One minute it releases population numbers that are patently wrong and the next it’s saying lack of affordable housing is the number one problem. The number one problem isn’t affordable housing, it’s affordable living.
Housing stock is short, in part, because under this Government landlords noticed renting might ultimately wind up costing more than leaving the apartment empty. And for those who tried to make lemonade from lemons, the Government then made it harder to rent to tourists.
The combination of the staggering cost of food and healthcare, lack of numbers in the workforce and more residents entering retirement age, makes for bleak outlook for Bermuda.
And let’s not forget the never-ending red tape which makes what should be the easiest tasks, tedious.
We need to go back to basics.
The theme of the last Government Throne Speech was “Serving the People”.
How? The Government doesn’t even know how many people actually live on the island!
It has been almost eight years since a census of Bermuda was conducted. Since then, we simply do not know how many hundreds, if not thousands, of Bermudians have emigrated in search of a better life. An affordable life.
The Government cannot give a clear picture and we can only guess our population numbers through word of mouth – who left and where did they go?
Under this Government the cost of living has skyrocketed because we don’t have enough people. Then we created an unwelcoming environment for potential new people, who would help spread the cost burden, thanks to years of blaming people from overseas for home-grown problems.
Instead of well-regulated and supervised ownership of dogs, we now need multi-tonne, expensive fire engines and highly-trained firefighters to physically block loose dogs from running down citizens, including children.
And in light of these kinds of problems, the Government is considering moving to a less frequent budget schedule– that means less financial scrutiny and oversight.
This Government has lost touch with our reality. We need to stop with the glamorous trips, glitzy ideas and handing money to overseas con men.
Let’s get back to basics – making Bermuda a highly functioning environment, open to new and innovative ideas, news businesses and guests, tourists and guest workers alike.
Let’s get the politicians back to legislating and oversight, and leave people to get on with their own affairs. This includes slashing anything holding us back, like red tape, and updating our laws so that whoever is in Government, can never run us this far off the road again.