Population too small says Mac

| 09/09/2010

(CNS): According to the 2009 edition of the Cayman Islands Compendium of Statistics, the country’s population had fallen to 52,830 at the end of 2009. This 7.3% drop is too few people, the premier said today when he and the country’s legislators returned to the Legislative Assembly after a two month break. McKeeva Bush said the fall might be welcome to some people but for a country dependent on services a fall in the population also meant a fall in its economic fortunes. He said that, as people left Cayman, other jurisdictions were benefiting from the country’s losses. While the global recession was taking its toll on the economy, he said, the fall in the number of people here was also major contributor to the economy’s poor performance.

As the premier laid a copy of the compendium produce by the Economics and Statistics Office, which falls under his Ministry of Finance, Bush said the loss of people from the financial services here was a gain for competitive jurisdictions. He said that in the past Cayman had succeeded because of other country’s mistakes; when foreigners were driven out because of immigration or other policies this country benefitted. But now, he said, people were benefiting from Cayman’s mistake of driving people away.
 
“To some people the decline is satisfactory but one of the reasons why we don’t have a good economy is because we have lost people,” he said, adding that with the loss of people the country also lost their purchasing power. He said rentals were lost, property sales were lost, as well as takings at the supermarket, restaurants and gas stations, because those people have gone.
 
The premier lamented the fact that he had been saying this for a long time and people were not listening when he said a bigger population was better. He said that keeping the population small may seem attractive and he used to think it was preferable to keep the place small, but it’s not so.
“21,000 Caymanians can’t sustain this economyand the way of life that we are now used to,” Bush told theLegislative Assembly members.
 
He said that when there was a decline in consumption the entire economy suffered as it was all interdependent, and people needed to be aware that the economic suffering here was not just connected to the global fallout but because people had been driven away as a result of the immigration decisions, and then spending had gone down.
 
“We have lost millions. I would guess as much as $100 million has been lost in expenditure because of people who have left,” Bush said, as he added that there was a need to encourage more people to come back and stop driving others away.
 
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Category: Headline News

About the Author ()

Comments (123)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    A 2009 Cayman Statistical Report indicates that there are only 8,480 Caymanians between the ages of 25-44 living on island. I would be curious to know how many have degrees in finance, accounting designations, law degrees, engineering degrees or a degree in business etc… I find it difficult to believe that there are sufficient numbers of qualified Caymanians to fill all of the positions that require a degree or a qualification.  Forcing employers to hire and train Caymanians for a position that requires a designated qualification without a college degree is a bit unrealistic. 

     In this global economy, people have to obtain their training somewhere and it typically starts at the bottom and you work your way up through the ranks. For example, I worked for an engineering firm in the US and the first step to become an engineer requires engineering student graduates to pass an exam upon leaving school to even be considered an EI (Engineer Intern). Before they can qualify to apply to take the test to become a PE (Professional Engineer), an EI must work under a licensed PE for 5 years (a lot of grunt work involved), obtain 2 letters of reference from a licensed PE, spend months of studying and hope and pray that they are ready for the grueling 2 day (16 hours) of testing. Just so you know an EI starts out at about 30,000USD per year. They don’t start out at the top, but have to work their way up. In addition, most either pay for their own tuition or apply for scholarships which typically requires a very high GPA.

    I guess what I’m trying to say is that it takes time, perseverance and a willingness to learn and grow in a profession.  Birthright should not be considered a primary qualification. It takes not only book learning, but time to gain experience in a working environment. You have to learn how to crawl before you walk.
  2. Anonymous says:

    It’s like he wakes up every morning with a new idea – and the country has to suffer the consequences.

  3. Jah Cure says:

    I suggest we retire all civil servants with 25+ years in the service immediately. Cut all staff over the age of 60years. This will immediate illiminate 8% or our current 10+% unemployed citizens. The retired civil servants can then enjoy the rest of their lives by travelling, opening new business, spending time with their grand kids or mentoring the younger kids. This madness of the civil service being the sole employee of the Cayman people has to stop. Give bonuses to staff whose department save 10% on their monthly budgets.All new civil service employees has to match private contributions to pension and health. New contracts has to be written to include all civil servants contribute to both pension and health plans.

  4. Rafaelle says:

     Yes Mckeeva Cayman too small and your salary is simply too big, you and the rest of the political idols need to stop collecting two salaries. Expand to where must be that 8 acres you adding on to the port.Cayman see to it that no one takes you hostage through hollow and deceptive political speeches, which depends on human tradition and the basic principals of this world that would be greed.This place is being overwhelmed by social, economic and environmental and financial issues and all you can hear is expansion, to where may i ask. We aresimply feeding their materialistic desires which now need a serious reality check. To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. If that means without him and others like him so be it.

    • anonymous says:

       

      Too small Mr. Bush?

      Where were you raised in London or New York? Oh I forgot you are now an X-pat with foreign interest only. You are a frequent flyer so Cayman gets smaller and smaller each day in your mind!  Very troubling indeed for someone of humble birth like you to forget so quickly where you came from, Old Bush to be exact, so who are you to tell us that our beloved Cayman Isle is too small and not enough people to uphold the economy!  We have really had enough of your snobbishness.

      So just how do you plan on fixing the population?

      BY MASS IMPORTATION OF LABOR? CAYMAN FOR SALE!

      WORK PERMITS FOR SALE!

      $1million dollar citizenships?  huh? is that all you can do for us as a Premier?

      How Dare you make such comments publicly as though we are embasols with no sense and no interpretation for your slick, and sleekly maneuvres.

      You are simply trying to find an excuse to sell one million more work permits to generate fees to pay yourselves, and subplant government revenue that you all are wasting on yourselves, on your travels, and not capable of generating  monies by creating financial projections to raise revenue, the education is just not in there  is it? and we are sorry we elected you all.

      Go ahead and complain, we know just where you are coming from You want to:-

      bring in more people,

      grantmore status

      And continue to get your X-pat vote, you are now gearing up for 2013 but Ah, it wont work this time!  We are taking the ‘BROOMS" with us this time to the polls!.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Just imagine, we can hardly find space to drive on the roads, schools and hospitals are overcrowded, parking anywhere on the island is a complete mess, churches and volunteer organizations are being used as a scapegoat in these islands, the garbage from one end of the island to the next is out of control, derelect vehicles are all over the place, nearly every hardworking honest Caymanian are constantly looking at the glass ceiling and hoping for a brighter tomorrow and this man wants to add to the frustration of these already cluttered islands.  Worse of all, it is like importing derelect vehicles, because as far as I am concerned, the days of having kind and hardworking expacts is long over because you can only find a few on the islands.  Talk about Caymanians are lazy, you have many of the expats from the white collar to the helpers are down right liers and lazy and I am not asking you I am telling you, but it is because they are hardly mentioned.  Some of the  expats who came here years ago were very honest and hardworking, but we can hardly find them now.  Caymanians start speaking up and let everyone know that we are tired of being branded as useless and sick of seeing our country cluttered up and being used and abused.  McKeeva needs an annointing he need to stop living in la-la land. 

    • Dr. Pepper says:

      Nostalgia mixed with old fashioned prejudice and bitterness is an unpleasant cocktail.  "I am not asking you I am telling you".

      • . says:

        Hatred, detuned.

        There can be no wonder why people of means have packed up and left.  Who accepts living amongst people who hate you?

  6. Anonymous says:

    I agree with the Premier, a shrinking population equals a shrinking economy and our Policies must change in order to get back the Cayman we once knew.

    I don’t necessarily agree with all of the revenue making policies that he has implemented but I can see that many of these decisions are being made because there is not much of a choice other than doing so.

    The truth is that the actions of this rollever policy is now showing its effect and is causing all these problems coupled with the global recession.

    I wish many of the ignorant people’s comment could be blocked. Why don’t they go crawl up in oneof them caves in Cayman Brac and leave sensible people to make worthwhile posts that can possibly feed some good ideas on how to fix this. Mac can’t do this alone, we need to pull together and make this work. The hate and bashing will only cause destruction.

    I believe in the preservation of the Caymanian people but we can’t be too protective when we know we need others to make it work.

    If we treat the people who we need badly they will find elsewhere to go because they have choices. We cant expect people to live here and spend all they have here when we are just going to kick them out, I wouldn’t. We can’t have our cake and eat it too. And to all u hateful Caymanians, who want to hate on my comment, I suggest u all do a mass exodus to the caves I refer to and live the life u all hope for. Sick and tired of all your ignorance, it is affecting my Caymanian family.

  7. Dnt 4get Me says:

    So what are your thoughts?  Eight-thousand; maybe even Ten-thousand status grants for Christmas?

  8. Anonymous says:

    As a Caymanian I propose the reduction of work permit fees for the Banking industry be CI$1. until further notice and the rollover policy be abolished. If a person lives and works here for 10 years, Immigration Dept needs to mail them their status application form for ease of applying. If the person commits a criminal offence, on conviction deport them. Enough of this crap.
    I am a young Caymanian and I would rather compete and lose to a status recipient than to win by default, more importantly, I just cannot take anymore of this stupid argument about us and them. Is it me, or is this argument more prevalent within the uneducated, single mother group?

    • Anonymous says:

      It must be great to have such a blissful life undisturbed by any appreciation of the complexity of the issues that confront us. I hope that other young Caymanians are thinking a little more deeply.   

      What does it matter if I get a job just keep the banks and the expats happy by giving them whatever they want.   

  9. Its_me says:

    There are so many idiots on this blog.  Education and youths are the best way to grow a country.  Retirees are a drain on a society.  Eventually their ROI(Return on investment) only gets larger at the tail end of their lives.  Subsidizing their health cost will be the nail in the coffin for your island.  Cayman is too small and will only get smaller because of protectionism.  Japan is a wealthy country but it’s falling behind because of the aging population.  Face it, Cayman will be in decline going forward.  Cayman offers nothing but a tax haven, and that world it getting smaller at such a rapid rate that many people don’t even realize what’s happening.  You don’t manufacture, export or grow anything… That will be the death of your island.  What you need to do is focus on growing and educating the society.  Yes, encourage investments and immigrats.  I can show you many Cities in New York State that have died because of population decrease.  Search for Rochester and Buffalo, and learn about population decrease.  You guys should try to pay attention to what your PM is saying, and not just use your hate(or dislike) to respond.  “Many times ermines offers the answer your friends won’t tell you”.  Smaller population will NOT help to grow your country.  Focus on the youth and not the old.  Education, education… Many of those finance firms will leave the Island.  The Regulatory environment will force them back to their keys markets.  Just my two pennies.         

  10. Anonymous says:

    Well Mac, I am a Caymanian Man and I have a list of Expat friends to submit too. I have found that all those status holders treat me better than the so called "Real Caymanians".

    So, if we going for it again, I’m with you.

  11. anonymous says:

    Just devalue the almighty Cayman Dollar to par with Jamaica and you will start to see the real Caymanian emerge in Cayman, as all the expats will pick up and leave.  Peace will prevail and we Caymanian can once again live in harmony.  McKeeva you can go too with them!!

    • Dr. Pepper says:

      Yes devalue the local currency when expat salaries are denominated in US dollars, that wonderful piece of economic theory would have the expats flee the newly super-cheap Cayman in their droves . . .

  12. Kintaros says:

    More People, More Income.

    Another perfect example of how powerful we as the people are when it comes to anything the Government has to do…

    If Cayman wants change, Cayman must stand together and do what is necessary to achieve just that.

    Apart… we fall.

    just a local island boy….

  13. Anonymous says:

    Well isn’t getting rid of the "expats" (via the insane work permit increases) the idea?  All I hear on the radio all the time is that expats are taking the jobs from the Caymanians.   So some of Cayman and Mr. Mac got what they wanted.  Oh…but they still wanted the same or more money spent into the economy…oh… but they don’t know why business are cutting back in all directions….oh..crap.  From what I have known of Cayman and heard from wonderful stories that Cayman was a nice blend of Nationalities.  Caymanians were always proud of who they were and were hard HONEST workers.  Sorry to say but much of today’s youth don’t have that in them.   You’ve got to work with what you have now…

  14. Anonymous says:

    We are exporters of cash because of the work permit system.

    Immigration quota on country needed.

    • Anonymous says:

      Cash is exported because it no longer makes sense to invest here – because you and your immigration policies have made the expats so unwelcome.  Had that not been the case, the expats would be positively funnelling their money into Cayman.  You can’t have your cake and eat it Cayman.

      • Anonymous says:

        Oh please. Expats with Caymanian status have been funnelling money OUT for decades. Nothing to do with our immigration policies. Cayman was just a place to make money.

        • Pauly Cicero says:

          Status holders need work permits?

        • Anon says:

          Why the hell would you invest in a place that doesn’t want you there and you only have a few years to stay in?

          • Cam the Capitalist says:

            Agreed. 

            Walter Wriston, legendary former head of Citi, once said that "Capital goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well treated." 

            It should have gone without saying that you also have to welcome and treat well the people who OWN the capital, but perhaps it does need saying after all.

            I’d love to have an investment off-shore in a safe environment (safe in all senses), where I can be near my money.  I don’t think that I’d want to try to watch it from a thousand miles away.

  15. Ex-Lobsta Hunta - til Decemba says:

    The Premier broadcasted to the whole world that we are broke, no, bankrupt. Then to make things even sweeter, he turns around and jacks up fees on everything possible, and is still wondering why businesses/people are leaving our shores.   

    XXXXX
     
     
    • anonymous says:

      Whether the country is broke or not. Elected officials are chosen for office because people believe in them. They also were of the impression that those elected were capable of drafting resolutions to the socioeconomic problems that exist.

      This report is truly the best proof that our elected are not working for us at all.If they were, they would as a collective body join together and draft financial projections and business projections that would indeed generate capital and revenue for the country. if an elected official cannot create jobs and raise capital they are not qualified to run for office nor run the country . That is the signature mark of a duly qualified Legislator.

      The problem existing is they have no time to spend on something that important because the people are not holding them accountable. More time is spent wining and dining with their rich and famous buddies, Their buddies are more important than the people that elected them into office.

      Counting dollars in work permit fees is a poor excuse for a lazy legislature bent on not serving or looking out for its people.

  16. islandblues says:

    Work permit fees doubled – check. Rollover policy in place – check. Cops without guns – check. Who is to blame for expats leaving in droves? You guessed it, your XXXXX uneducated PM who is now calling the kettle black!

  17. Anonymous says:

    Mac is quite right in what he says, but what is the LA proposing to do about it? Look on ecay- there are 4300 cars for sale and 5400 apartments for rent.  Realtors, restaurant and bar owners, taxi drivers are hurting and we all know people who have left or cannot find work here.

    The response of the governement has been to increase fees for work permits and costs for companies wanting to do business here.  They are idiots to think doubling work permit fees will result in more money- the net result is to drag the economy further down.  And they are idiots if they think trebling the fee for a tax exemption certificate for exempted companies will mean they get three times as much money- do they not realise the cost of an exemption certificate is nowhigher than the cost of relocating your company to BVI if they bring in a tax here? 

    If there were a proper consultation process there are a lot of smart people here that could have helped them understand the consequences of those actions.

    There is a reason why the most successful economies in the world have reacted to the recession by providing stimulus to their economies. Maybe Cayman can’t afford to do that in the same way the US and UK did, but if that is true it certainly can’t afford to drive people and business away for the sake of a few thousand extra dollars here and there.

     

     

    • Pending says:

      Dont forget the other revenue making measures like building more condos, a super sized hospital that will be empty by the time its built  because nobody will be here or want to come here, selling off all the land, building a huge cargo port, crusie terminal etc. All pointless  if everyone is leaving and choosing not to come here.

      Oh and he has done nothing to address the crime problem, rather quite the opposuite and turned a blind eye, especially when the majority of the murders etc are happening in his district.

      Oh wait, I think we have been saying this for over a year, maybe two now and finally he realises.

      Good job Big Mac steam rolling the country into the dark ages.

  18. Anonymous says:

    perhaps he should have thought of the economy before he gave civil servants a pay cut and brought in his version of the roll over..

    Such a short sighted Government!

    • Dr. Pepper says:

      Yes they should have thought about the economy and had the guts to cut civil service salaries by 15% not a paltry 3% and implemented an immediate 10% reduction in numbers,

  19. Truth Commission says:

    I see Big Mac is in serious trouble, and the UDP propaganda machine can only muster a few supporters for his policies.

    Does anyone really believe than an Ex-Expat Lawyer bringing in more than two million dollars each year to his law firm will be available to post messages in support of Big Mac within hours of his pronouncements in the LA?

    On the other side of the coin is the person or persons who keep asking if they should cancel their planned vacation to the Cayman Islands due to the violence.

    XXXX

    CNS: Sorry, I just don’t have the time for your suggestion.

    • Ex-Expat Lawyer says:

      "Does anyone really believe than an Ex-Expat Lawyer bringing in more than two million dollars each year to his law firm will be available to post messages in support of Big Mac within hours of his pronouncements in the LA?"

      I’m actually back in my homeland, which is in a different time zone.  I made the posting over my morning coffee, and yes I do check CNS periodically because I never really have lost interest in Cayman.  It was, and to a degree always will be, one of my homes.  I am very sorry to see what is happening to it, and I do in fact miss what lifein Cayman used to be like back in it’s golden age. 

      If Cayman were fixed, I would strongly consider returning.  That said, between my first reading the Mac Story and posting my comment I did get distracted by the story on the latest murder in West Bay, so I will not hold off on growing roots back here.

      By the way, to answer your question further I should add that when you crank a couple mil a year you generally get to do whatever you like, at least some of the time, such as I am doing now.  There are some perks you know.

      Cheers.

    • Anonymous says:

      Does anyone really believe than an Ex-Expat Lawyer bringing in more than two million dollars each year to his law firm will be available to post messages in support of Big Mac within hours of his pronouncements in the LA?

      Err, yes, I really do believe that’s the case – and I am not Ex-Expat Lawyer but I do work in the same industry.   I didn’t translate that post as being in support of Big Mac, more like I read it to be in support of much needed change in Cayman, if Cayman is to survive.  I really dont believe Ex-Expat Lawyer is the hardened UDP/Big Mac supporter as you suggest.

      Many of us expats with or without PR have no vote and no say in this country, so we hold no political persuasion whatsoever.  But despite that it may surprise you to know that many of us care deeply for Cayman and its people – is that so hard to believe?

    • Anonymous says:

      Little one, the only people that do not respect the elected members of Parliament are the fools. Professionals Globally, respect elected members and their request by responding in a timely fashion and with respect. This is a small world, we all know and accept that, to not respond, to lie in the response can be to our detriment.

      Now please, get to the book store and start to read and educate yourself.

       

  20. Anonymous says:

    I am constantly told by our head office that our office in Cayman has the highest operating costs. Guess what, they are talking about making more redundancies because the cost of operating in Cayman is too high. The raise in work permit fees doubled our cost for expats and we aren’t able to find enough qualified Caymanians to fill the positions. So what can we do but move these positions to other jurisdictions where they don’t have to pay for work permit fees and are able to find qualified people. It is sad for all concerned. For every 2 expats we make redundant there is a Caymanian caught up and made redundant as well.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Mac – growing the population only helps if you add "productive" members of the community. People who do not require social services, people who have education, people who have skills not available in sufficient numbers, AND – if you want them welcomed they have to work WITH Caymanians (and Caymanians need to work WITH) them.

     

    Giving domestics with no pensions and no health insurance and no money and lost of kids in other countries to come yhere and "clutter up (expensive) infrastructure" (your words, not mine) will only make things dramatically worse. Unless you are willing to distinguish between fund administrators and waiters, bankers and domestics etc.. (no matter what your voter base thinks) then we are all screwed. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Your right in the first thing.  Quantity is nothing without quality.  The island is only as good as its work force and industry.  And your right in that persons who have little useful skill, no money, and lots of lost kids "clutter up infrastructure and have already made Cayman dramatically worse.  Its not the domestics I’m talking about.  Its a problem that is growing rapidly but no Caymanian has the capacity to even talk about. Hint:  They live here and are protected no matter what they do or don’t do.  They are given jobs that they can’t do, and everyone on the island has to deal with them.

      And Mac is one of them.

  22. The Sentinel says:

    Oh dear. It sounds like Mr. Bush is trudging down the road of his handlers at the UN. Please do your research on this scam known as "Sustainable Development"

    Sustainable Development is nothing more than a UN promoted agenda for regional control.

    "Sustainable Development is truly stunning in its magnitude to transform the world into feudal-like governance by making nature the central organizing principle for our economy and society. There is no place in the Sustainable world for individual thought, private property or free enterprise. It is the exact opposite of the free society envisioned by this nation’s founders."

    Our leader has been manipulated into nothing more than a puppet and his ideology appears to come from a dark source. He no longer is in control and lost it when he sold his soul for money.

    The Sentinels are watching you.

    Less than 21,000 Caymanians were quite happy before you politicians got this nation into debt convincing them that they had to have all the trappings of the miserable capitalist society. Now they have them (and loads of debt too), they are certainly no happier.

    To the middle class of Cayman. Watch this snake really carefully and do not ever change or compromise the traditional principles of right and wrong that you learned growing up.

  23. Anonymous says:

    forget taxes…just cut the the civil service like the miller shaw report recommended……

  24. Anonymous says:

    Cayman needs to attract many more retirees.

    Insteadof acting like dogs in the manger, Cayman
    needs to be far more proactive in this area.

    Instead of constantly throwing up road blocks like excessive requirements for capital, capital investment, and health issues,Cayman should be scouring the world for people who have been successful in business and are looking for an attractive place to retire.

    Inviting in qualified retirees is the quickest way to build up wealth in Cayman.

    Why government is not doing this has always been far beyond me.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yup I agree with this.  I have been planning my retirement to Barbados for many years now, because I can’t retire here.

    • Anonymous says:

      and when the retirees fall ill and can not afford medical bills, then what, send them home?

      • Anonymous says:

         I could not agree more….and BTW I did live in Barbados and it is not the easiest place to be if you have family in North America.  A little "too" Caribbean for most retirees.

        Cayman should be positioned as the "Snow Bird’s" paradise and NEW hot spot for retirement.  For goodness sakes, PANAMA, BELIZE, MEXICO have been getting thousands of wealthy retirees for years now!!!

        just look at all the publications….Cayman is never even mentioned:  Good job again dumb DOT with your marketing ALWAYS missing the mark.

        We can offer good housing and care with the extended stay domestics, property is still waaay cheaper than Florida and we are only an hour from Miami!

        Why would anyone want to pay tax on their hard earned retirement dollars (oh yes, you get taxed on that too!)

        If only Big Mac would wake up and put his efforts into INVITING 5,000 nice retirees, we would all get the quality polite seniors (and their visiting families) here.

        The medical school was a good idea…nowinvite their parents and make it damn easy and not an Immigration nightmare.  (*ask anyone with residency without the right to work…they will tell you it took over six months of sheer pain to finally get their grant!!!)

        Seniors welcome…..great idea for an industry.  Start advertising for the thousands who get off the cruise ships every day.

         

         

         

        • Anonymous says:

          Think cost of living and you will quickly realize why retirees, weathy or not, are not fighting to see who gets to move here first. Belize, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico offer a great deal more for a whole lot less. Citizenship in 5 years is just one of them.

        • Anonymouse says:

          Apart from Harry’s and Nelson Street, there is nothing in Barbados that would attract me there.

          Why do you think so many Bajans come here and never want to go back???

          • Anonymous says:

            Hmmm what were you getting up to on Nelson St?  LOL!

            Pssst many Bajans come here and can’t wait to go back either!  I’m one of them, and I know plenty more.

      • Anonymous says:

        You have a good point. We should only attract retirees who won’t get ill and wont die. Only bring money. When did we become such a  self righteous inhumane bunch? Not to mention that, as a people, we aren’t exactly a picture of health. 

      • Anonymous says:

        Other countries, such as Barbados accept retirees provided they can prove that they own property and are financially stable and able to attend to their own medical and other expenses without becoming a burden to the state.  Is that so difficult to implement here?

        • Anonymous says:

          It is implemenbted here. It is called residency for persons of independent means.

          • Anonymous says:

            LMAO.  Are you serious?  Do you think us normal people can afford this?

            To enlighten you:

            To be eligible to apply for a Residency Certificate for Persons of Independent Means a person must:

            • Be at least eighteen years of age
            • Not have any serious criminal conviction
            • Be in good health and possess adequate health insurance coverage

            And have attained the following financial standing: Where the applicant intends to reside in Grand Cayman, they must satisfy the Chief Immigration Officer:

            • That they have a continuous source of annual income in the amount of CI$150,000, without the need to engage in employment in the Islands.
            • That they have invested the sum of CI$750,000 in Grand Cayman of which at least CI$250,000 must be in developed residential real estate.

            You got to be kidding.  I’ll stick to Barbados thank you.

  25. Anonymous says:

    No Mac. The Government is too big.

  26. Anonymous says:

    Is this guy for real ? Double permit fees are a HUGE hinderance to companies – THEY ARE LEAVING MAC DADDY…OPEN YOUR EYES. All you have to do is look in Ecay to see how many boats and cars are for sale…good Lord. I propose a 5% tax on Goods and Services…pay it in restaurants, groceries, booze etc…and LOWER the work permit fees and fees companies have to pay to keep them alive. Our Caymanian businesses need a chance to get back on side.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yea right!

      Any excuse to grant more Status to make sure he is elected again.

      Come people of Cayman, open your eyes to what is happening to our little gem Cayman, before its too late and we end up living in our own country as strangers – actually it might be already too late!

  27. Man says:

    Okay, I don’t get it. We Caymanians want all of the services that the developed countries around the world have; we want the best roads, health care, education for our children, social programs, business opportunities, democracy, all of it. But we do not want to pay taxes and we do not want to open our doors for others to come, work and live to help us pay for them. Do we really think we can have it all and maybe tax England? USA? Or that a fairy will drop dollars in our lap to pay for our standard of living? We need the angry, uneducated Citizens to shut up now so that those who know how, can and will move this country forward. The majority voted in this administration and this Premier, now, for love of country, let’s fix these problems.

    unemployed and have a college education? Check your attitude. Fix that and you will get a job, and yes, this is a small country and it will take a while for people to forget you had a bad attitude and want to work with you. Hint: We your fellow Caymanians who are hard working do not want to work with you, not the Expats alone.

    Unemployed and no college education? develop a skill. What? You thought you could build a 3000 sq foot house, have children, live like the folks on SMB and the gravy would always be there? Sorry, skills + attitude make money during economic recessions.

    Either way, guess what, the rest of us Caymanians are not responsible for your ability to get a job, you are. Now please, stop asking us to take on your responsibility and stop being a loser.

    And all you Politicians need to stop using your infulence to help these losers, let them help themselves. That’s the only way they will value the job and standard of living they will achieve. O, I forgot, it’s you ass***** that have them this way.

  28. Caymanian at Heart says:

    If status grants are coming I hope that the deciding people will really take a look this time at what sort of people they allow.  

    I wish people like my husband and I would be considered….we are both highly qualified and skilled labour and contribute to the community.  We volunteer between the both of us, an excess of 40 hrs/week and not because we are trying for PR but because we were raised  with volunteerism in our hearts.  I myself began volunteering the first month I came to the island and have not stopped since.

    We also want to invest in the locally economy and support local businesses.  We own land here and would like to build a home, but are nervous about the PR process.  It’s a big gamble for us.

    I wish we all could believe that the PR or status process was fair and well executed.  I think if it was a truly fair process thenit actually could work, but we need to speed it up as often it takes several years of waiting before a resident will know.  It would be better if the right people could be granted PR sooner so they would invest in the local economy.  Could the Government possibly review those work permit holders who have Key Employee Status and if they meet conditions grant them PR?  I am sure there are many people out there, who are good citizens just waiting to find out before they will invest.  That’s where my husband and I are right now…anyone else?  PR in my opinion would be better than status grants. I say bump up the PRs and let the normal process for status go from there.

  29. CNS:  "a fall in the population also meant a fall in its economic fortunes"

    I guess government’s solution would be…

    "Let us grant people more Cayman Status!" Or, let’s have more people employed from overseas.

  30. mark says:

    He is the one that implemented the rollover, that kicked out many many good people, with money, properties, people who spent, what the heck did he think was going to happen……….. this man leads our country…. no wonder it’s going down the drain.

    • Anonymous says:

      At least he is willing, albeit with baby steps, that he made a mistake.  How many of our politicians can this be said of?

  31. whodatis says:

    Again with the myopic political posturing.

    We do banking here in the Cayman Islands … how many global banks have gone belly up in the past 2 years? How many hundreds of billions of global "funds" have gone up in smoke in the same period?

    Folks – the western economic model is a dead horse. It has simply been sustaining an inevitable bursting of its bubble for the past decade.

    It has now officially burst.

    Our national economy was largely dependent on the U.S.A. / Western economic model. Now that it has gone belly up it is only expected for us to be hit hard as a result.

    Nothing that we do or have done locally will / would have prevented what we are seeing today.

    We can thank the very well educated, paid and respected leaders for this current state of affairs – (Amazing how such an importance is placed upon well educated individuals in roles of government and leaders of industry – education doesn’t help the wider society if the system (fractional reserve banking / the credit market / "inflation" / FIAT currencies) is designed to suck the people dry does it?)

    It is quite puzzling how its people missed what was happening around them. Perhaps they were too distracted by Paris Hilton, Robbie Williams, the UEFA Cup and the Superbowl? Maybe they were a bit over-patriotic in their quest to find and rid this planet of the bad, evil Osama Bin Laden? Little did they realize that their greatest enemy was right in their own backyard.

    The West has eaten itself. USA, UK, EU … all broke beyond belief (however, the super-rich 1% is now super-richer’er than ever!). Thank goodness for the Germans, as they are perhaps the only remaining Western nation with a promising national economic future. Greed has blinded its (the West) path as it has outsourced the very foundation that has upheld its rooftop for decades. The East is now the future.

    Even historically EU / UK based banks and investment firms are threatening to re-headquarter themselves in Asia … you know – the new hub of actual global commerce.

    (Are we aware that the region that is pulling out of this economic recession at the fastest rate is none other but lowly AFRICA?! Think about that for a minute. Really shows how far from economic reality the West has truly strayed doesn’t it?)

    In an effort to offset the worst possible scenario Europe is now facing away from its sole "friend" across the Atlantic and instead pointing towards its many new friends and acquaintances in the East, Middle East Brazil and Africa.

    Any wise investor today knows to avoid all U.S. branded stock – and do believe that if you happen see someone investing heavily there today they are most definitely in the inner circle of protection – regardless of the outcome.

    The U.S. is desperate for new jobs as it is now facing 20% (yes – not 10%) unemployment. However, where will these jobs come from? The innovative and industrial spirit of the USA and UK has been outsourced along with its factories – I suppose they will now have to turn to the fraudulent, politico-scientific "Green industry" for a leg up … now we know why this joke of a scare-mongering proposal is being pushed so strongly upon us – what other alternative is there?

    (By the way, did any of us catch Tony "Big Oil" Blair’s wonderful humanitarian advisory in regards to "climate change" over the weekend? Good ol’ Tony – blatantly lies to the people, follows Bush into an illegal, crime-against-humanity sham of a war, kills a few hundred million innocent people in the process … BUT turns around 5 years later in the middle of an economic depression to tell me the greatest threat to my livelihood is remembering to switch off the light bulb as I leave the room!) This is where we have arrived folks – to that level of delusion.

    Hyper-inflation is now the next inevitable development but fear not – the "true leaders" behind the scenes have something in their back pocket to address that little hiccup – and believe you me, it will NOT be pretty.

    So to conclude, I could not help but to notice that our own (Premier) Bush failed to touch upon any of the aforementioned issues. I trust that more of us will grasp and forward the true situation that we are in instead of passing around these ridiculous and pointless domestic pop-shots in our efforts to figure out "What went wrong?".

    *It would serve us well to begin rethinking how we regard the standing order of things in this world. If not we will all end up going the way of the Do-Do.*

    • Anonymous says:

       Quick, start advertising Cayman tourism in German.  What about South America?

       Big Mac cannot stop his greed just as an alcoholic wants a drink, he needs more cash to survive and thinks more people from abroad will bring it.

      However, people ARE leaving due to HIS high tax policies and they are looking for their new economic future (perhaps in Asia or just going "home").

      Big Mac, if you want to fuel your small island nation, then make it attractive for people to move here.  Your wealthy residents law hasfailed, even they can’t move here in under a year due to horrible Immigration.  I hear Immigration horror stories EVERY DAY…. For the Caymanians who want the island to themselves and the expats to go home….POOF, your wish has been granted….how’s your rental house doing now?? 

  32. Anonymous says:

     In the European countries, they try to build up the native populations by encouraging women to have more children.  They have a lot of programs in place for this.  Of course with all of the economic problems we are having, more children is not the answer.  The cost of living is too high.

    However, I’m a little confused because a full census won’t be done till October.  I say after October then we will find out where the population is at.

    I would also like to say most likely this is one of Mac’s whack ideas to give out more status grants.

    If you want to help the economy pump the money in to the people here and stop building on Julie’s house, your wall, the Hotel Hilton, trips overseas, bodyguards, lights, etc

    • Scottish,Irish,Jamacian born CAYMANIAN says:

      now das wha a’ talkn bout right there….. AAaaand!..take the 10% cut out of his salary like he promised the people of the Cayman Islands he would and encourage the other overpaid Elected members to do the same……

    • Anonymous says:

      and stop the ridiculous Hurricane shelter in the Brac which is not needed – the people have spoken that they dont want it and still they are forging ahead.

    • Anonymous says:

      I strongly suspect that when we see the full census results, a heck of a lot more people will have left Cayman than is currently being estimated.  Talk about exodus… I’ve never seen so many people packing up and leaving.  Even many of my beloved Caymanian friends are leaving to find work in other countries.  Its all going downhill at a rapid rate.  And it seems Mac is pushing us faster and faster into financial oblivion with every day that passes.

  33. Anonymous says:

    If the Minister of Finance can’t get his equation right then we are in serious times.   Call the tug boat to pull the sinking ship "Cayman" up from the drop-off.

  34. Anonymous says:

    Bush doesn’t seem to understand that the major factor in Cayman’s economic decline is excessive government spending and interference in the economy.

    If the government spent what they took in, they would be in a much better position to weather any economic downturn.  Likewise, less government interference in the private sector would allow businesses to grow and the economy to flourish.

    • Anonymous says:

       Actually it’s government not having or should I say not enforcing their revenue base.

  35. Anonymous says:

    I am no fan of the Premier but he is quite right, the population does need to grow, Cayman probably needs a static population of around 100,000 for businesses to succeed, maybe even prosper.

    He demonstrates leadership by his observations in this article but he shouldn’t stop there, he should tell Elio his proposed law regarding preserving jobs for Caymanians is dumb.

    He should argue that all lawyers and accountants should be allowed to secure permanent residency if they desire it. These professionals have a high disposable income and they are willing to train capable hard working Caymanians, we are faced with a choice now – expand the population and thereby the electorate in the proper way or head down an irreversible slope – and before the racist comments begin, i’m a Caymanian.

    • Anonymous says:

      Lucky for you (and me) there isn’t a lynching mob. 

    • Anonymous says:

       So what your saying is lawyers and accountants are better people and higher on the food chain than say a salesman or a hospitality industry workers .You need all levels of people from various walks of life and careers to create a cultural mosaic. It takes all kinds to run a society.

      Who would want to visit a kingdom of lawyers anyways, we know what most people think of them.   It would be unfair not to allow everyone the same opportunities. 

      • Anonymous says:

        I feel pretty strongly that people who provide 100,000 a year into the economy and are fully self sufficient are much better to us right now than those with 500 of disposible income and looking assistance from social services.

         

        Callous and not politically correct? Perhaps. Our only viable option right now? Certainly.

    • Anonymous says:

       To your post, my reply is: increase the population with people who can take care of their families and not those, who when they step off the plane are heading to Children and Family Services the next day for assistance.  The number of work perm holders walking around in the districts asking for jobs, is just a good example of how the population needs to be increased.

      Our country needs a thorough cleansing. For it to continue down the path that it is on headed, could only spell DISASTER.  Come on Cayman, let the cleansing begin.  It is time to have a work permit quota, then the countries that exceed the quota their permits would not be renewed as they expire.  We have used works permits as a revenue base for too long and has allowed the numbers for some countries to exceed any limit that would be set.  Let’s work diligently and address this very important topic.  It is obvious, our politicians are sleeping at the wheel.  

       

      • Seriously? says:

        08:20

        Congratulations on grasping the seriousness of this issue!  I totally agree – let’s have work permit quotas. 

        Now lets see: As everyone knows, Jamaicans  hold the most WPs on Island.  Why?  Because they hold positions in construction, waitressing, caring, cleaning, hotel positions, supermarket tellers, gardeners, mechanics, etc.  Then we get the Cubans and Filippinos who also hold positions in those jobs.  Why?  Because those jobs are "beneath" Caymanians for some reason.  I’m reading that people can’t get $2 jobs.  What a crock.  It’s because they don’t want those $2 jobs that they "can’t" get them.

        So absolutely, let’s have a quota of, say, 1,000 WPs each for those nations.  So when you send them all home, who is going to clean your house, look after your kids, pack your groceries (because you can’t be bothered to do it yourself), tend your garden, serve you food, etc, etc if you have limited WP quotas?

        Seriously?  No wonder Cayman is in the decline that it is!

        Get your kids out working – when I was a teenager I worked as a waitress.  It taught me work ethic, responsibility and the value of money.  I was proud to be able to buy the stuff I wanted to buy rather than just be given the money by my parents (like THAT was ever going to happen!). Why don’t students work over the summer and/or weekends?  A summer job and/or part-time weekend job teaches youngsters everything they need to know for their future work experience.  A company hiring will take a person who has had a part-time job as they already know all about responsibility and work ethic compared to the person who has been given everything and has totally wet behind the ears.  What I want to know is:  who pays for these youngers’ blackberry/cell phone, car, gas, etc?  How are children supposed to learn responsibility when it comes to money if they have never had to earn it and watch how quickly disappear out the wallet as the cost of living increases?  I blew my first pay cheque on inconsequential things.  I didn’t do it again because I quickly learned that once it was gone, that’s it.

        There is way too much coddling of the youth on this Island.  Perhaps if they had to earn money to pay for these luxury things (and yes, they mostly ARE luxury), the youth of today might actually grow up to be responsible adults one day who don’t think that they’re entitled to everything, because, simply put, that’s how they’ve been brought up.

        Forget quotas and this hatred for expats.  Caymanians are responsible for themselves, unfortunately it’s just become habit to blame someone else.  Blame the UDP, then blame the PPM, now blame the UDP again, and of course don’t forget to blame the expats.  By all means, when all else fails, please, point the finger at the expat, but remember, when you point a finger, 3 fingers point right back at ya!

    • Another Caymanian says:

      If you mean, "all accountants and lawyers who have not lied on their applications and are genuinely involved in training Caymanians" (and dont have nasty cocaine habits..) then I am with you.

  36. Anonymous says:

    The problem is not with the quantity of people on Cayman, but rather the quality.

    Of course, IMHO that could be greatly improved if the Premier himself decided to leave these islands.

     

  37. write drunk ;edit sober. says:

    These numbers are for the end of 2009, it’s almost the end of 2010. How many more have left,or rolled over . Do you Caymanians have any idea of what you are doing to your country?.  I don’t think you do. Ivan happened in 2004, add 7 year rollover, what do you get… 2011. Now what are you going to do?

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually, the rollover was made retroactive. So people were being kicked out from day one. Having said that, ethnic cleansing has never been a good marketing tool. Neither internally or externally. A concept, we as a people, still haven’t grasped.

  38. Anonymous says:

    Dummy do you know why people is leaving here because you’re taxing buisnesses out of existence

  39. Anonymous says:

    William Mackeeva Bush – your fellow Caymanians are suffering they’re no jobs for us not even for $2 workers..crime is crippling us even more…are you mad? why do you want to fill this country up? we cannot handle any more people the roads are jam, our schools are over crowded..what is your plan i have not heard a plan from you or your party members..all you do is blame PPM. 

    when you were on vacation we did not miss you, and you opened the LA yesterday, once again being utterly disrespectful to  the Speaker of the House, the opposition members and the people of this country and most of all you proved to us what kind of ignorant person we have that is suppose to be leading this country..

    all i heard you talk about was the expats and our policies are hurting them… what about your people, the Caymanians when are you going to protect us and look out for us like you do the expats?

    • Anonymous says:

      NO JOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why are all the bar and restaraunt staff from USA, CANADA, UK, IRELAND, JAMAICA, PHILIPPINES ETC ETC. It’s for the same reason that in the UK nearly all the London bus drivers, tube workers, airport cleaners etc etc are not originally from UK. Local people don’t want to do the jobs. So it’s no good saying there are no jobs when because YOU won’t do them, other nationalities will!!.

      • Anonymous says:

        The truth is our rapid rise from obscurity to wealth has dimished our Christian values. Along the way we forgot to teach our youth Genesis 31:9 "By the sweat of one’s brow …). Our seamen knew this all too well. Since we have taken our success for granted, where we value our fancy cars and airconditioning more than our elderly and the people who assisted us in improving our (and their) lifestyles, we must now pay the price.  

    • Ex-Expat Attorney says:

      "…your fellow Caymanians are suffering they’re no jobs for us not even for $2 workers..crime is crippling us even more…are you mad? why do you want to fill this country up?"

      I hear your suffering, but it is very important to see the proper connecting facts in play.  Take my case for example.  I was a senior attorney in Cayman and I held a job that admittedly was not given to a Caymanian.  Had there been a Caymanian available they would have been hired for the job, probably as well as me, because jobs like mine bring in a lot of money into Cayman from the major countries of the world.  On average I would personally bill the on-shore clients about a million a year, sometimes considerably more, and the work given to the firm from those clients employed roughly the equivalent of 2 other associates, who billed them probably half a mil to 3/4 each.  One of those associates was Caymanian, the other another expat.  All 3 of us had Caymanian assistants and helped employ the Caymanian support staff around the firm. 

      All of us also rented or had bought homes in Cayman, and employed helpers, gardeners, pool people, maintenance people, car repair people and all that during life in Cayman.  We ate in restaurants and went to movies and shopped in the stores and generally spent the majority of our "take" of the money brought in from on-shore (our salaries).  A good portion of the on-shore money went to the firm to pay the staff and local overhead, and a good part went to the partners who also lived in houses, hired people and bought food just as we did.  As just one attorney, I poured about 2.5 million into the Cayman economy each year, brought in from out of country.

      Crime became too much, so I left.  It wasn’t so much me, but my wife took to sleeping with a knife by the bed, and that was the end of our days in Cayman.

      I had generally ignored the complaints about expats and the constant "Don’t let the door of the airplane hit you in the ass" comments in the media, but I never did like them.  I knew that a good part of the people wanted me gone, which was sad because I am, if I can say so myself, generally a pretty decent and fun guy.

      Needless to say, after I left the $2.5 million I contributed to the Cayman economy largely stopped, and the people I employed weren’t, and the food I used to eat wasn’t.  Local employment dropped generally in relation to this, because I was no longer there to contribute to the in-flow of money to Cayman and employment went down in proportion to my contribution that was now missing. 

      My bit was but a small part of the economic loss.  You need to multiply that by the number of professionals who have left though.  100 of us is a quarter of a billion dollars and literally hundreds if not a thousand local jobs.

      And it’s a lot bigger than 100 of us.

      We are nor evil, and we don’t take up much room in Cayman, but our absence will be noticed.  Mac sees this, and you should as well.

  40. Anonymous says:

    And he just realise that…….

    • Anonymous says:

      I think he might also finally be getting some little inkling of understanding that we are in the midst of a WORLDWIDE depression and that this is the real cause of everything he so very devotedly blamed on the PPM in order to gain power for himself. Now you have the power Mac, we’re here waiting to see if you can handle it without burying us all. Quite frankly it’s not looking very good so far… 

  41. Anonymous says:

    So Big Mac why don’t you and your greedy Government cut expenditure starting with your enormous salaries,hey Bo Bo that might actually help in these dire times.

  42. Me says:

    But I thought this is what Cayman wanted… no?

    Surely there ought to be rejoicing in the streets of George Town….

  43. Anonymous says:

    Intelligence too low says Population.

     
  44. Anonymous says:

    Is the UDP finally admitting one of their mistakes ???  

    You can’t solve the cash flow problem by  doubling/tripling fees ! Yes, people and business’s will LEAVE rather than pay those ridiculous fees ! 

    We cannot pay more fees… we still make the same mount of money.  If you raise the cost of one fee we must cut back on our purchases of other things to compensate.  Hence all you did is make the recession worse !!! Governments not going to make more money – they will make less! Especially when you raise our gas, electric and water bill – that means we shop / buy less at retail stores-so government make less on import duties (even after you raise duty).  Get the picture?  We can’t give government what we don’t have (our salaries did not increase)!!  We just reallocate, cut back and prioritize the same amount of funds every month.   

    If you really want to help the economy and have people come back… LOWER THE COST OF LIVING .

  45. Anonymous says:

    Says the man who raised fees for businesses to the point that hiring just one extra person pushed them beyond their margins, or renewing a contract and/or permit wasn’t worthwhile. Says the man who raised the cost of living to the detriment of all. Says the man who pushed policies that contracted the job market and local economy… Does he have a clue???

  46. Anonymous says:

    Well then…lets stop posting inane crap. Mac is right on this one. The jobs that have been lost, and expats that have left, are not, by-in-large, low wage import workers.  They are, primarily, skilled finacial professionals. Businesses are in the business of making money.  Raise their operating costs too much, and they will seek more favourable stomping grounds. ANSWER:  Cut work permit fees, streamline the immigration process, and stop trying to pin a yellow star of david on expats.

     

  47. Anonymous says:

    MacDinejad is worried now because the "Made in Cabinet Caymanians" are now fleeing the country in large numbers because of his economic policies and he needs to create more eligible voters !!!

    Its time to stop falling for this man Cayman….Geeeezzzz !!!!

  48. Anonymous says:

    When will the politicians realise that this is a small country – like it or not!Forget trying to live and act like the big guys. We "not counting the UK connection" are 1.2 sq. miles larger than St. Kitts and Nevis who have a population of 40K.

    Time to adopt small country methods!

  49. Anonymous says:

    Title Fight – Big Mac vs. Bigoted Immigration.  

  50. Anonymous says:

    Would somebody please tell Mac that the population is going to get even smaller if something isn’t done about the cost of living and doing business in Cayman thanks to the current governments unrelenting, underpaid, and under- appreciated efforts to improve on our economy???

  51. Anonymous says:

    well said! but now DO SOMETHING that will help!!!!!……

    you have been in power for 15 months but have done nothing except increase fees and and taxes on business which is driving business away….

    when things are so bad how can politicians take a 2 month break????

    • Anonymous says:

      … and you can bet they still got paid their little ‘fortunes’ that is their pay packets throughout this entire 2 month break… but then again, don’t they treat the other 10 months like a long paid break too?  Or do our politicians actually do anything good for this country during their highly paid tenure in government?

  52. 100,000 is the magic number? says:

    i have commented previously on what I thought was McDinajad’s ulterior plan and motive for his pro development movement. Somewhat surprised to see him actually disclosing it- so unlike Mac.

    : )

     

  53. A Concerned Caymanian says:

     Is this man serious?!!!  I hope he is not going down the same road as his last status grants!  Or this time it will be PR but whichever way it will be bad or even worse than the last time!  Social services is already crowned with the last set he granted!  We just can’t afford this as we can’t sustain the country as it is now!

  54. Anonymous says:

    God did not want the children of Israel to get a human King because He knew that they would fall into diverse national issues that would bring them down as a people. They insisted that they wanted one anyway, so He gave them Saul….and the rest is history!

    Caymanians helped some shipwrecked folks in 1794. This made a grateful King George rendered Cayman a tax-free country forever. This one act of kindness set off a domino chain of events that would set Cayman up to come from obsurity to be named as one of the great financial giants of the world, though small in stature. What a great history!

    God has so set up Cayman, that Cayman was in need of expatriates and expatriates were in need of Cayman (He would not bless one without the other), but Cayman thought that ‘we have used you to help us build, now we don’t need you anymore – GET OUT! OUT’! Now a new history is being written!

    Caymanians, please for God’s sake. Stop forcing the hand of the leaders of your land. I believe that to a large extent, the politicians on both sides of the coin are well meaning people but you keep putting them between a rock and a hard place. When, for the love of God, will you stop forcing a demise of these Islands? Don’t you see that everything that you insist is the problem, God is allowing your theories to play out and each time you are being proven wrong? What does God have to do to make you wake up, bring these Islands to smoldering embers? For God’s sakes!

    I am an expatriate who love these Islands and you the people. I am not putting up an ex-pat defense. I am defending the over-all well-being of the Cayman Islands (who is the real patriot?)…and for all this I know that you will still not see. Maybe not until you are rendered completely crippled! Would to God not!

    I pray your strength Mr. Premier for just like Moses you are leading a most hard and rebelllious people. Dear God, please help us!!! Save Cayman!!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      There is a reason they were called the "children" of Israil, that is how they behaved.  Now we have the children of Cayman. Same thing.

  55. Anonymous says:

    ummmmm ok, is it any wonder people are leaving on planes and in caskets? cayman isnt the attraction it used to be lets face it, sky high prices and ever decreasing wages? plenty other paradise islands out there without the terror cayman now has alson with just as  beautiful beaches .

    its bad and its going to get worse. fasten your seat belts. (literally) oh and can some of you please indicate too? lol

  56. Anonymous says:

    May I suggest that he increase some more taxes and that should do the trick.

    All of those who have left will come running back because they like the high cost of living. Those of us who have nowhere else to go will certainly stay and keep working because we are stuck in a rut of high taxes and poverty.

    Foreigners the world over will flock here to pay the increased Govt fees and last but not least we will be a magnet for helpers because they are assured status.

  57. Anonymous says:

    While I might agree with his thinking, the problems with how to handle expats and the animosity building between them and the locals needs to be dealt with. The idea of a greater population assists in two ways, first more people probably means more small companies forming and second it also means more customers.

    But it also means there will be more people asking to be made citizens.

    This is something that no Cayman government has handled well.

  58. noname says:

    Mr premier can you tell me how many people has left this island since you and your goverment raised so many fees   what do you expect. i some time wonder how in the world can we have such an ediot leading our country. the world must be laughing at us

  59. Anonymous says:

    Well, he’s right. of course. Cayman is being ruined by the ezzardian view of an ideal all Caymanian kitchen band quadrille wampum Cayman (though Ezzard is not alone responsible for this).

    But let us wait for the thumbs down for anyone who says so.

  60. Anon says:

    Perhaps it’s time to get rid of the rollover – or at least decrease it to 3 months rather than a year off island.

    • Anonymous says:

      3 months cannot work. 6 months and 1 day is the minimum it can be presently reduced to and constitute a break in residence.

      • Anonymous says:

        The rollover would work fine if:

        1) Companies, not government, were allowed to determine theirkey employees.

        2) There really was a points system. One free of corruption, influence, and incompetence. 

        And this is from someone who doesn’t agree with the rollover. Partially, because I know neither of the above will ever happen.

        • Anonymous says:

          We disagree on every point. In fact companies do nominate their key employees but it is the Board’s role to approve those nominations according to the law. Obviously this is necessary otherwise this would be subject to serious abuse. Indeed, some argue that it is already even with Board oversight.   

          There is a workable points system. Thankfully it provided some consistency and objectivity to decision-making. If one feels that they have been given too few points due to incompetence etc then this is subject to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal. If you have real information (rather than speculation) that points were awarded or not awarded on the basis of corruption, influence and incompetence the Board’s decisions are also subject to judicial review by the Grand Court.   

  61. Anonymous says:

    Here we go again…am I the only one getting this feeling?

  62. Anonymous says:

    Hope some of those irresponsible ‘babies-having-babies’ don’t take this as a challenge and start breeding like rabbits. Last week I saw a very pregnant young woman (looked like a teenager) with two toddlers in tow. I hope she comes from a really wealthy family or has access to some serious $$$, otherwise it’s those like her who will be growing the population with no thought other than the pleasure experienced while working on it.  

     

  63. Anonymous says:

    ….nobody could see that coming….. only the blind and the WestBayConch….

  64. nauticalone says:

    Wow! This is what he gets the big bucks for?…what are you Mr. Premier going to do?…maybe at least drop your inflated salary for a time…this would at least be a gesture in the direction to show the people of this country that you are willing to feel the effects until the economy recovers…yeah?…

  65. Anonymous says:

    I am not in the Premier’s corner by any stroke of the imagination.  However, I agree with this assessment 100%.  The plan to increase the population will not be easy to design, but it is needed and it is needed immediately.

  66. Anonymouse says:

    The economy shrinks because of the global recession, consequently people have left because their are no jobs to sustain them in this economy.

    So! It is time to cut the cloth according to your size. Inviting people in with no jobs to sustain them is stupid and even a 2 year old can understand that, or do you need to bring in more people to prop up your political base like you did with the 3000 status grants.

    We have nough criminals walking our streets now. If you do decide to satisfy your thirst for votes, at least try to import some people of quality.

  67. Anonymous says:

    Well…then. Let’s open our borders to low wage import workers who get PR to vote for MAC

    • Anonymouse says:

      PR No. You mean status.

      I would imagine his Buddys have a lot of political criminals they need to export

    • Anonymous says:

      the rollover and current immigration policies are a recipe for disaster for cayman and its people (and remember us expats always have somewhere else to go, but caymanians will be left with nothing)

    • Anonymous says:

      Who do you suggest we let in?