C4C slams public spending
(CNS): The Coalition for Cayman has taken aim at the government’s budget and accused it of tinkering around the edges rather than restoring stability and prudence to public finances as the PPM administration has claimed. The C4C chair, James Bergstrom, has written a letter to the media which attacks the number as well as the pay and benefits of the civil service and criticises government for not cutting spending by anything like enough or reducing taxes as it said it would. Despite having one of its own endorsed candidates working closely with the finance minister and another in the Cabinet, the C4C, which still insists it is not a party, is continuing to press the privatization agenda without indicating exactly what government should divest.
The C4C suggests that all government has to do is encourage the existing civil servants in unspecified departments, which it refers to as non-essential services, to set up companies, which will then provide those services to government.
For those public servants that don’t transition into entrepreneurs and business owners, the NWDA, which still has a long way to go before it is fit for purpose, should help the displaced workers find work by coordinating with work permit jobs. If those former government employees don’t like the new private sector jobs they are offered, then they are on their own.
The Coalition also thinks that civil servants’ health care and benefits should be cut in line with the private sector and that social welfare payments should also be reduced.
Citing its founding principles, the coalition chair said people should help themselves and their dependents and not take hand-outs. Making it quite clear on what side of the political spectrum the group is sitting, Bergstrom said that social assistance has increased 12%, which he thinks is far too much.
“The whole programme of social assistance by the government needs to be reviewed and restructured so that it is designed to provide a hand up rather than a hand out, be monitored and in most cases finite and properly directed to our most vulnerable,” he wrote.
The group takes aim at government debt, growing expenses, which it says need to be cut by a further $100 million, the cash paid into statutory authorities and also states that government should roll back fees in the financial services sector in particular. The C4C calls for the re-centralization of government services and questions why nothing is being done to prepare for the government’s debt bonds, which are coming due in the not too distant future.
Despite having three people who were endorsed as C4C candidates now sitting on the government benches, the Coalition implies that government has done nothing to address the problem of the size of government and how much it spends in the less than nine months since it was elected and points to the Miller-Shaw report as the guide that the Progressives should follow.
See C4C’s position on government’s 2013/14 budget in full below.
Category: Politics
Marco, never mind! Hurry with the Means Test for scholarships+health+social care. That will save Millions!
I dont really think its fair to claim that C4C is unqualified to talk about government finances, considering that the majority of their members are successful business owners and managers… People who are financially successful before their political career are the ones we want in government, because they have already passed the test that a lot of people in the past still have not figured out!
it is as follows:
Income>Expenses
I can sympathise with James Bergstrom and the pain and suffering that he has to endure due to the increased taxes on the financial industry. Afterall, a million dollars, even CI dollars, don't go as far as they used to these days.
I am a supporter of C4C and would like to add clarify a few points on comments made by others.
“C4C is a special interest group”. If you mean concerned Caymanians who are trying to disclose the Govt’s own budgetary numbers in a simple and neutral way then yes we have that interest in mind.
“heard from a good source that government owes more then 25 million dollars in back pension??? is that possible” We wish. According to the Govt’s own financial statements they actually owe $194m and have not made good on that for over a decade. In addition and back in 2004 actuarial work indicated it is going to cost the country $662m to pay for the civil service health care. Using a very conservative inflation rate that amount is now $1.1b in today’s terms. If that numbers scares you, it should. Govt employees pay nothing while in the private sector we pay our own, and indirectly, a portion of their health care costs. It is time for the civil service to step up and pay their fair share.
“The C4C clearly have no idea on how to manage public finances, all they are doing is sensationalizing numbers for their own self promotion, they have no concept of how a public sector works” If you mean tax and spend we get that, and in reasonable portions there are great benefits. These financial numbers are just raw data and are the Govt’s own right out of the 2000+ pages and in their financial statements. If the amounts are indeed sensationalized then ask yourself why they have not been able to make good on their own pension plan, that there is not enough funds to buy a few garbage trucks, that ZERO has been set aside to pay for their own health care plan, why taxes keep going up seriously compromising the industries that made us successful. The math simply does not work.
Most supporters of C4C would rather not be involved in politics and we are far from being perfect. We have stepped up because we are gravely concerned about the country, how revenues are being spent, and what that means for our kids. That is not a special interest. It is the only interest.
So C4C supporter, we know most people are not interested in politics or at least being an MLA, but I was at a campaign meeting in May and at least two people made certain comments about the generous support offered to candidates who wished to run for their 'group, association, members, unregistered party, the C4C…..so yes many may not wish to run because those with the money and need certain policies can find Caymanians to run for them. There are many educated, professionals that have no sense of patriotism, and see the only way to achieve easy financial success is by running for election.
People might like and respect Mr Bergstrom but if you believe for one minute if he is elected we will see change for the 'people' and not primarily for the corporate/merchant class, then you don't have a clue about politics, especially in Cayman.
You don’t have to agree with the suggestions provided but you should be thanking C4C for keeping these issues in the forefront. Government needs to cut spending, plain and simple. Successive governments have failed. I applaud C4C for taking a stand and providing suggestions on how to cut. From the outset they indicated that they would hold elected officials accountable and they are. Criticize C4C all you want, your elected officials have done nothing to fix this problem. Add in the inability to come up with an effective solution for the dump and the inability to deal with the cruise ship pier and it is obvious that this government and previous ones are incapable of making decisions. It’s embarrassing! We’ll done C4C!
Privatise Owen Roberts. That would be a good start.
…AND privatize Gerrard Smith..oops-Capt Charles’ Airport too!
Let's start with important things first.
It is so disappointing to read many comments from bloggers that clearly show they didn'tread the article carefully or, they don't understand what they are reading.
At the time of making this post, I would say that most bloggers are giving the C4C article more praise than criticism: but the praise is over-rated.
C4C puts itself forward as a professional group that has superior intelligence and knowledge. The letter is riddled with errors and inconsistencies, some of which are serious. The most serious blunder made by the C4C letter is when it states that " the guide should be for the cost of government services to be in the region of 15 to 20% of the Govenment's annual revenues." Really C4C! Which organisation in the world – public or private – that has its costs just 15 to 20% of its annual revenues??!! Mr Bergstrom, are you telling the world that Ogier's costs are only 15 to 20% of its annual revenues?? I very much doubt it.
Ok, I hear the reply coming, ooh but it was just a mistake! So, why should the Government and the public take advice from a group that makes such a serious blunder?
I am well familiar with the argument as to why Government should reduce its expenditures: this will encourage more business to arrive at Cayman's shores. Cynically, I guess private sector fees charged by professional firms don't really impact the inflow of business and greed is good!!
Bloggers need to stop slobbering over this letter because it is long and has lots of tables: it lacks realistic suggestions.
We are not in English or grammar class. We are in a Economic mess!!! Get over the misspelled words and read the numbers. Numbers dont lie.
Why McKeeva says that we need 100,000 people on this island is that we need 70,000 foreigners that we can extract money from them thru consumption taxes, so tha the 30,000 Caymanians including myself can have cushy jobs in the goverment or just go on the dole, what's wrong with dat!
Yep, Mac for one sure knew the potential of his people..
The PPM is also signing that tune, need 100,000, makes you wonder who's making the policies doesn't it?
I'm so sick of the poli tricks, empty promises and politicians who believe they are above the law. As a country the poorer are poorer the middle class is becoming non existant and children are hungry. Don't know what to do come 2016 as this party politics is destroying this country.
You don't have to do anything come 2016 because next election isn't until 2017!
Is James Bergstrom the only member of the C4C?
In March last year I posted a piece on my blog [Barlow's Cayman] titled "How to balance the budget". In it I wrote – as I have written a dozen times before – that our government has more revenue than it can sensibly spend, and that its fiscal problem is its refusal to restrict its expenditure to what is necessary. Regrettably, it is too much to hope that politicians and senior civil servants will take any notice of what I say – or of what any other critic of our bloated state bureaucracy says. So what can we do?
Not a lot. C4C is our Islands' only hope, realistically speaking. We have to support them in the hope that their MLAs will have the guts to take on the bloated bureaucracy and simply insist that government begin selling off operations that can be run by the private sector more efficiently and cheaper.
Where to start? Well, I would begin with the Department of Tourism and its several offshoots, and the Department of Finance. Then I would move on to privatising the management of government-owned buildings and vehicles, and all of government's secretarial services. After that… Ah well, it doesn't matter, doesit? There are too many vested interests who will ensure that nothing happens. What a pity that is.
The Caymanian people deserve an explanation from the elected government. Looks like C4C have been doing their homework.
If our only hope is this group of misguided fools who do not have a clue about Government finances, things are in worse shape than I thought. The C4C clearly have no idea on how to manage public finances, all they are doing is sensationalizing numbers for their own self promotion, they have no concept of how a public sector works.
Wow I really thought the commentary was going to be vintage Barlow , but it seems that the twisted flames are not as bright, particularly when reference is made of C4c as our Saviour. Let it be known here and now C4c was and is an opportunistic group of people who are outside of the borders of the Chamber and are the nouveau riche merchant class Caymanians who want to controltheeconomy but don't have the cojones to form an organized party. They know that people saw through them before but were desperate for any kind of change, now they have revealed their true colors every striking one of them women and men. Now they rail up at the government they help to form simply because they have lost control to the chamber, big joke they are, advocacy group my big toe.
We had C4C style government many years ago when a few families controlled everything and the rest of us lived in thatch roof huts. Are you sure you want ot go backto that again. Well not me.
Are you so blind that you refuse to see what is happening today?
Ask Moses K and his clan who are running the show. Look at the board appointments and overstand the reasons behind the dock and airport projects everything is done to benefit a select few who support the ppm.
C4C is a special interest group for an exclusive club of new money wannabe King makers.
CIG is like a big ship with a small rudder.It takes time to turn it around.
Thank God some group has a "special" interest for the people and these beloved isles. Well done C4C and thanks for explaining the dire straits that we are in.
Not sure how true this is, but something to think about….heard from a good source that government owes more then 25 million dollars in back pension??? is that possible?
More like 200 million..
C4C is now talking utter nonsense. I wont even to bother and comment on all the rubbish expressed. I am not a PPM but I do not trust what I hear and see comming from C4C.
I feel like the C4C is more of an oposition than the UDP, and their the ones working along with the Progessives. LOL
Mac why you so quite? Joey got you thinking about also finding the Lord too?
Simple Mac is just sitting back and letting Alden hang himself, after all no one wants to hear what he has to say anyway…
I don't think he hanged himself with that much anticpated interview he did with Hardtalk like much of expected hewould do. So I think its fair to say Alden won't be hanging himself anytime soon as he is already surpriseing us all so far.
Excellent article James. Most people probably missed the part where "C$C says also states that government should roll back fees in the financial services sector in particular."
When was the last time the legal profession rolled back fees for anyone?
I know that most of the lawyers in working in finance in Cayman probably don't know where their next meal is coming from, but when it comes to rolling back fees, maybe there are a few other professions who could use a break before the finance industry.
I get it. The less government spends, while rolling back fees will result in bigger net profit for the C4C's. A good question was asked, when did the financial industry, the law firms or supermarkets reduced the cost of services or goods to the consumers? They don't talk about that at all.
Don't lump,supermarkets into that crowd. They get hit with every duty, tax, fee, etc. in the book, and all of those were increased significantly by mac's government.
Who is C4C?
Winston Connolly said he never was a member – so is this C4C a one man show?
WHy did it take over a year to submit his article? remember talk is cheap
The way I see it almost all "solutions" that have been tabled over the years is not going to cut it. The elephant in the room is the future health care liabilities for the civil service and relatives of the civil service. Deemed to be $662m in 2004 and using the Shaw Miller health care inflation rate of 5% (which is light by US standards), we are now sitting, right now, close to $1.1b on that alone (albeit spread over approx. 30 years). So even if the Turtle Farm was closed, statutory authorities are sold, and the civil service begins to pay 50% of theirportion of the annual health care and pension fund payments, there will still be a massive shortfall.
The population is simply too small to carry existing expenses let alone to start setting aside funds for the pending $1.1b.
As we run into trouble down the road I would assume the UK govt will step in and take a more active role (ie we lose further autonomy of our country). If we are going to lose autonomy anyway, then I would think it would make sense to do it on our own terms … and to accomplish that we offer Cayman citizenships as the next offshore product. Canada and Australia has been doing this for many decades and you are beginning to see smaller Caribbean islands doing much the same. Canada charged $250k per family member to Hong Kong nationals around 20 years ago.
The demand is coming. For 200 years that the US has been in operation, and all the wars they have fought, they have accumulated $16T of debt (they still have not paid off the US civil war!). BUT, their future health care liabilities for their aging population are currently estimated to be $55T to 75T spread over 30 years. Soooo if you think about that – 200 yrs to get to $16T but in 30 odd years their shortfall will 4x+, the only way they will be able to make ends meet is to charge their citizens and corporations through the nose (read US taxes to skyrocket).
So wealthy US citizens that have means are going to be looking for a suitable solution to get out.
So along comes Cayman by offering up 500-1000 citizenships each year for the next 10-15 years. We then should be good to go financially, paying off all debts, paying for a very bloated civil service AND money to spare for future capital projects.
And yes we would then be able to afford a reduction of taxes at the gas pump.
Mr. Archer
Please tell the truth is the country really $1.7b in debt?
You people just make up these figures as you go along. We are approximately $540m in debt. There is also and unfunded pension liability which is probably near CI$650m. You should note that that figure is never counted by any country in its debt figures.
Mr Bergstrom and C4C are right on the money- literally. Time to trim the fat and bloated excesses of CI GOV. All the spending across DEPTS, excess travel, excessive pay compared with the private sector for generally doing less work and juggling second and third jobs, cut pensions (why on earth should a high paid gov worker get a pension and collect a salary each month?? Are some high paid workers still sitting on the side lines getting a huge salary for doing nothing? ), and obtain VALUE for MONEY. Would be nice if the GOV could roll back on some fees to allow the private sector to grow once more- we are all taking major major hair cuts re professional fees and finding new clients is like finding a needle in a haystack these days. Please toss us a bone. Time for the GOV to start delivering on promises made last year. What's happening to the $100 million surplus? Is this still going to happen or am I still dreaming ?
Well said James! I'm relieved to see some of Cayman's better 'minds' focusing on such a critical issue. In terms of further cutting CIG's cost there should also be a regime of sanctions and enforcement for civil servants in breach of our laws. By way of recent example the Judicial Review proceeding with concluded that the granting of a helicopter licence to operate downton was wrongful has cost us millions in legal fees bringing in outside QC's etc. A review of other JRs that were decided against the CIG would begin to reveal the tip of the iceburg in wasted costs for what essentially amounts to misfeasance in a public office.
With a seemingly declining income base, (700 TLEP's left-meaning a large reduction in WP income) CIG has got to get its act together. Not just on cutting the budget but on making much more efficent use of what funds there are. If CIG (as Mr Swarbick notes) could actually produce proper accounts, almost anyone could see where money is going that is a waste at best, or at worst corruption. One has to question the lack of will to get this basic criteria right.
Really?
700 TLEP's left and practically every one is being replaced with a new work permit holder.
Go and check the facts at the immigration department my friend.
The fact is that practically no work permit holder is irreplacable.
In reality there are droves of people ready and willing to come to work in Cayman
Go and speak to the businesses who lost people as a result of TLEPathy and see that they have replaced them.
Where is the loss in that for spending?
There is none.
Temporary staff come with a temporary mentality and send all the money they can home knowing they will not have a future in Cayman. There is a substantial loss to the economy. Financial services businesses suffer in particular because they lose experience and contacts, which is really valuable even at a relatively junior level, and organisations have to spend more on recruitment. The law firms work on the basis that every associate that leaves costs the business about $500,000. Increasing staff turnover reduces Cayman's offshore offering to one of the "identikit" jurisdictions. So if you think sending people away and replacing them comes at no cost, you really have no idea about the issue.
Producing proper account would expose thier spending habit and you know they won't have that..
Really?!
"The Coalition also thinks that civil servants’ health care and benefits should be cut in line with the private sector and that social welfare payments should also be reduced."
Obviously C$C is not aware of the average Civil Servants' very limited salaries & benefits …perhaps the elected side could give up their lifetime pensions after only 2 terms?
They aren't slamming the spending, they are just stating the very concerning facts. Hopefully people will read and understand
James Bergstrom please be Premier? You have the guts to make the necessary cuts
Really? as usual they're saying what needs to be said now to be elected but guess what NO C4C MLA would have th guts to do this and no one in the future from C4C. They have a Minister who 'had all the answers' now still wasting money to do research….what about that waster C4C?
As my buddy Johann Moxam once said, cutting the civil service is what you don't say in order to get elected….guess he meant during 3 months of campaign but given the memories of voters they are playing on voters' short memory and talking about what needs to be cut now but few months before election they'll be singing another song.
This way the C4C can play that political game, make people think their stated opinions are the of the elected C4C MLAs who are bound by cabinet responsibility and not able to share their little voices on ANYTHING!
Just politricks, as usual.
I am so sick of this political foolishness and even sadder at the fact that the majority of Caymanians & voters don't tell them to stop their foolishness and next election just don't vote for any C4C backed candidates, aka members.
Who is C4C and why do they think they are relevant? Why hide in the shadows? Perhaps you have an agenda that would be more obvious if the names were known? Given the complexity of the budget, and the ease of misrepresenting the underlying facts, its hard to take this seriousy from an anonymous source.
Anonymous? I suppose the fact that James Bergstrom’s name is included doesn’t count, right. Hardly anonymous but let’s not let the facts get in the way of your stupid comment.
How it this anonymous when James Bergstrom includes his name?
So you are saying it is a one-man show?
Drivel! Marco Archer has his eyes on the prize and has steadily been making progress.
Just one example from recent weeks is this: http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/politics/2014/01/18/archer-gets-back-6m-interest
Marco Archer transcends the party politricks. Whether Ppm or C4c, he is doing the best he can. And according to reports, he is not doing a bad job!
Sad when the best one can say about one of a stable of overstaffed overpaid politicians is "not doing a bad job".
The $600K annual saving was shooting fish in a barrel. Chickenfeed.
Yea right he save us 600,000 a year and eerye is praising them. That's a drop in the bucked compared to all the wasted money.
Coalition for Cayman are acting responsible as a advocacy group. Well Done
Thank you C4C for saying what needs to be said our finances are a mess and there are no signs by the government to do what it said should be done during the campaign.
All the plant C$C posts are hilarious. I guess they have a lot of IP addresses at their disposal.
Slams, CNS? Did you actually read that? It was mostly recycled stuff from the campaign. And why was this from the lawyer? Why not Roy, the accountant??
11:36, don't know where you come from, but on planet Earth it is normal practice for the Chairman of a Board to speak on its behalf.
Next lesson: Delegtion of Duties.
Who gives a rats rass where it came from? What we should be asking, is what will be done to remedy the stuation?
It's right wing nonsense like this that turns many of us centre of the road people into socialists. Heartless, insensitive, screw you I'm all right Jack poison from C4C
It is beginning to appear that the C4C should be one of our political parties! PPM seems to be pussyfooting around and not properly addressing the issues. While I do think our new PPM government has made some positive moves, it leaves a lot to be desired. I say to all parties and would-be parties, "Shape up or ship out!" If you don't have the desire and ability to make the Cayman Islands a better place to live instead of feathering your own nest WE DON'T WANT YOU!
Lookout Tara — C4C sure seems to be unhappy with their own candidate — "NWDA, which still has a long way to go before it is fit for purpose"
So, they want to take people making a living wage, offer them $5:00 per hour with as few as possible benefits, so that if they or a family member gets sick, they will be bankrupt and lose their house etc…. But, the 1% will be better off, so all is good.
Hey James, how about if the private sector creates jobs with pay and benefits that outweigh the public sector, thereby making people want to leave Government in droves?
When exactly are you changing your name to Tea Party Caymankind?
Whether you agree or disagree with C4C on this issue, I think we should all appreciate that they have put forward actual proposals to cut expenses instead of a blanket "cut everything".
This is a conversation we should continue to have.
now … how deh gonna slam the ppm wen deh sided with dem?! … boy deh tink we dumb!
The endorsed candidates Tara Rivers, Roy McTaggart, Winston Connolly sit on the government benches.
Coalition for Cayman is fulfilling its commitment to be a Public Awareness and Advocacy group. Highlighting key issues and bringing facts to the discussion instead of the usual political rhetoric.
There is a huge difference this is not the first time a position paper has been issued by C4C that the independents will disagree with. It is important that people understand the difference between elected MLAs and an advocacy group.
I tink you write dumb.
it would take guts and backbone to cut the civil service…so don't expect it come under the ppm…. and the udp hadn't got the stones to do it either….
solution: establish a cross party committee that has 30 days to find ways of cutting expenditure by 10%…then implement the reccomendations…. then no party can be 'blamed' for cutting the civil service….
I would be able to take C4C more seriously if they even tried to understand some of the nuances in the budget*, recognised that these kinds of changes can't happen overnight, or made actual suggestions for how things work in practice.
Their candidates are recognising that rhetoriccan only get you so far. If only Mr. Bergstrom could learn the same lesson.
* Perhaps the most important example relates to pension expenditure. When they came into office in 2009, the UDP essentially stopped paying into the pension fund to address unfunded liabilities for defined benefit recipients. These liabilities were created literally decades ago but must be paid down, and the longer we wait the more expensive it will be to do so. The UDP was short-sighted (as usual) and saw a way to shave off $10 million to use elsewhere. The PPM has started paying this liability down again with an annual payment closer to what is recommended. So, yes, there has been a 36% rise in CS pension and health care costs, 500% rise in outstanding payments to CS pension fund and 93% rise in pension payment (the $10 million increase is included across 3 of their comparitive figures). However, this is probably the second most fiscally responsible thing the government has done (the first is eliminating the Nation Building Fund and third is refinancing the debt).
In 5 years, not one MLA has proposed to return the outlandish pay raises extended by the lavish and reality-impaired first premier in 2009 (hush money?); nor have weseen a motion to return the illogical feather-nesting of the simultaneous double dipping salaried staff and pension collectors. In the decade we've known public accounts to be unlawfully deficient, not one CIG staff suspension or dept head has rolled. How long will doing nothing remain acceptable? Anyone that wants to come along and point out the obvious, this is easy pickings, and hardly defendable. Frankly, I don't care who says it, but let the shaming and honour- stripping continue until we actually have the transparency and services we pay for.
This will surely piss a lot of people off, especially those who like handouts. But there’s a saying that if you give a man a fish it’ll feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish he’ll be able to feed himself for life. The issue with public assistance is that it creates a society ofdependent people which in most places like the US is a huge part of the voting pool. Most politicians are not willing to touch this subject because they like their dependent voters. Not much different is the Civil Services as they make up another huge part of the voting populous so doing things like cutting back on their freebies like Medical Insurance and Pension or suggesting cutbacks and privatizing options that may put their cushy jobs in jeopardy is something politicians aren’t going to do at risk of losing votes.
Getting civil servants to setup their own companies will be impossible when they would lose all the benefits and freebies they get with their government jobs and running a business would be more hours and harder work. Reducing taxes can only be accomplished by serious cutbacks. So you will not see this happen with this government.
As far as the estimated 600 Million in bonds that will soon be do, I am sure they are just planning to refinance it and keep paying millions in interest every year. After all there’s no way they be able to pay it off or even down without making some hard decisions and we all know that will not happen. If anything they will find a way to add to it..
All and all the things they are saying make sense but are not likely to happen.
@This will surly piss people a lot.
you are absolutely correct. In other words "the can is continued to be kicked down the road by another government".
Fellow Caymanians, this is reality. Great job to C4C for the research and analysis and putting this article in reader friendly format.
Finally, someone with balls and something that makes sense.
GWAN THRU C4C!!! Tell alla dem how it go..
C$C is now an irrelevance. To quote Austin Harris, a former member of the group, "C$C is and and always was a joke". Who told C$C that "nothing is being done to prepare for the government’s debt bonds which are coming due in the not too distant future"? Roy would know better than that.
And what does Austin have to offer???? :):):)
well said …but what do you expect from the ppm?…they are a do-nothing administration….who's only achievement was spending us into a recession 4 years ago…..
One of the C4C cadidates Winston , claimed in a text to rooster that he did not represent C4C. What would be C4C's stance on that ?
winston dissapoint me Alden's puppet
There is not a revenue problem in Cayman. Spending is out of control for the level and quality of services rendered by the government. It is truly frightening to think of how many people are relying on suckling on the CIG teat. The number of people employed or supported through social assistance needs to be dramatically reduced in the next 5 years or Cayman will hit the wall, and hit it hard. The only other solution would be to rapidly increase the population but 25% with all of the inflow being involved in newly created jobs to support the bloated public sector and burgeoning welfare state that Cayman has become. As I don't see anything on the horizon (Shetty Hospital and CEC included) that will generate that level of productive growth we will need to learn to live within our means here in Cayman. This will result in a significant drop in the standard of living for a large number of people and unfortuantely the group that will bear the brunt of this is not ready for it.
The letter is spot on. We cannot continue to support the government with almost half of our citizens working for it. Those of us in the private sector simply can't afford it any longer. Why we decentralized such redundant services as human resources, IT, procurement is mind boggling it is a horrible business model especially as it has played out in the press time and time again such an approach allows for corruption and winds up in the case of human resources ensuring even less Caymanians get a chance at government jobs.
Totally agree. What I find most astounding is that it is mandatory to pay health insurance (and at disgracefully high premiums) but once you retire you cannot be covered and if you are, the premiums are either way too high for a pensioner to afford or doesn't cover the necessities but nothing is being done about this because all MLA's have their coverage for life so they don't care! The time that you really need health coverage is when you are of retirement age!!!
Well written, Mr. Anonymous 8:49! I agree with everything you said, with the exception of the gambling. There is NO WAY to keep organized crime out of organized gambling, and we don't need any more crime!