Mac calls on government to reveal true debt
(CNS): Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush has accused the government of burdening the Cayman Islands with a record level of public debt, saying that the PPM administration has borrowed more than CI$100 million for each year they have held office. “It means that the national debt represents CI$54,000 for every Caymanian family,” said Bush, who also noted that, since the government has continued to approve annual budgets without audited accounts, the true deficit has not yet been revealed.
The opposition leader said the current government would struggle to get Cayman through the forthcoming economic crisis because it has not prepared itself for a rainy day. “In financial terms this government has nothing in the coffers. It has spent and wasted the money,” Bush said.
He said the time had come for something to be done to stimulate the local economy, and he suggested offering concessions on import duties and stamp duties, as he believed history has shown that whenever government drops import duties, the net result is more revenue not less.
“Easing stamp duty has also provided a much-needed boost to real estate and development sectors,” Bush added.
He also said the immigration process needed to be speeded up as access to human resources is the fuel of the local economy. “As a service-based economy, we need people. I am acutely aware that there are businesses within our financial services sector that are establishing offices in other countries because they can’t recruit the staff they need here.”
He said the country was in need of an economic recovery plan, to see a list of policy changes, fiscal changes, and their pros and cons. “We need to analyze the impact on government revenues, and the public needs assurance that this is being properly handled with all the right technical expertise. In the next couple of weeks, election campaigning will be in full swing. Solutions must be found to people’s problems.”
He also criticized government’s handling of the offshore industry and said it had neglected the needs of that sector and the legislation required for it to maintain a competitive edge. “ The past few years has produced a serious log jam of legislation that has been sitting on the shelf,” he said, adding they while Cayman waited on these much needed laws the competition moved ahead of us.
“Only recently has the government started to pay attention to these issues. But has that delay put our competitors in a better position? How much more in government revenues could we have had if we responded 3 years ago instead of 3 months before the General Election? How many more persons could have been employed instead of losing their jobs by this stage?” he asked.
He also said marketing and promotional support had been lacking especially in the face of continuing international challenges.
Bush said the government had also failed to assist small and medium size businesses, a sector employing more people than any other, and he criticized their tourism strategies. The government had spent millions of tourism dollars — but he asked, where were the tourists?
He said Cayman’s economy has been in decline every year since 2005. “Growth slowed to 4.6% in 2006, then 1.9% in 2007, and it is projected to decline even further to 1.2% in 2008. Before feeling the full impact of the impending global recession, our government has allowed our economy to shrink, year after year,” Bush added.
“In finding a way torebuild our country we must therefore seriously question the effectiveness of the government’s policies over the past 3 and a half years. It is impossible for local businesses to perform in an environment where the policies have created a stagnant economy."
“In the coming weeks, we will be exploring the way forward in assisting those that are currently unemployed or that will be unemployed in the future. We will look at how they pay their bills and meet their monthly expenses, and find a way to assist them. We will make plans to help those who cannot pay their mortgages and that are losing their homes. We will examine what can be done for those who are losing their small businesses and set up programmes that will assist them.”
He said that under his leadership the UDP would get the economy back on track.
“I did it before and will do it again — an economic situation where unemployment is nil, people have money and people’s businesses have more security,” Bush declared.
Category: Headline News
What a lot of fluff!
I quote
This is the samething that he has been doing before every election in West Bay.
This si how he get elected.
Is it just me, or is Mac losing weight? Way to go, Mac! We need you fit and healthy.
GO UDP…Please save us from the fiscal mess we are in…Allegedly..I guess PPM will now show up with some false accounting just before election to show that they have everything under control. …NOT! Go on the boxing web sites….and see just how we look now with Chuckie and his shenanigans. They plainly state that he begged the promoters to place the fight"around election"…How embarrasing for the country. Please LOGB, LEAD him..he is taking us all down.
"Go on the boxing web sites….and see just how we look now with Chuckie and his shenanigans. They plainly state that he begged the promoters to place the fight"around election"…How embarrasing for the country. Please LOGB, LEAD him..he is taking us all down".
The decision by Govt. not to proceed to promote this boxing match is not "taking us all down". Don’t be so melodramatic Chicken Little. Clearly, the pople on the boxing websites don’t care two hoots about Charles or Cayman’s financial position, only their own. Is that how you make decisions in life – not according to sound judgement but according to what others who do not have your best interests at heart have to say? If so, then you need to mature a little.
"So it is very clear that Government’s top priority is to maintain an evironment in which its economy is viable. This means a minimum of regulation, interference with management, fees and taxes".
The problem is that people want to have a minimum of fees and taxes but demand from Govt. the same services and infrastructure (sometimes more) as if they were paying high fees and taxes. Thus people argue that low-wage earners should have permanent rights in the Islands notwithstanding that they will not be able to support themselves when they retire and will become dependant upon Govt.’s social services.
It is important to remember that Governments do not create wealth. They merely spend the fees and taxes they collect from the economy.
When a government wants to spend more than it collects. it borrows. No matter how or where it borrows, the amount borrowed is a loan from its own citizens, which they must eventually pay back with interest.
The economy must generate enough money both to support Government and have enough left over to maintain viability. This is the problem of every private company.
If a private company cannot maintain viability in the environment it finds itself, it will try to move to a more conducive environment or sell itself. Otherwise, it will close its doors and lay off all its employees.
Private companies are under constant stress to lower costs and increase sales. They do this by becoming lean and efficient.and by inceasing productivity by whatever means possible,
So it is very clear that Government’s top priority is to maintain an evironment in which its economy is viable. This means a minimum of regulation , interference with management, fees and taxes.
Margaret Thatcher once said " the problem with socialism that you eventually run out of other people’s money"