Actions which may be regarded by most Bermudians as questionable, of questionable ethics, or even questionable morality, are not matters for the Police unless those actions break the law.

Yeah, we get it.  There are situations that don’t pass the smell test … but may not be prosecutable.

But we are not talking about a few situations.  We are talking about a chain of situations going back years.   And in many cases the people involved were elected officials and functionaries of the PLP itself.

The Premier is saying that she will pass more good governance laws.  That’s positive.

But I also can’t help thinking “You need laws to control the actions of your own inner circle?  Seriously?”

These situations may not be illegal.  They may not unethical.  But collectively they show that the PLP has problems governing itself, never mind governing Bermuda.  Is the Constant Circus what you want to define your time in power?

I find it offensive because we are paying dearly for this amateur hour which is now entering its 14th year.

Mark Twain, who had some nice things to say about Bermuda, also made this observation:

“Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason.”

The reason is that in recent years the content of the Throne Speech has had very little relationship to the actual legislative agenda pursued by Government, and certainly has not predicted actual results that the people of Bermuda can count on.

2011 Throne Speech

These handouts and freebies contributed mightily to our budget deficits and humongous public debt.  (Simple bad management and a taste for the high life accounted for the rest.)

We just can’t afford it anymore.

But the Premier seems to be consumed by putting out the fire o’ the day with a quickie fix.  The Constant Circus lives on!

There is a time when the Premier/Finance Minister will need to roll back some of the pork and waste.  Or will she try to “buy votes” again in the lead up to the next election?

The problems are growing along with the list of short-term patches.  Sooner or later she … or her successor … is going to be forced to elaborate an actual plan to:

• Repair our troubled economy (ie undo many of their hare-brained, half-assed policies)
• Control public sector spending (ie reduce government to fit our economy)
• Plan to pay down the debt

After all these years, I can’t put my finger on a single economic plan or strategy put forward by the PLP and carried through to a successful conclusion.

The Premier has been central to the team that incubated Bermuda’s critical problems.  As nice a gal as we all think she is, it would be to Bermuda’s immense misfortune if she is allowed to dodge accountability for that.

The Bermuda Regiment is cutting its conscript intake this year in half – to just 80 recruits – to save money.

Wow, we really are broke.

The payroll tax holiday is a job preserving move.

But the 40% hike in airport duty (combined with a steep reduction in allowances) has people freaked.  Is Government that broke?  What new taxes will come next?

In 2010 Q4 local travellers reported $21 million in overseas purchases.  Ignoring the impact of allowances, that would have yielded $5.25 million in duty … or $7.35 million at the new punitive rate.

It’s clear that the tax hike on individuals is paying for the tax holiday for retailers.

Will the tax hike encourage locals to “buy Bermuda” instead of shopping during their holidays … or will it just raise the cost of living here and annoy the voters?

Is the Government so broke that it needs to restrict Bermudians’ freedom for a mere $4.2 million in additional tax revenue?

If the PLP had not squandered so outrageously over the past decade we might have a surplus to cushion our situation … or be able to borrow.  But in the Post-Platinum Era, our credit is maxed out and Government has little room to manoeuvre.

It’s not the global economy, stupid.  It’s ours and you tanked it.

Minister B:  Well don’t look at me, I don’t know what to do either.

Minister C:  Ewart would know what to do.

Minister D:  Oh shut up.

Deputy Premier:  I’m on strike.

Minister A:   I don’t know what to do.

Premier:  More cake anyone?

I feel terrible for my fellow Bermudians who have lost their jobs.

We have had more than a decade of lousy leadership.  It’s natural for supporters to wish the PLP had been successful.  But they haven’t been.  You can keep drinking the Kool Aid, but man it’s getting gritty and bitter.

Things won’t get better until you start demanding performance and stop making excuses.

PS:  if you haven’t read this, do it now and forward it to anyone gullible enough to believe the “global economy” lie.

PPS:  Today’s payroll tax holiday good, airport duties dumb.  They display the usual “rush to drop in a fix” with no bigger plan or thought of consequences.  It’s that style of un-leadership that got us into this hole.

PPPS:  Man I wish I had some of that platinum period and gold standard around still.  Would come in handy.

Now the pendulum has swung…

You know that I think that many of the PLP MPs have not been up to the job. What’s a surprise is how many of the PLPs own branch members think the same thing.

It’s also telling that the party that prides itself on having deep grassroots can only drum up a couple dozen voters for the primary.

Takeaway: they ain’t invincible.

Now, with the rumours of a Christmas election, one wonders why they’d even bother.  After all, the promises of the 2007 Throne Speech were promptly forgotten when Dr. Brown promptly called an election.

Here’s why the House will reconvene:  I suspect that Government needs money through budget supplements and inevitably more debt.

We all know that Bermuda’s economy has vastly contracted.  The open questions are how badly this has affected Government’s tax collections, and how effective Government has been at making its proposed budget cuts.

Maybe they can re-tool that “countdown clock” they had down on Front Street for the Millennium … as a national debt counter. Need a lot more digits though…

Or is that “crank the the friggin dial backwards so tight it falls off”?

So the PLP, in all their glory, came up with the brilliant idea of placing “term limits” on how long those business leaders could stay on the island.

This – combined with the general pissiness of  the PLP towards expatriates and international business – led to a massive exodus from the island.   Voilà, no critical mass.

The PLP’s actions have excoriated our economy.  Bermudians from blue collar to white collar are feeling tight around the collar.  No matter what the spin says, IT’S NOT THE GLOBAL ECONOMY that fuxed Bermuda.  It’s our own weak political leadership that smothered the golden goose.

Back in the days of hubris, the Cayman Islands copied Bermuda’s term limits excess.  They’ve now admitted this was a mistake and also deeply damaged their economy.  They are now moving to undo term limits.

Admitting is the first step to recovery.  The second is voting in a competent Government.

• Who sold them this crappy sundial anyway?  It doesn’t seem to tell the time!
• How does one reset a sundial?
• Can’t they afford a clock anymore?