Vexed Bermoothes

Government complains that the media chase rumour and innuendo. But then insists on encouraging rumour and innuendo.
Asked if it was time to reverse the trend to larger vehicles Mr. Lister said the Premier had hinted “something interesting was coming in the transport area” although he hadn’t been told what that would entail.
OK, […]

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A few late night thoughts on taxes:
Government’s new boat tax encourages elitism. Raising the import tax on boats to a walloping 55% makes boating an option for the rich alone. It’s ludicrous that an island - with a seafaring tradition going back centuries - would restrict access to the ocean, particularly given the […]

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Following the election, UBP supporters realized that good policy was not enough to win the right to govern; the party had to deal with Bermuda’s racial legacy differently and to build a new grassroots coalition of support.
That would be a positive event for Bermuda if we had a responsible party in Government.  Half […]

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The Cayman Islands is updating their 1972 Constitution. Their Government just announced that the new proposed Constitution will be put to a public referendum in May, following a rigorous public consultation.
The proposals include a clause that future constitutional amendments will require a majority vote in a national referendum. Other proposals include:

The ability for […]

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Surprising no-one, Minister Derrick Burgess announced yesterday in the House that the cement company at Dockyard would not be required, at least for now, to relocate the contentious silos.
You may recall that this was the key requirement used by Government to force the sale of the Bermuda Cement Company (BCC), along with a requirement that […]

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Bob Richards makes another valid point in his riposte to Brown’s Belt-Busting Budget: the Government spin machine insists that it is committed to accountability; but it does not put its money where its mouth is.
In the past year, a range of important international authorities have had less-than-lustrous things to say about Bermuda’s governance and fiscal […]

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Some nuggets of Ewartspeak from the House of Disassembly on Friday.

On the rebuilding of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Dr. Brown said other healthcare priorities had to be dealt with, such as tackling problems revealed by Ombudsman Arlene Brock.

Indeed, and one of the largest problems identified by the Ombudsman was constant political interference by a […]

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Bob Richard’s reply to the budget is the most thoughtful and fact-based political speech given in Bermuda in many years.
It shows quite effectively that, far from providing effective stewardship of the Bermudian economy, the PLP has allowed our economy to overheat through poor management, neglect, and political interference.
Indeed, taxpayers gasp that Government’s spending has climbed […]

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Politics.bm’s ears started quivering over Government’s trial balloon for a “total income tax” to fund it’s FutureCare.
What exactly is Total Income? It is not just an expansion of payroll tax.
By usual definition, Total Income includes a broad range of receipts: wages, tips, interest, dividends, business income, rental income, amounts you receive from pension […]

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The PLP’s belt-busting budget took the breath away from many in the community - and even at $1.1 billion it’s missing some of the sweetener promises that featured so prominently in the election.

The promised free public transportation is on hold for now, because apparently everyone is too busy getting high.
The FutureCare programme is a ways […]

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