80% default in ‘save’ plan
(CNS): The finance minister revealed that around 82% of more than 150 people who were helped by the former UDP government’s 'save the mortgage' plan, financed with Dart cash, have gone on to default again on their homes. During a debate in the Legislative Assembly Monday on a private member's motion brought by the opposition leader asking government to help people who were in danger of losing their homes again, Marco Archer said the previous programme was ineffective. He pointed out that the $2.2 million given to the banks to stop defaults came against the backdrop of a $2.7 million waiver given back to Dart on affordable housingfees and had done almost nothing to address mortgage arrears.
He said that the majority of the people who were assisted with a loan of up to $20,000 from government to save their homes were not only in default with their banks again but also in default on that loan, even though they were interest free and payments could be spread over 50 years. That meant that those who got the full amount were only supposed to pay $33.33 a month back to government but 62% have failed to do so.
Although government said it was willing to consider McKeeva Bush’s motion to help those in the worst situation, Archer pointed out that government believed the 'save the mortgage' plan had failed.
Archer outlined the figures regarding the defaults but did not go into details about the scheme, which had come in for criticism before as there had been no real checks regarding some of the loans that were made. In the Grand Court earlier this year, a woman convicted of stealing some $430,000 from an offshore trust was one of the people who had applied for and successfully received cash from the scheme.
The minister said the government would need to be careful about any kind of fund for mortgages because this time it would have to come from the cash reserves, and giving the looming targets set by the FCO, the government could not just allocate the cash. But he said it would look at alternative options and that government acknowledged the difficulties many people were having meeting their expenses.
Even though government accepted the opposition leader’s motion, Bush made a full frontal attack on the government benches, accusing them of doing nothing at all to help the people and of creating the government’s financial problems in the first place.
He took the finance minister to task for spelling out the weakness of the UDP scheme and told the government to stand up to the FCO and tell them 'no'. He even thought it had led to his arrest, he said, as he referred to his recent trial over the use of his government credit card to get cash in casinos when he was gambling on slot machines.
He accused the PPM government of “spinning its wheels” and doing nothing about the major problem in the country of unemployment. He said that the UDP had helped people to keep their homes with the scheme but government could not make people pay if they did not have the money and they didn’t have the money because they did not have a job, as he blamed the current government for that as well.
Bush said the government benches had “no right to chastise” him because people were in default as they had caused all the trouble in the first place and had no solutions.
Stating that worse was still to come, the opposition leader questioned where the “sweet spot” was that Archer had spoken about recently when he delivered the Strategic Policy Statement.
“I don’t know what it was, but it isn’t sweet; it’s a bitter pill,” Bush added, as he lamented what he said was a lack of action by government to address the significant problems in the community caused by unemployment.
He said that another 120 jobs or more would be lost soon because of the Canadian banks pulling out and locals were not getting new opportunities. When he was premier, Bush said, he had tried to introduce new industries. People had threatened against them, he said, but in time they would come to see he was right about an oil refinery.
PRIVATE MEMBER’S MOTION NO. 11/2014-2015 – EMERGENCY MORTGAGE RELIEF PROGRAM
Category: Politics
Bankrupt every defaulter.
Why does bush think that an oil refinery would be viable – has he any concept of the capital investment required. With the price of oil going through the floor, what is his Business Plan for an operation where Cayman would merely be an intermediary in the production line. Where would be the profit just to finance the project, let alone produce dividends for investors. What would be his market for selling the end product. The World market is swimming in overproduction and at prices Cayman could not possibly match. Like most of his hair-brained suggestions, this one comes from someone who does not have the capacity to think inside, let alone outside, the box.
It was American " Pork Barrel Politics " Cayman style. No credit risk analysis conducted. End result, people borrowed money they almost certainly knew they could not afford, thinking bush would be re-elected and they would never be chased when they failed to meet their commitment.
Didnt he run a bank on the same basis? Did the bank flourish and preserve the savings of Islanders who invested in it? Or maybe it failed, taking their hard earned money with it. The question I always have is, given his record with that bank, why on earth did anyone trust him with the Islands money?
That's a bit unfair. In his banking career he only made one decision, and that was to provide his signature on a rubber stamp in return for $x per month.
And yet the ACC Chair, aka Commissioner of Police, is sitting around waiting on the Public to call him about corruption.
There's plenty calls about corruption, the problem is that people are afraid to give evidence in court…can't blame Baines for witnesses fearing retribution.
In many instances there is no need for people to give evidence as the evidence is documented; what is needed in such circumstances is proper investigation (that doesn't drag on forever!) also known as "follow the paper trail and/or money".
And that we can all surely blame Baines for! However, in all fairness, we can blame other powers that be….but Baines is the ACC Chair….and Comissioner of Police….so as long as he is seen as unwilling and/or incompetent to follow through with such investigations….well….nothing of much meaningful impact is likely.
May I suggest that all of our Political Leaders and others in high positions in Government be aware that political office tends to give a sense of power. The reason for my saying this: It is a known fact that even the brightest of minds [no matter the age] can suffer from this malady a thing called "psychosis" [which even men like "Einstein" was known to have hada few episodes] It causes a mental malfunction, which causes the individual to suffer from the following:
An idiosyncratic belief or impression that is "firmly maintained" despite being contradicted by "what is generally accepted as reality"and/or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.
This is not directed at any one individual, but is written with the intent that all those who are, or aspire to be our leaders, the following is known to affect all of us, but it is exacerbated in those who attain political office more often than the average person.
Think ! Mugabi, Papa Doc, Noriega, Hitler, Stalin and on, and on. They all were delusional and suffered from a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality. So my advice to all our political leaders is: Stay humble! Admit your short-comings and remember you are only human like the rest of us.
May we all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Giving God thanks for Hurricane free 2014.
just another day in wonderland……
Yawn what should I do today to justify my enormous salary? Got to do something. Hmmm..wonder what's going on with the commoners outside my security fences? I know! Mortgages! I'll get on their case about mortgages. Make me look like I ca..like I'm a Man of the People! I sure miss Vegas and Miami I'll get this over with and go there over Christmas I'm feeling lucky.
The problem was a Finance minister in charge of the whole countries money with a fifth grade edumacation. The only thing he was good at and is known for is loosing money. Only the very dumbest people could have any sort of faith in this person. The Cayman islands will be paying for his mistakes long after he is dead and gone. And for the millions of dollars in damaged coral the Caymanian harbor captain was responsible for. And the Billions of dollars that went some where else. And the managers of the airport and port and on and on that are also only known for loosing money. The problem with Cayman islands is who's in charge.
Public money to prop up private debt was a terrible idea. Property ownership is a privilege for those that can afford it, not a right for those that can't.
Go back where you came from……"property ownership is a privilege.." WOW, just WOW.
Just what do you mean?
Why are you assuming this person with such views is from another juristiction?
Now I know! Why "the privileged" own so much property.
I'm not sure about the "privileged" part, but let's refer to the troubled asset relief program in the U.S. for there are similarities. In the U.S., Henry Paulsen, Wall Streeit's man in the White House used public money to bailout financial institutions, as they were about to lose billions on bogus mortgagesthey had created. McKeeva's plan was slightly different. He used the nation building fund to buy votes. In one case, it was sold as "trying to save the economy" in the other as "helping the poor", but in both cases the results were the same public money was used to take financial institutions off the hook.
Stupidest thing I've read in a long time, how can someone who can't meet their current loan payments borrow more money and have higher loan payments and not default? Makes no sense.
Maybe if their mortgages/loans were restructured at the same time, and debt consolidated into more manageable monthly numbers (that would take the banks to reduce interest rates, extend duration and maybe write down some of the loans). Otherwise the 20k just went straight to the bank didn't it? Chances are if they were well down the defaulting path the banks are adding more and more penalty interest, charges and fees to the loans, which they are entitled to do, but it's not clear if everything was done to make this work or if it just bought some time and votes.
It wasnt Mac's money so it didnt matter how it was spent.
"He accused the PPM government of spinning its wheels and doing nothing about the major problem in the country of unemployment." Perhaps Mr Bush would care to publish Cayman's unemployment figures at the time he managed to convince half of the Cayman public that the PPM were spending too much on the Clifton Hunter school compared to the figures four years later when half of the Cayman people came to their senses enough to tek away his seat?
"He said that the UDP had helped people to keep their homes with the scheme but government could not make people pay if they did not have the money and they didn’t have the money because they did not have a job, as he blamed the current government for that as well". Thank God the Cayman public is waking up, bush. We all know exactly who was helping who here
"Bush said the government benches had “no right to chastise” him because people were in default as they had caused all the trouble in the first place and had no solutions". Please refer to paragraphs 1 and 2 above
"Stating that worse was still to come, the opposition leader questioned where the “sweet spot” was that Archer had spoken about recently when he delivered the Strategic Policy Statement". A major portion of the sweet spot is that we are now starting to achieve some semblance of acceptable accounting in government, we no longer have a disillusioned, egomaniac, forever honerable, fifth grade educated "leader" who wouldn't know the meaning of leadership if he was made to eat the word written on a piece of bread. " the worse is still to come" How is that for trust in God and positive, optimistic leadership, mr bush? Is that because you and your cohorts are no longer in charge of delivering this country to the gates of hell?
“I don’t know what it was, but it isn’t sweet; it’s a bitter pill,” Bush added, as he lamented what he said was a lack of action by government to address the significant problems in the community caused by unemployment". Please refer to paragraphs 1 and 2 above. This type of crap is no longer going to be blindly swallowed by the people of this country, mr bush. No matter how many times you repeat it.
"He said that another 120 jobs or more would be lost soon because of the Canadian banks pulling out and locals were not getting new opportunities. When he was premier, Bush said, he had tried to introduce new industries. People had threatened against them, he said, but in time they would come to see he was right about an oil refinery." It is simply unbelieveable that this man is STILL trying to justify this absurdity. It is even more unbelieveable that Cayman is still paying him to do so. "Lets dredge the bottom out of the North sound so we can endanger all our lives and make the rich richer folks. Lets build an oil refinery so we can endanger all our lives and make the rich richer folks, Lets dig that huge hole in East End so we can endanger all our lives and make the rich richer folks. Lets give the Chinese control of our country and our lives since we don't need it ourselves folks. Lets allow Mr Dart to love us to death forever since we need love so bad and Mr. Dart has more love than God himself, folks. I pray for this country's sake, with clean handsand a pure heart, that Cayman continues to forever honorably tek your seat, mr. bush. We simply can't wok wid you no mo.
But dart and mac sure know how to build a road!
THAT road, was well needed!
Give me DART anyday, all these rich Caymanians do is sit pretty with their millions and never contribute to society. They NEVER create opportunities and yet are the first to have a qualified opinion.
Truth be told, Caymanians at the top long been selling out their people and their country to anyone who will fatten their pockets especially the U.K!
DART can only go as far as we allow, blaming Mac is too obvious. Dig further to see the real agenda.
All the rich do is focus on getting richer and all at the cost of the middle class shrinking and the poor people getting poorer.
Imagine: Living on LESS than CI$800.00 a month. (think about it)
Well, Cass, I know quite a few of these rich Caymanians and they do the exact opposite of what you claim. Almost all of them are part of charitable organizations, and you read in the paper almost on a daily basis that their family businesses sponsor and support local events. I have the privelage of knowing quite a few prominent Caymanian families, and I can tell you that they make me proud to be a Caymanian.
Yeah, quite literally a superhighway straight to Hell.
Well most of the people should have been able to benefit. But banking has changed . Home insurance has doubled. Electricity has reached heights that staggers the mind.
My house was owned by me. I got a $175,000 renovation to be paid off in 14 years. Wife was working at a bank where we got staff rate of half the interest everybody else pays. She help save insurance company bank owned. Asked for raise , raise offered $300 more per month. That was a slap in the face. Went to other company where she was offered $5000 per month plus a car and gas money. Bank where she worked raised interest so high that mortgage went from $1100 per month to $2336. From $13,200 per year to $28,032 per year. Which shouldn't be a problem when you get a large raise. But forget the raise. That extra money should have went to retirement savings or college education for children, right? I have been paying for more then 20 years and loan is 131,000 left to pay.
Well of course the divorce, then Ivan, then double the elect. bill (oil went up), then double the bus insurance, then triple the house insurance ,then add more tour and taxi licences, Storms ( hurricanes and Northwesters). No way can I see a very bright future for me or anyone else in the future. Well I finally threw in the towel I pay rent .
How can anybody succeed with children on top of that is beyond me.The banks are too greedy (3-6% over prime). The insurance company should come down on premiums ( house value $250,000 , premium $5,200 per year) and gas and diesel is outrageous. If these things were controlled by law for overpricing then we have a chance .
Thank you so much for your post. So sorry to hear your are now paying rent. Perfectexample of someone who went from being in the middle class to now, by comparison to previous life, is now poor.
Why 2 people thumbs down is beyond me, you were just sharing your pain.
Keep the faith.
You should be able to get Prime +1% on a mortgage, I've not heard of anyone paying more than +3 in the past 20 years, not for a residential mortgage. Seriously, who doesn't work out whether a move is better before for you jump ship based on all the perks, I bet she probably got better health insurance, better pension and cheaper insurance and subsidised banking. Cash in hand is only the starting point.
You could have saved yourself $2000 a year by simply shopping around for insurance. That said, its still a ripoff.
Sorry pal, but your numbers simply dont make sense. How come you have been paying for over 20 years on a 14 year loan and you still owe? How does the 1100 a month on a 14 year loan of 175K even make sense – thats less than 0.5 % interest? Whilst I agree the cost of living is shocking, your credibility is shot when your numbers just look made up.
Very simple Fred go to bank and check with loans officer. Remember it went from staff loan to regular loan that anyone gets from off the street walking into bank. Then it went to $2336 per month.
He knew it would never be paid back. Fridges and turkeys would have been cheaper!
But it successfully bought many votes!
The 260,000$ this man lost, could have helped a lot of people.
Not to mention the other tens of millions.
07:34, its hndreds of millions.
You mean the other billion not tens of millions, right? All would be great if only a few tens of million went missing.
Easy come easy go. Perhaps we've learned something about using Mr. Dart's money to buy wotes?
Perhaps we have learned something about Mr. Dart!
Exactly…and the ACC sits blindly waiting for their line to ring!
Social Services should find rented accomodation for these people to live, as they have no chance of making mortgage payments. The accomodation that they in should be sold to people who can make payments.
What an enormous surprise. But I bet they voted Bush.
I bet you're right.
And still the loser lost.
Another one of Mac's harebrained failed schemes. And once again a good return on investment for Dart.
This is why the natives always end up on reservations.
I want my, I want my, I want my big screen TV………
You did not just go there! HELL NO!
Listen XXX, you don't know ANYTHING about natives here. CLEARLY.
Who are you?
Where do you come from?
What are you doing here! Hurry so I can tell you bout ya rass!
Down boy!
Cass you ass you know absolutely nothing about my rass…
$33.33 a month back to government but 62% have failed to do so.- Anywhere else in the world theses people would have lost their homes!!!
I am Caymanian and work hard. I am so ashamed that these deadbeats got a second chance and could not come up with $33.33 a month. Our parents raised us better. Now these deadbeats are going to go and cry for public housing. NO WAY BoBo!! Ya pay back the $20k first.
Are we sure the payment plan was set up correctly and they kew where to pay? Are you telling me that these people all just took it as another $20,000 handout? Outrageous.
Clearly big Mac has told his people he will give them money for votes with no accountability. Shameful for these low-lifes. Someone goes to feed you and you bite their hand off?
$33.33 per month? I guarantee they spend more on top-ups. arrrrgggghhhhh.
Da rite, an an a lot mor on dem numbas!
These people are scum and just want free stuff. Cayman needs to decide if it wants to be a welfare state as the current system of blindly given funds to certain people without accountability is unfair and just encourages people not to work. Why is the cry from a large segment of the population always "Gov't needs to help, Gov't needs to do something" CIG is perhaps the least efficient method to distribute resources to the needy.
Let people have a lower standard of living and fix the schools and social ills so there is opportunity for the next generation. People should have a roof over their heads and food in their belly but AC and TV along with cigarettes and alcohol are not included as basic needs
The 50 year term was legal backside-covering. Make no mistake this was free money and any repayment terms were set with a nudge and a wink. The only real requirement was to vote for McKeeva.
they probably knew that they really did not need to come up with the money. If they did not it would have been covered.
I hate to read these articles. I know we have some people that really do need help but they should fall into the elderly, disabled or ill.
If there is nothing wrong with you physically or mentally, try so get a job. If I was going to loose my house and was unemployed, I certainly would take any job to pay the bills and put food on the table.
To a certain extent, we are not helping these people, we are enableing them. Hope someone over at social services is reading this as well…..nothing is for free….someone is paying for it and that's us….the one's that get up and go to work every day.
For those that have jobs, they need to learn how to save and do a budget. For those without a job, go get one. Any job is better than none and no matter what that job is, there is always something to learn, no matter how basic.
Peoplewho are about to lose their homes are to be pitied, but not encouraged to look to government for the everlasting help. Sometimes we put ourselves in precarious positions, with no thought of a solution, how to get out. We all need to practice frugality and eliminate future problems problems.
The problem i find with mortgage payments is that they are too big. The bank should give longer loans like for 30 or 40 years, and payments of around $300 or $350 per month, no more than that. The problem is the payments amount are too darn high for the majority of the population. Why is it in Cayman that loans are so short, for 10 or 15 years, and so darn high to pay off monthly??? Why can't Cayman do what the US does with longer years of loans and smaller monthly payments???
And home insurance is too high! It's about an extra $100 or more per month! Can't Government make the Insurance companies lower their prices?
And don't even mention CUC! Now, why are they allowed to have such high high prices, that's a whole other monthly bill that makes life really hard to survive for the average household.
So you have 3 problems, mortgage monthly payments are too high, Home Insurance is too high, and Electricity (aka: CUC) is too high!
How are people supposed to survive all these bills, not to mention grocery shopping is extremely expensive in Cayman.
It's just too much monthly bills to have to pay every month, we need lower prices and lower payment monthly amounts on loans.
Oh, and then add the car expenses to that!
It's just too much all around. Our monthly expenses need to be less so we can have a more realistic chance of paying our mortgage payments and not ending up in default.
Or if Government won't do anything about these problems with pressuring the Banks to do long term loans of 30 to 40 years with low monthly payments, pressuring CUC to drop their prices, and pressuring the Insurance companies to drop their prices, then Government deserves to have to pay for all these default loans, since they won't do anything about solving the problem the right way, which is going after the ones who are profiting from all this high and unrealistic cost of living mothly expenses.
As usual, it's all the rich high money making businesses that are protected, and the general population is the ones who suffer trying to keep up with unrealistic expectations of them to find all this money every month for all this high cost of living.
Time to clamp down on these businesses! Put the pressure on them! And take the pressure off of the general population who struggle to pay all their monthly expenses (plus their emergency expenses that inevitably and unexpectedly pop up out of the blue!)
If you want to teach people to budget their money properly and save some for rainy days, vacations, etc, then give them a more realistic way of reaching their goals and staying in budget. The paycheck can only go so far and no further.
Pressure these rich businesses to show more mercy on the general population! Give them rules that align with a more realistic monthly budget for the average home!
"If you want to teach people to budget their money properly and save some for rainy days, vacations, etc, then give them a more realistic way of reaching their goals and staying in budget."
Hmmmmmm, how about teaching this to our government?
15:00 You have made a very sensible suggesion and I hope that the Powers to
be have read this.
Did you actually read the article?? They were to be paying $33 a month.
Dont just read the headline an comment!
You may disagree with the specifics of what this person wrote but please consider teh overarching problem they describe: the income of the 'middle class' no longer supports the 'fair expenses' of the middle class (mortgage, etc.). Its a generalisation of course but something thats happenng around the western world and so can't be simply denied. And remember their description: house (with electric bill), car, etc. Thats the definition of middle class. If you want a strong middle class you need to solve this underlying growing cost/income disparity.
I know it doesn't feel like it but if you have a 30/40 year mortgage you end up paying back a huge amount of money to the bank vs a 15 year loan, using one of the mortgage calculators a 15 year loan costs about 40k in total interest, a 40 year costs 130k in interest. IF you can afford it a shorter loan is much better financial sense.
BTW you would only get a mortgage of about 75k over 40 years if you wanted payments of $350 a month, not sure that would buy you anything.
Your point is better framed as having an option to buy something that is affordable, so asking for a house that costs 75k which probably isn't an option without some sort of support from (Government/Private).
One of the requirements a lot of Governments have is that any large scale development usually requires a social housing aspect, so having developers set aside 1 house for every 10 built as a subisidised house, doesn't have to be to the same scale/finish as the regular houses, but it does need to agreed by planning. I'm not sure if that would work here, especially for the 7 mile beach condos or the fact most 'development' is limited to clear cutting the land and selling building plots.
Firstly, don't buy a house that is above your means. You know what the mortgage payment is going to be, if it is a stretch, pass.
Did anyone really believe that the $2+ million used to bail out the delinquent mortgages would be repaid?
Well I guess Mac did…
He also apparently believed that he would win more than he spent on gambling too…
How can anyone take Bush seriously at all?
Maybe these people who can't afford mortgages should rent, or find some alternative means of surviving if they can't afford the current arrangement they find themselves in?
When my debt got out of control I sold my home and restructured my finances to correct the problem. It took years but I managed to do it. Just throwing more loans at people who are defaulting on their current debts doesn't seem like any kind of solution at all!
Btw – all those people in the States who got homes through sub-prime loans, guess what? They don't have homes anymore because they defaulted. It turns out they shouldn't have had mortgages in the first place and now the whole world has paid for that mistake. If someone can't afford their mortgage payments the solution isn't to give them more loans. The solution is to address the underlying reasons why they can't afford their payments. It doesn't take a genious to realize that.
Giving someone money to pay their debt arrears without addressing the reason the original debt is in arrears is a bit like putting money in a slot machine – it may feel good at the time, but you are never going to get it back and you know you are going to end up repeating the process.
Nice analogy
Dont worry, they took away his card. I hope.
Another failed Bush vote buying gamble…at the expense of the Darts….who in turn bought gambler Bushs favors no doubt.
What else could one expect?! The same general adverse conditions which contributed in putting those people in default with their banks in the first place have persisted or gotten worse. More people are out of work now so their ability to service a new loan would not be any better.
Having said that, perhaps some of those may be people who cannot manage finances no matter how favourable a position they are put in – even by stealing! We don't know that but we do know that things have not gotten any better.
What would be helpful to determine how well those people have managed their own circumstances is to assess (and reveal) how many of them were employed at the time of the "save the mortgage" scheme and what has been their employment status to date.
It's easy to blind the unkowing public with selectively limited info. Politics and accounting are the two most easily played "smoke and mirrors" game.
Propping up private loans was a terrible idea. At the time I said the moral hazard made it pointless. Now I have been proved right.
Mr. Archer says the previous Government was ineffective.the question today is how effective has his Administration been in providing jobs for the unemployed,. Bite YA to tongue sah, because your Governments effectiveness is still to be proven with a bloated civil service and enough or more corruption within than was attributed to your predecessors.
Bush lives in a different universe. I beg you in West Bay to come up with a new leader.
Nope! He gives me money, I give him a vote.
Fari is fair.
Agreed!
Dear people of the Cayman Islands please never again vote for anyone associated with Big Mac. That way his people in West Bay can feel good about voting for their King, but he will be marginalized like the blowhard from Northside. Full of sound and fury, yet signifiying nothing.
These people just needhelp moving thier belonging..
So Dart gets to buy up more property? What a mess!! Guess we all need to play Monopoly more this Christmas, because I'm guessing Dart was a pro
Mr. Bush, please note that as one of your WB constituents, I am really sick of your talk about what you wanted to do, how much you helped, etcetera. I have supported you on a few ideas but overall, let's get serious about the almost irreversible damage you have caused.
Please Mr. Bush, stop now! Stop trying to impress the Jamaicans and few ric, who can get their way with you and your party.
The FACT is you and ALL of UDP, were the ones to promote unncessary growth and status grants and unlimted work permits when you lifted the moratorium, a measure that the truly better politicans did before you 'took power' in order to have sustainable growth for Caymanians.
For eg, who drives you around? Who guards your house? Who do you try to sound like? Clearly you are not considering yourself a Caymanian man first and foremost.
[By the way, the black, white, mixed, Chinese, Indian, Cuban, Honduran, Caymanians today, the majority can claim some relative that may have passed through Jamaica as a slave, businesses person, appointee by the Queen, at one point so let's not even worry about your 9th generation connection, I don't hear of any Jamaicans going back to any African country claiming 'rights']
While you are known as (and by all accounts you are) the disadvantaged Jamaicans' representative, you and the UDP sit back and uncaringly watch your own West Bay men slowly drown their sorrows and manhood in drug abuse out of sheer dispair with the only token of recognition being annual Christmas dinner and drink and the others seling out to secret societies. Many of the women are also losing hope, marrying any Jamaican and walking around numb.
I pray that the UDP members who are still considering themselves Caymanian will demand you put our people first. This talk about more development by you or any party is freaking ridculous UNLESS you all are willing to put in true protective immigration laws and moratorium on issuing further work permits and gettng rid of contracted government workers when the contracts are up and before seven years.
While many of us are losing homes, jobs and families I would argue that your ideas are never meant to help Caymanians because if they focus on more development and short term solutions, without access to jobs and opportunities, they will never translate into anything positive for us.
12;27
You said it all, you said it right!
We are not including our people in all this wealth coming into our Island. look around, 95% of the building industry is ran and operated by jamaicans.
Its all the blame on our authorites.
They are so greedy, they will not let any caymanian or other nationality in on any projects. They are a secretive society amongst us.
Makeeva, you need to stop catering to these people, they are destroying the social and economic fabric of these islands.
We cant get jobs because of their aggressive behavior. If any of you can show me one jamaican that include one caymanian in any opportunty in this country, then i will tell you im full of shit.
Yes some of us back in the days had to go and work in Jam, but we did not over-run their economys, most of the men worked on ships while the wives stayed at home and schooled their children.
Caymanians were actually contributing to the jamaican economy by running in and out of that island on ships. We did not try to clog up their opportunities, there were hundreds of us there with their population of 2 million. There are thousands of them here with our population of 60 thousand. This is so unfair to the hard working people of these Islands.
This madness has to stop, a quota should be put on these nationals now, not tomorrow.
Of all the social programs around the world, has there ever been a precedent for a Govt Dept actually giving cash to people close to defaulting on their mortgage? This was SO much a cash for votes giveaway it is sickening. BIG surprise the vast majority of recipients are in trouble again.
Welcome to the Cayman Islands Nanny State, where the majority of people think the government's job is to provide cushy lives for them and where there's no such thing as owing anything to the government.