The OBA are the apostles of the economic of despair

FRIDAY, MAY 18: There is a saying that we all may have heard. It’s a message about deception and trusting your instincts, ‘if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it’s probably a duck.’

On Friday, April 20 there was a debate on a Motion tabled by the UBP, now OBA’s Bob Richards about the Albright Stonebridge Report. This report analysed the Bermuda /United States economic relationship.

Instead of talking about the issue at hand, the OBA once again trotted out the tired, old UBP rhetoric of attack and distort.

The truth is that as early as 2008, Premier Paula Cox was warning about and planning for the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In February 2008, Minister Cox noted: “The global economic outlook for 2008 has been clouded by the continuing fall-out from the subprime lending crisis...” This is without a doubt a recognition that there were clouds on the horizon.

Our response to the global economic crisis was a reflection of our values.

We tightened our belt and cut spending in the face of declining revenues. But, unlike the OBA, we don’t believe that only cutting is the answer. We also invested in Bermudians to protect jobs and soften the blow.

When it comes to the blame game, this independent report disagreed with our friends in the UBP/OBA.

It noted that “…the Bermuda economy has been adversely affected by the global economic crisis…”

The report doesn’t reference the Bermuda government or its policies at all in its assessment. In fact the report goes on to say the Bermuda government and regulators “… moved quickly in response to the 2007 and 2008 global crisis to reassure foreign investors…. regulatory standards are stable and transparent...” Do these facts fit the arguments of the Opposition?

Secondly, it is just a lie that the Term limit policy has been a job killer for Bermudians.

The Opposition provides no evidence other than wild statements.

Term limits

The facts? Official statistics show that from 2001, when the policy was established, to 2007 when it came into effect, not only did the economy expand, but employment increased for locals and expatriates!

If the policy was forcing workers to leave why was this not happening before the global economic downturn? This policy has been in place for 11 years but we only begun to see employee reductions during the recession since 2009. Ask yourself, did term limits cause this?

The truth is, the Opposition accusations do not align with the facts. The purpose of the term limit policy has been to remove the expectation that a work permit holder would have entitlement to permanent residency or Bermuda Status.

This policy, put in place to minimise the number of future PRC Holders, enhances Bermudian access to jobs and Bermudian access to land. The policy has been applied with flexibility and sensitivity to the needs of employers, never with the intention to stop them meeting their employment needs or damaging the interest of their business.

The UBP/OBA is up to their old tricks. They’re attacking and attacking because the truth is that beyond throwing the door open to guest workers and bowing to their Front Street masters, the UBP/OBA doesn’t have a plan or a vision to create jobs in Bermuda. They’re not on our side. The PLP may not be perfect, but, the people know that we believe in Bermudians and that we’re always on their side.