff would have to be in place to prevent increased freight rates. They are much too high already resulting in a rip=off.

        Dont worry. The service would always be their because 50 percent of what they take away is much better than they make going anywhere else.

  56. Anonymous says:

    In all the large numbers being banded about, where is the cost of government?

    There are ample statements about what the government owes to its suppliers and contractors, but how much is the government’s annual payroll and expenses?

    We need at least a statement containing at least the following estimates:

    1)  government income

    2)  government spending on itself

    3)  government income and losses from its enterprises

    4)  and government spending on everything else.

    This is the minimum that we need before we can know enough to begin to discuss solutions to this dire crisis.

    Is this too much to ask for?

  57. Anonymous says:

    The idea of a "luxury tax" is a very good one on alcohol and tobacco products.  It has been used in many other countrys to help with the cost of health care.  I don’t know how much more revenue it would generate but the argument is that it is a non essential product, hence a luxury.

    Unfortunately, there is a need for an overnight solution and this isn’t it but it could help with the future.

    • Smokin and Drinkin says:

      Given the consumption of some of these items on the island, it seems that even a small increase would yield significant revenue. 

      • Anonymous says:

        A fee for every church attendance and a percentage of the donations would bring in a lot urgently needed funds too.

    • Anonymous says:

      tobacco and alcohol are already taxed 40%…

       

      but I say tax them 100%

  58. Anonymous says:

    Net News reports that at a recent meeting between the LOGB and civil servants and others to discuss the economic crisis, a Mr Christen Suckoo of the civil servants’ union suggested that one way to save money is to not renew the contracts of expatriate civil servants. Net News reports there was "audible dissent" from the audience (which was presumably mainly Caymanian). This says much that is positive about the audience. No comment about what it says about Mr Suckoo’s suggestion. If this is the best the top of the civil service can do, we are in a very very bad way. Yes, expel the expatriates! Then close the Schools, Prison, Social Sevices Dept, Hospital, Police Force, Environmental Health Dept (plenty of unemployed Caymanians anxious to collect the garbage at 3:00am after all) to say nothing of those entities like Tourism Dept and Maritime Authority which have expats on lucrative contracts tucked away overseas where we can’t see them.

    In tough economic times, it is common to see scapegoats pushed to the fore to saddle the blame. Hitler made the Jews, gypsies, handicapped persons, homosexuals and "other similar degenerates" his scapegoats for Germany’s woes in the 1920s and 30s.

    Thank God we are blessed to live in Cayman where-despite the frictions between sectors of society-this type of thing doesn’t happen. But it is disappointing to see a senior civil service representative make such an ill thought out, impractical and divisive statement as the non renewal of contracts of people who are only here because we need them.

    Mr Suckoo and others should stick to blaming this law and that law and civil service reformsetc (which of course are not the real problem either). At least they are not human scapegoats.

    • Anonymous says:

      Please, if Caymanians are willing, able and ready to fill these positions then why should an expat continue employment. Let the contracts run out, each, expat receives help for repatriation (per exsiting contract) and Caymanians are able to work. The premise that this island will fall apart without expats in Civil Service is ridiculous and perpetuates our dependency on foreign employees.

      • Herman n Goering says:

         Certainly, if there are qualified Caymanians available, THEY SHOULD be given employment preference over expats!  But to simply get rid of expats and fill the jobs with Caymanians is NOT the solution.  If the persons are not qualified, then they won’t be able to do the job and if they cannot do the job – the job will not get done and we will all suffer.

         

        • Anonymous says:

          What part of willing, ABLE and ready is confusing? I do not advocate a mass expulsion of expats. Rather, when an expat in civil service is nearing the end of thier contract a qualified Caymanian should fill the position. One simple solution to help solve a much bigger problem. Expat employment is a luxury Cayman can no longer afford to indulge!

          • Anonymous says:

            "Expat employment is a luxury Cayman can no longer afford to indulge"

            Jesus Christ! Brilliant! We all agree! So close the bloody schools, police force, prison, garbage pickup, hospital, social services, stock exchange,maritime authority, tourism department etc etc.

            What the hell is wrong with you stupid posters that can come up with this crap? No wonder Cayman is effed. The quality of comment from some of these bloggers is so pathetically out of touch with what is going on in this country and in the world at large, it is desperately depressing. Of course get rid of an expat when their contract is up, if there’s a Caymanian ready and willing. But Jesus Christ! Teachers? Not yet. Prison guards? Not yet. Garbage pick up? You’re joking! Nurses? Not yet.Social Services-this is a Caymanian administered department and they CANT get Caymanians to do all they need.

            By the way, I’m a Caymanian. But that wont matter. I’ll get dumped on for saying it like it is. That’s the way we are now.

        • Anonymous says:

          You are being unfair to Mr. Suckoo, going by the title Herman Goering.  he is a very sound guy for whom I have a lot of respect. He is only suggesting what you are saying in the above post.  

    • Herman n Goering says:

       Let’s say you expel all the expats from the civil service.  Expel the trained accountants, expel the trained engineers, expel the trained police officers, expel the trained surveyors, expel the trained writers, expel every single person that was not born here, that was brought here to do a job based on their expertise.

      Then, fill all those positions with Caymanians.  No matter how well meaning these replacements may be, they will not have the background or training to perform the functions of the post and all those services previously provided by expats will shut completely down.  Government and the island itself will grind to a halt while the new hires struggle desperately to learn what exactly it is they are expected to do.  Or not.

      It is always disappointing to see and hear comments blaming expatriate workers for all of the worries of the world.  It is especially disappointing to have a leader of the civil service offer up his colleagues as sacrifices, sacrifices which surely WILL NOT APPEASE the god of financial crisis.

       

    • Anonymous says:

       

      I was at the meeting and NetNews is pushing its agenda, there was no "audiable dissent" Mr Suckoo did an excellent  job presenting the position of the civil service !  All I heard was much "audiable" agreement with Mr Suckoo’s suggestions

    • Anonymous says:

      As I understood Mr. Suckoo’s point listening to him on the radio, it is that if there are cuts in jobs in the civil service Caymanians should be given preference but this should be done not by terminating expat employees but by not renewing their contracts. I did not understand that he was proposing some mass expulsion of expats or that he was making expats the scapegoats in the sense of assigning blame. Sounds like a fair point. Does it make sense that you would lay off Caymanians who would have no where else to go and would be dependent on the govt. if the remain unemployed if it can be avoided?  

    • Anonymous says:

      I think that Mr Suckoo is suggesting that the Governements "priority" has to be Caymanians and at the end of the day if someone has to go it will have to be the expats. Sorry but that is a fact worldwide and to liken him to Hitler is slander. He did nto say "white people" or "black people" he said expats. Anyway your post is very careless and reeks of the typical self preservation attitude we have to deal with here on a daily basis. Mr Suckoo please continue to do an excellent job, continue to seek guidance from God, and we all support you in your efforts. By the way, most private companies who have been forced to implement layoffs used the same strategy and reduced their workforce by not renewing contracts/permits. you know the more I think about your statements the more I see you are just out to cause problems here. "Try so hush"

       

       

       

    • Anonymous says:

      It would be premature to automactically assmue Mr. Suckoo’s comments were to get rid of ALL expariates in government. We are not as stupid and naive as most would like to portray. While I am a strong believer that it is necessity to have knowlegde and expertise from other nations to ensure we are able to operate in a global level, there may be some job that are held by some expats on contracts that may not be a key role to the fuctioning of a certain department. Or you may have a expat holdign a postion with a qualified Caymanian directly under him/her that could very well handle the job on their own. The only people that know the truth to the way the civil servants operate are the civil servants. All we can do is speculate what really happens and it seems that now they are only starting to be able to speak up.  So please stop with the ‘Caymanians thinking to send all expats home’, which is far from the truth and your type of thinking is part of the problem. Maybe instead of posting about Mr. Suckoo being like Hilter you could take the time to ask him what he really feels in full contexts instead of the excerpts from the NET NEWS. Obviously you weren’t there to see the meeting in full.

      CNS: Would it be possible to post the full suggestions of most made in the meeting?

      CNS: No but anyone who wants can join in the discussion or start a new opne on the CNS Public Forum (Click on "Forum" on the main menu bar)

  59. Skeptical To Be Sure says:

     Apparently, the law states that civil servants should receive a pension.  That little fact does not seem to be deterring Mr. Bush and his posse from considering a pension "holiday".  To take the position that the law is more of a "suggestion" than a "rule", a position this administration has taken more than once, speaks volumes about their character.  Beware.

    If the contracts held by civil servants can be so easily "re-negotiated" by the government, why can the government not "re-negotiate" the contracts for the new schools?  Perhaps reduce payments now (reducing the burden on government), stretch out payments over time, maybe even bump the interest rate up so that, in the end, contractors may get a little more money even though it takes longer to collect?

    There are legitimate ways and means of dealing with creditors and this administration seems less intent on exploring those avenues than running around crying "the sky is falling".

    • Anonymous says:

      Come on now.

      Mr. Bush has never considered breaking laws wrong, as long as it suites him, he is the law!

      So breaking the pension law is easy for him.

      Just another notch on his law breaking gun.

  60. Anonymous says:

    The entire country should be concerned with this situation.

    Rather than the thoughtful and principled leadership of Kurt and Alden we have a man in power that surrounds himself with men motivated by the desire to accumulate wealth and greed. These values are then passed to our children, bad things happen and then we sit scratch our heads and say "why are our youth insuch a mess?"

    Mac himself may even be a good man but I shudder at the thought of the road that he will take this country down based on the advice of his collection of morally bankrupt and corrupt advisers. His advisers would appear to think that the solution to problems is more exclusive communities, more cruise ships, a few casinos and a lottery.

    There is another way but I fear the Ritz is the standard to which our society holds itself up against. Bread, circuses and an M Class.

  61. Anonymous says:

    Property Tax and Tax on Remittances

    Property Tax

    A tax on property is not a good idea for a number of reasons:

    1. This will impact Caymanians disproportionately.  Many Caymanians are property owners who simply inherited their property but do not have the cash. Ultimately this will force Caymanians to sell out their property to foreigners because they cannot afford to pay the taxes. We will then have completed the process of selling our birthright. Most of highest earners in Cayman are expat and their most expensive properties are held elsewhere, not in Cayman. Caymanians will almost always have their most expensive properties here.  

    2. It is a disincentive to investment in Cayman. One of the big attractions of investing in developments here was that once the stamp duty was paid there were no more taxes to pay. What may happen is that less stamp duty is collected from new purchases which will offset the new revenue from property taxes.

    3. It is inflationary. Rents will increase. Since businesses would also pay property taxes prices for goods and services would increase.  

    4. It does not allow people to make a choice. Stamp duty is only payable when you make a choice to purchase property. If you cannot afford to pay stamp duty you defer that transaction until you can. Suddenly persons mayy find themselves facing a tax bill in respect of which they have no choice and cannot afford to pay. For example, someone proposed a 2% tax. There are middle income persons who built a home for $200,000 and and because the value of the land has appreciated over the years that property may now be worth $500,000. Suddenly you find yourself with an annual tax bill of $10,000 which most middle income families cannot afford to pay. 

    5. It will create its own bureaucracy which will consume a significant portion of this revenue.   

    Tax on Remittances

    Why don’t we focus upon a tax on personal remittances, by which I am not including the monies from offshore structures. However it is justifiable for monies earned in the Islands which is being sent abroad. The highest earners in the country send most of their earnings overseas. This will give them a choice: (1) send it abroad and pay a tax; or (2) save or invest it here and don’t pay a tax in which it case it helps to stimulate the local economy. Either way it is a win for us. On the hand the lowest earnings also send most of their earnings abroad and live in sub-standard conditions here. This will encourage them to keep some money here and perhaps improve their living conditions. Either way it is a win for us. 

    It need not create a bureaucracy since the banks and money transfer services will collect it for the government.  

    There is much wisdom to be gained from our own people.                
     

    • Anonymous says:

      A remittance tax : A great way to cause a run on the local banks and destroy their capital base overnight.

      It is discriminatory too. If Caymanians want their public services, schooling and health they can pay for it.  Either directly or by taxes.  I am sick and tired of such free loaders.

      • Anonymous says:

        Public services are provided not only to Caymanians but also to other residents. Healthcare at the Govt. hospital is free to school-age children, regardless of nationality. Under the new Constitution govt. aims to provide free schooling for all children primary and secondary education regardless of nationality. Expats also use the same roads.  

        There is no reason to believe a small remittance tax would cause a run on local banks. If the money remains here there is no tax. You have a choice.

        You have simply given a knee-jerk reaction without careful thought. A remittance tax is an excellent idea that should be pursued.

        • Tithe tax says:

          You have simply come up with a knee jerk tax proposal that will disproportionately fall on the expatriate population.

    • Anonymous says:

      Just transfered my savings out of here, like many other expats I know,.

      Tax on remittances is going to cost companies like CUC a lot, any guesses on what they will do? pass on the costs to you

      Now investing in Cayman, lets see, as you boot expats off after 7 years, what should they do then? With the roll over in place investing really is not a good thing to do, so essentially you are talking about a badly disguised tax on Expats.

      Lets make Work permit charges for any one working

      • Anonymous says:

        What?? You want people who are from here to pay work permit fees? I don’t get this suggestion. Please elaborate.

  62. Anonymous says:

    "CASINO"!!!!! Thank you!!! Sounds a bit awkward yes, but if Cayman was to ever get any….the dollas will flow in!! Somebody that close to Big mac, please inform him

  63. Raffaele says:

    To the Boats men AAAAAARRRR piracy is back no passing ships or jamaican drug canoes are safe get me some Ransom money or seize CUC weld the power switch permantly on the on position put security so they cant get near to it turn it off. make an overseas call to Venezuela tell Senor Chavez you have the most dangerous set of weapons to destroy any country in the world’s economy Kurt & Alden and you selling them real cheap deal 25 million each and the rest of  Ppm gang 75million or you can seize yourself one of those dread expats and  hold him for ransom feed him on a local diet till he pays up. what a mess this is.

     

     

  64. Anonymous says:

    Mac collect all that duty from dart and ritz!!! Deficit started there!!

    • Anonymous says:

      Where are they now? Dartzy and Ritzy have plenty money Mac.

      Oh, to be humble is grand! Humility is happiness!

  65. Anonymous says:

    Dear Caymanians, be wise now. Your future is at stake. Politicians are creating fear factor in you to change your mind and to make choices that you would never have made in the normal circumstances. Ideas of gambling, lottery, selling caymanian citizenship to foreign drug dealers, criminals and other shady characters, destroy our neautiful environment and other funny ideas all all partof this grand plan in the pipeline and trying to convence you to agree on this.  What happened in TCI is going to happen here, no doubt my friends. 

    Both UDP and PPM spent money on various infrastructure projects in the past mortgaging our country for next 100 years without passing the cost to the developers, hedge fund managers, investors and  lawyers who made multi-millions of profits using our beloved isles and governance systems built and protected by hard working Civil Servants.  They all allowed real estate agents to come here and make overnight profits and go back home.  All our politicians now and in the past, except very very few genuine statesmen, raped this country to the max. It is really sad, but be brave, don’t be fooled.

    • Anonymous says:

      Thank you. At least someone has some insight and wisdom. 

    • Anonymous says:

       

      You are so right
      Get rid of all “dem rich expats” who have invested and continue to invest. We can go back to rope make and fishing.  
      Oh sorry! After you get rid of the guys with the money there will be no need for work permit. No one will want residence or status so all problems solved.
  66. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if we had held on to that $6m recently given out by CIDB would have at least helped us meet some of these expenses?? Think it may have been better to pump that cash into a broader base of people instead of the stimulas plan for the smaller group that received the CIDB cash.

  67. The Force says:

    This is no joking matter people. This is as serious as it gets.  Action has to be taken now and unfortunately time is up for the civil service to decide what "they are willing to pay."  What will you do when the Government’s health insurance policy lapses? I know that many civil servants cannot fathom this – they think that because its government there is no end. Well hear this guys – the end is near and due to the current economic climate the proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ has been turned off.

    There are a few things that can be done immediately to help but it is that long-term ‘sustainable’ income that has to be determined.

    Government’s utilities bills must be outrageous. The number of buildings/playing fields, public facilities that have lights, airconditioning, etc. running like there’s no tomorrow.  The feeling that because I work for government, I’m safe, I’m secure.  The wastages and excesses of some departments, e.g. Public Works Depts. (all three Islands).

    The bottom has dropped out of our bucket and you know what, there is a TOMORROW and we’re not prepared or equipped to deal with it.

    UK cutting us loose in short order. What are we going to do then?

     

    • Anonymous says:

      I do not see why civil servants cannot pay  half of their pension and

      half of their medical plan…the same as everyone else in Cayman

      has to!!!!

      • You Have Got To Be Kidding says:

         Now THAT is a reasonable suggestion.  I don’t believe civil servants lobbied for pensions and medical to be provided free – that was simply the situation most of them came into.  

  68. Anonymous says:

    WHERE WAS PPM TODAY?  Unless I missed them, I was surprised to NOT see Kurt, Alden, Anthony or any of their PPM cronies today.  What happened?  Aren’t you the opposition?  You can’t even do that.  You all should resign immediately and let your salaries go toward helping less fortunate people.  You shouldbe ashamed of yourselves!  You PPM supporters should leave be taxed even heavier than anybody else now because you all allowed these useless individuals to ruin our country.

    • The Force says:

      PPM leadership loves the serenity of the North Coast bars and the ladies up that side. I hope he doesn’t go ‘over the edge’ just yet.  You know I don’t have a problem if the Leader of the Opposition wants to stay at home and farm, or chill out in North Side or cast his line and catch a little fish.  You know perhaps he’s tired. In that case then he needs to be RETIRED because the country deserves an able Leader of the Opposition. Even retired he will be getting a hefty check, i.e. if the treasury can find the money to pay it. That’s OK, he served his country and deserves his retirement.

      BUT..face up to that, admit ti to the over 2,000 GT voters that put you back. Do you realize what a disservice that is to your loyal supporters? They have no representation.

      Come on big guy, be a man and do the right thing. Step down as leader of your party, resign  now to show thatyou still have some integrity.

  69. Anonymous says:

    I am not so convinced that this seeming fiasco does not have an element of political "smoke and mirrors". But let’s assume the crisis is real:

    The comparison of McKeeva Bush to Winston Churchill is a bit grandiose, don’t you think? That notwithstanding, one must remember that without eventual – and substantial – assistance from the U.S., Canada, Russia and other allies, and resolute action by his people, Churchill’s memorable rhetoric would have served only to bolster his listener’s spirits as they headed for a horrid defeat. 

    Without help and decisive action by ALL stakeholders on "both sides of the aisle" in Parliament, Chruchill’s courageous words would be remembered as the wishful tirades of a defeated leader and we would probably be reading this in German.

    It takes much more than rhetoric to save a country or win a war. It takes much more than complaining and finger-pointing to emerge victorious from adversity. So sorely did the German wolf packs press British shipping that Churchill privately conceded defeat in the Atlantic and his pleas to Washington for assistance were accompanied by a belief on both sides that if Great Britain was not assisted she would certainly fall. Early negotiations entailed the lending of ships and war materiel. And thus was England able to prevail.

    The Cayman Islands are now in dire straits.  We need true leadership, resolute action and less finger-pointing. We certainly need assistance. But more importantly we need to learn the lesson history is teaching us and we must never, ever, ever, EVER allow ANY politician or party the unchecked power to get us into such dire straits again! We as voters must, between election hold our elected official accountable for every decision and every penny they spend. To do any less is to invite disaster.

    I certainly do fault Kurt for lacking the leadership ability, care, attention and financial savvy to steer the country away from the unsound fiscal policies that led to our present woes. He seemed apathetic and without any clear focus for his time in power.

    It took many years to dig the pit we are now in. Kurt and his cronies had their time digging, no doubt. But did not McKeeva and his crew also have their hand on the shovel at one time? Surely McKeeva could have covered the hole but did not.

    Caymanian people, if you must point fingers and lay blame and you really want to know the identity of the person responsible for the mess, I can tell you who it is.

    It seems as if that person is fairly well hidden from public scrutiny and criticism these days. And it is obvious that person – for the most part – is not inclined to accept responsibility for their actions or lack thereof. Moreover they will not own up to being complacent in the shadow of danger. Are you ready for that person to be revealed? If I reveal their identity here promise me only one thing: Promise me that you take this message to the people and share their identity so all in the islands will know. Ok?

    Ok…now go look into a mirror and behold the One to Blame!

    Regardless of which party, team, group or politician the person in the mirror supported or voted for, if over the years the person you behold in the mirror stood idly by overlooking the obvious signs of danger and that person did nothing (other than whine privately as they dined sumptously) to try and change the direction the ship was headed, then slap that foolish person into reality and tell it is too late to come crying and placing blame on the captain and crew now that the water is rushing in through the hole the iceberg made and your banquet table is headed for the bottom with the ship.  It is twenty years too late for whining now. We need positive (and probably painful) action! The time to avoing the collision is at least two decades past. The water is pretty cold but swim we must…so "man it up" and dog-paddle!

    Will we now learn from our mistakes and chart a new course? Or will we simply divert for a time and then resume the journey in the wake that Kurt and McKeeva and Truman and many faces in the mirror helped create?

  70. Anonymous says:

    We need to stop and think for a minute.

    Was not the whole Pension thing Big Macs. idea. So if thats to blame for the deficit, is not he the proper one to straighten it out?

    Surely the PPM can be blamed for super extravagance and careless spending, but if the Pension holiday can rectify the problem, then Big Mac should take the Bull by the horns and deal with it.

    Throw in all the assets acquired by the PPM members during their term in office and the matter is resolved.

  71. bungalow says:

    UMMMM…. CASINO??? LOTTERY???

     

    problem solved

  72. Anonymous says:

    Out of cash?  No wonder.  I just got a bill from the HSA for services that they supposedly performed in February 2008 and this is the first time I have ever seen it.  When I asked at the accounting office, they said that they were just getting their accounts in order.  I mentioned this to someone else and they mentioned that they had also received a bill from them for services performed in September 2007. 

    I doubt that my $150 plus and her $20 bills will help the countrys finances but as an accountant I think there is a problem with their accounting department if they are this far behind.  On a more positive note, it is very good that they are catching up and hope that it will make a difference in the countrys finances, spend it wisely.

    • Anonymous1 says:

      Let’s not forget the unpaid garbage fees, customs, tourism taxes, etc.  Government needs to enforce laws and collect the money due to them.  I know a few areas where they are losing big money.

  73. One very Unhappy Caymanian says:

    The PPM members should hang their heads in shame and they should be offering immediately to give up their salaries for the good of our country.

    I cannot believe the gall of the Leader of the Opposition to say that he wouldnot attend today’s meeting which was open to all the public because he and his cronies did not receive a special invitation. Who do they think they are? We the people of this country pay them big money and it is not to stay home or hang out in bar rooms. He and that bunch destroyed the finances of our country and all they can do is say that they were mislead and they didn’t receive a special invitation. I am so p****ed off with them right now that I don’t know what I would say to one of them If I saw them.

    I think the people of this country need to demand an apology from them for what they have done. And for those supporters of theirs running around saying it is a global recession and this is just because of that, need to get their head out of the sand. Your leader admits he didn’t know what was going on. When the current leader told him to halt the spending, he said he wouldn’t do that on the kindest of mornings. I bet now he wishes he had taken that advice.

    Four years and they destroyed our beautiful islands financially. It is a pity that they could not be brought up on some criminal act because in my mind what they have done is nothing short of criminal. They have all of their nice Mercedes, homes and fast boats and still can afford to keep the bar bills up while we have to figure how to rub two pennies together to feed and send our children to school.

    I don’t know that McKeeva is the right one to lead us out of this but my hats off to him for being so forthright and willing to take on even those who are willing to stay with the status quo.  I certainly will never trust that PPM bunch again. I was a fool and voted for them once but that will never, ever happen again!

    McKeeva and UDP thank you for coming to this country’s aid.  Please do what you can to save us. We will be watching you carefully and will be praying that God will shine His light upon you and give you the wisdom and and courage to get us through this mess.

    I think it is time too for the country to join together for a day of prayer seeking God’s hand of deliverance. Would it be nice to stop our cars, our work, our tv’s at a certain point in the day to say thank you to God and ask for his blessing to help us through this. It’s time Cayman, it’s time!!

     

     

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      oh dear dear, we are so broke, but we have money to pay to hold this meeting at ritzy Ritz.  Why your dear leader did not choose a church hall or a school hall to hold this meeting.  All government schools are on holiday.  Why do we waste money like this for  5 * * * * * venues. Pedro Castle would have been a better venue too.  Problem is we still have old habbits. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Mac took great care at the start of the meeting to make clear the fact that meeting room and refreshments were being completely comped by the Ritz

  74. Annonymous says:

    Give all Government workers 2 hour lunch breaks and Friday afternoons off and dock their wages accordingly. They are never there during those times anyway.

  75. noname says:

    Why blame only PPM, last time I check Mac and some of his chesse was in the house when this was going down.

     

  76. Bob says:

    Yet again, we have to thank the UK for directing our government in the right direction and saving us.

    If it wasn’t for them, our Bush wouldn’t have hesitated a minute and continued to pile on more debt on our shoulder, until one day it will bury us!

    Shouldn’t they know better? How come the UK has to tell them that enough is enough? Irresponsible, that’s what they are!

     

     

     

     

     

  77. Raffaele says:

     A new book Financial Wizardry in The Cayman Islands by Kurt T and Alden M and the mango dumbling gang

    Foreword How to break a Overseas territories stable Economy in 4! Inspired by Merle Haggard’s song "Tonight the bottle let me down" this is a book which outlines

    (1)Transparency-Absolutely Wipeouted Revenues nothing left to see fully transparent economic situation by telling people you are going to spend your way out of an economic recession and doing it whilst you enrich your yourself and cronies."Poor fools" bought it

    (2)Good Governance- appoint yourself the Holysee all knowing all seeing King Jong Kurt what ever you do not listen to reason or the peasants when stress of work of doing good governance hits you 5 options 1 Pick mangoes 2 Hit the bottle "Likker"at local watering Hole when serious government business beckons 3 Play serious hand of dominoes when the serious decisionshave to be made 4 Go fishing and smoke. when dire situations arise 5 cookup a gut buster of Conch or Turtle stew after eating this mind is put in stall mode unable to function for aleast four full days by then situation hopefully has past or forgotten.

    (3)Sustainable development- but that in hands of your more than capable arrogant deputy and advisors who sustain and maintain the status quo by assisting and promoting and developing the wealth and comfort of supporters/following and cronies or to foster loyalty amongst the peasants and Chicks.

    (4) Misled Option- leave island completely bankrupt to incoming government go about your merry way in silence pretend you do not know whats going on and hope peasants dont catch on. muddy the political water with leftover moles and plants to obstruct and mislead new Gov’t consolidate all assets from deals you made whilst in power. adapt the PPm Grand father of politics sociopathic doctrine empathize with people in dire financial and social distress use the Dog pat on the crown of the head as a gesture of sympathy and dont lift a finger to help. If all the above fails cry out i was misled.mannn! and who the cap fit let dem where it ?

  78. Helpless in West Bay says:

    Let the Politicians simply stop trying to pay the Civil Service and expences. Let the Governor Deal with this…He helped create the mess. MAC, just let the British deal with this—-no loans, no salaries and no pension. No Governor’s salary, no Tempura payments…just stop it all…be bold and do it…see what happens.

    So we ran out of money…okay??!! pay the police, the prison and the hospital and let the rest just stop. Be Bold!

    • Anonymous says:

      100% agree with this guy. Let them take over the whole burden.  Macare you going to tax us to pay for all this bull **** from this governor who is acting on FCO instructions to destroy us. 

  79. Angry Broke Caymanians says:

    NOW WHAT PPM??

    How can you hold your heads up now??? WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN?? WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO BLAME THE RECESSION??? PLEASE RESIGN YOUR SEATS NOW – Anyone will be better.

    Clearly this disaster was made by KURT, ALDEN and ARDEN. We know Chuckie never did anything. Neither did Eden so we cannot blame them completely. However, they helped…Eden should also stop taking salary with the rest of them…why should we reward incompetence??

    Now we can surely say PPM was a disaster! and I thought UDP status grants were bad!!! this tops the cake!

  80. ky-Jelly says:

    Man we are in some deep do-do!!!!

  81. common sense says:

    Cut civil service salaries by 15% and a property tax of 2%. That would do it. The rest of the planet is hurting bad, what makes us so special?

    • Anonymous says:

      …Also impose a remittance tax on all personal money transfers and tax on dividend repatriations by big banks. Increase work permit fees on all professional and managerial categories and permanant resident permits.  Charge a facility usage fees on salaries declared on the work permit application for professional/managerial categories and it should be a charge on the person not the company.  Impose 300% import tax on all polythin based products. Open up the petroleum distribution market for more competition and increase the licence fees significantly

    • Anonymous1 says:

      Does Social Services have money to help pay civil servants bills when they can’t make their mortgage payments?  Contrary to popular belief, civil servants make less than the private sector For example, a secretary for government makes about 2,000 but for a law firm 4, 000.

      How about something that will save money or make money?  For example, it’s time for an evaluation of assets and sell what isn’t needed.  Sell Turtle Farm and the Poos.  I am sure that there are other vehicles that can be sold.  What about selling a school?  Get some outside investment.

      Tax remittances sent overseas.  That would make a lot of money.  I am not too fond of property taxes because of the elderly but maybe for new sales or very large properties.  I am not sure about the lottery but operate it something like Bahamas  with no locals that would be perfect otherwise all the money would have to go to social services to support the children of the addicts.

      I know that there are ways to save and I really hate when people generalize the civil servants.  The a.c. at my office is set on 78 and sometimes even 80F. It isn’t left on over the weekends or overnight.  I use my own vehicle most of the time to run office errands and I know other civil servants that do the same thing.  I rarely put in for comp time and I don’t take two hour breaks.

      I still want my pension and will do whatever cuts necessary in other areas to save but I think that government needs to find ways to make money.

      Unfortunately, Mr. McKeever seems unable to do anything.  He needs to take the bull by the horns and do something.  Please don’t compare him to Winston Churchill that’s an insult to Winston Churchill.

  82. Chet O. Ebanks says:

    Very sad day for my country. I hope now all those PPM supporters see what great Kurt and Alden did for our little country. Sucked us dry of what  cash reserves we did have. I ask the honorable Kurt Tibbettts what did you do for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman in the last four years. Am a Bracker and I can’t see anything, that’s right. It’s always the honorable Mckeeva who has to come to the rescue of this Beloved Isles Cayman. Now many of you might not like him, but I ask the question who would you rather have fighting for you. Give them all hell Big Mac. I ask God blessing for you to lead you to do what you think is right for our country. The PPM government of the past should have to give back to this country every penny of their salaries and work for us for free for the next four years. PPM what a JOKE.       

    • GT Ninja says:

      What is a joke is how you people are so blind to what is going on. Even in the letter from the UK they are basically saying that the find it highly supicious that in 2008 Ken Jefferson said we had a surplus. And suddenly McKeeva comes in and Ken says we have no money.

      To me it seems as though there is a deep conspiracy involving Jefferson and teh UDP.

      The UK wont lend us money because they are basically and eloquently saying that all of McKeeva’s BIG IDEAS are daft and illogical so they won’t lend us money until he gets a damn clue and comes up with somethign better than illeagally no paying pensions and his other STUPID and short term country-last approach.

      If he can’t find money to pay civil servants how will he find money to widen the North Sound channel so that mega yatchs can sail right up the newly proposed Ritz-carlton project and the other Dart Projects?

      What happened to T&C is about to happen to us. The UK smells CORRUPTION. And to be honest… I hope the UK steps in.

      I listened to McKeeva’s speach today and I felt like vomiting from all the lies and smoke screens and the arrogance he portrayed.

      Did you hear him say we waste our time worrying about "little scrappy reefs"? Basically he said we should not care about the environment because it is a waste of time.

      Don’t let fear cloud your judgment.

      Go to the turtle farm and read the plaque outside the entrance and remember that the next time he talks about the money we are losing every month on that. You won’t find any members from PPM written on that plaque. It wasn’t PPM that made the decision to put that $50M over budget, losing $10M a month stupid idea in motion. It was your angel or mercy BUSH.

      I don’t trust him. Never have. Never will. Want to know why? Because I’m educated and a free thinker. NOT A SHEEP like the people who support this mad mad.

      The next time he’s up on his pulpit preaching to his sheep… remember that sheeps eventually get slaughtered by the shepherd.

      • Tsk Tsk says:

        1.   GT Ninja has the smart perspective.  There are serious questions regarding the country’s finances that are not being answered.  I suspect that our current problem is 1/3 global financial crisis, 1/3 poor financial practice by the previous administration and 1/3 politicians looking to line their pockets and enrich their cronies.

        2.   Everyone seems to look at the civil service as some sort of cash pinata – as if you can hit it hard with a stick a few times and money will fall out.  By and large the civil service is overworked and underpaid (there are a few exceptions, of course) and I’d like to see the whole bunch of them take a day off and see how the island fairs without their good work.  Bet you can’t last without them, not even for one day.

        3.   Are some of you even listening?  We hear the civil service is bloated and paid too much.  And yet the current administration is busy creating new, highly paid government jobs.  That needs to stop.  We hear that "honoring" pirates is offensive to the religious community and we must do away with Pirates Week.  And yet we are told we need to seriously consider bring gambling to our community to help solve the financial crisis.  That needs to stop.  Some would call the mixed messages "flexibility".  I call it "hypocrisy" and it needs to stop.

        4.  Until we can find and elect Caymanians to office who will put aside their greed and focus their energy and efforts on doing WHAT IS BEST FOR THE COUNTRY, we will need oversight from the UK.  And I agree, perhaps now would be a good time for some intervention.  Government of these islands should be for the benefit of all and not simply a chance for a few to live like hogs lined up at a "money trough".

         

         

  83. Marek says:

    Property tax, I could (wouldn’t like it) but could and only if the government wording it very specifically that it was a temporary measure… agree to a 2% property tax.

    But if we do the math, let us assume 10,000 homes at $3,500 and 2,000 commercial properties at $5,000… this is only $45 million.

    I know, saying only and $45 million…. but over five years this would only pay down half the debt.

    My concern is, that if give them the means of generating income that they just continue with the spending.

    We need… a spending freeze. An private body overseeing how the property tax funds are being applied.

    A clearly spelt out plan, that when debt levels reach X that the property tax is cancelled.

    Like I said, don’t like it… but what is the alternative.  I would much rather pay this sum and live in a country with no financial problems … than not pay it and watch us go to hell-in-a-handbasket.

    The tax should be based on the purchase price, so older Caymanians who have owned their homes for 20-30-40 years would be paying a very small portion of the bill whereas the newer and most expensive properties would bear a greater portion of the bill.

    It’s a hotbed to be sure, but … it is a solution.

     

    Marek

     

  84. Anonymous says:

    Sack kurt and all his ppm members and cronies and seize they properties and assets what a bunch pirates shame on them i guess they were misled by their financial Guru too driving around here in they Benzzzzz like they men about town. The Great RipOff 2008-2009

  85. Papa John says:

    I aint going work tomorrow!!!!!

  86. Anonymous says:

    If there was a better politician than McKeeva Bush who was capable of thinking "outside the box" living in the Cayman Islands and who is suited to dealing with this crisis then I would advise him to contact McKeeva for a sit down.

    I liken McKeeva to Winston Churchill dealing against dire forces in WW2 and not backing down an inch, give em’ hell McKeeva !!!

    You may not like him but who would you rather have fighting for you?

    • Anonymous says:

      "You may not like him but who would you rather have fighting for you?"

      Rocky…he is the Italian Stallion after all

  87. Anonymous says:

    Want to bet that Mac will turn it all around in no time flat and save us all?