Vexed Bermoothes

Bermuda’s inflation rate is a soaring 4.8% … the highest in 20 years.

Bob Richards has been noting Government’s inaction on the overheating economy for some time, but his comments have been called sour grapes. But others are also noting the problem. S&P bluntly pointed it out in their recent downward adjustment to Bermuda’s rating.

And Craig Simmons, a lecturer on economics at Bermuda College, notes that “the Government’s disrespect for fiscal prudence is alarming, especially in light of election promises … Despite clear evidence of an overheated economy, successive Government Budgets do nothing to slow the flow of spending.”

This is particularly relevant now that Government is compiling their budget for the new year. In the last few years, despite the rapid growth in Government expenditures, Bermuda’s budgets have become less informative. Last year’s budget, in its brevity and obscurity, was an insult to the Bermuda taxpayer.

The 2007 Budget Statement (PDF) was only 45 ages long and included no budget tables of any kind. By comparison, the 2006 budget was 99 pages long and included explicit breakdowns of planned expenditure by department.

This makes parliamentary and public oversight a joke, and results in reduced accountability and transparency for Bermuda.

Minister Cox, please enforce some restraint this year on Government’s spending. And please provide us a proper budget. One with numbers in it.