Economy Minister Patrice Minors assured the House of Assembly she had “no intentions to make any changes to the existing policy” when it came to term limits.The statement came as Ms Minors rebutted Opposition claims that the policy had driven business from Bermuda.Meanwhile, Premier Paula Cox’s claim that Bermuda’s financial troubles are down to the global economy are “worthy of Mickey Mouse”, Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said.Mr Richards pointed to a report on the Island’s economic relationship with the United States which, he said, presented the Island as the States’ most important trading partner.The report by the Albright Stonebridge Group highlights Bermuda’s independence from the global financial calamity, Mr Richards told the House of Assembly as he kicked off his motion on the subject.This contrasts with Finance Minister Ms Cox’s repeated claims the Island’s spiralling debt is a consequence of the worldwide recession, he said.“Bermudians are going to have to choose who to believe,” he said.“There’s a theory that the global recession happened, so the recession in Bermuda must be caused by it.“To me, that theory is worthy of Mickey Mouse. It’s not worthy of the Finance Minister.”Mr Richards’ motion was for the House to take note of the US-Bermuda Economic Relations: Economic Impact Study 2011 and its implications for Bermuda’s workforce, economy and long-term sustainability.He questioned why the report, which reveals the link between the countries sustains more than 300,000 jobs in the US, had not been trumpeted by Government.“Why hasn’t this been the subject of one of those long, tortuous, ministerial statements that we have to listen to every Friday?” he asked.Mr Richards charged that international business workers were quitting Bermuda, but not because business was poor.“The problem is Bermuda-specific, not global,” he said, laying the blame on Government’s term-limit policy and immigration practices.He said the Albright Stonebridge report showed that Bermuda’s two-way trade with the US topped $8 billion in 2010.“A One Bermuda Alliance government will decisively address the causes of the exodus,” he said. “We will promote a pro-growth policy including aggressively pursuing new business opportunities, all the while enforcing strict cost controls within government itself.”Said Economy Minister Patrice Minors: “There has been a myth purported in many statements the Opposition has given, that international business is not being welcomed,” she said.Ms Minors quoted favourable reports of Bermudian economic growth, and confidence among international business leaders.Attacking Mr Richards’ contention that term limits were “Bermudian job killers”, Ms Minors said there would be no change.Noting that large numbers of waivers had been made on certain term limits, she said the limits gave “clarity with respect to residency issues, but the flexibility not to affect continuity of service”.Ms Minors also pointed to schemes such as the incentives for job creators, the waiter-server programme and the small jobs initiative that continue to create jobs at home.Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons shot back: “On one hand we’re hearing that Bermuda is doing great in terms of trade. But it simply isn’t translating locally.”He said Ms Minors’ stance on term limits “cuts to the heart” of the confidence of international business.Over heckling, he concluded: “Clearly, it’s going to require new government to restore business confidence in Bermuda.”Justice Minister Michael Scott answered him: “I really don’t get it.”Mr Scott said the endorsement of Bermuda’s economic strength in the Albright Stonebridge group went against everything Mr Richards and Dr Gibbons had said.He also questioned how term limits could have injured Bermuda’s standing, when the report showed Bermuda’s economy growing under that same policy.Shadow Transport Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said that even while US involvement and trade with Bermuda was creating job opportunities in the US, the local job market was shrinking.Of conflicting accounts of the business mood between Government and the OBA, Ms Gordon-Pamplin said: “People will tell us what they want to say, but they will tell Government what Government wants to hear.”Noting that the Island had lost nearly 700 jobs between 2010 and 2011, the OBA MP said she was aware of “headhunting companies saying they were challenged in selecting the right outsourcing firms” — whether to outsource from India, or the Philippines.A number of PLP MPs questioned why little of the debate had focused on the Stonebridge report, with backbencher Walter Roban claiming most comments seemed like a rehash of the Reply to the Budget.There was nothing in the Stonebridge report about term limits, said Mr Roban.He said the OBA’s narrative is to blame the PLP because companies have moved to Switzerland.The former Environment Minister also asked why the Opposition didn’t praise former Premier Ewart Brown when he made trips to China and India, noting we are now seeing headlines that Bermuda was slow off the mark to go to China.Kim Swan, who was elected as a United Bermuda Party MP said, Bermuda needs to better promote its importance to America, pointing out the Island’s reinsurance industry plays a vital role to the US after disasters and catastrophes.Mr Swan always took issue with some PLP members’ constant ribbing of Mr Richards for predicting there was going to be an economic crisis.Instead of laughing at Mr Richards’ suggestion that Bermuda should prepare for a downturn, the PLP should have listened and put some money aside so that today’s financial picture would not be so bleak, said Mr Swan.He said even after the crisis hit Bermuda, it took former US Consul General Gregory Slayton to announce Bermuda is in a recession while Government proceeded as normal.Mr Swan also said according to his experiences as former Opposition Leader, the tension between Government and international business was not an illusion, as the PLP claims.The St George’s West MP left the chamber angrily after Acting Speaker Darius Tucker cut his speech short at 30 minutes, half the time Mr Swan believed he was entitled to.As he exited the room, Mr Swan apparently responded to heckling from Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess by shouting he was going home on the bus because: “I don’t need a GP car!”Families Minister Glenn Blakeney painted a positive picture of Bermuda’s economy, telling how Bermudians are high-flying in international business.Mr Blakeney said countries such as Greece, Iceland and Italy had all been hit by the economic crisis.He questioned why the term limits policy should be relaxed, saying the PLP has shown it can be flexible with it, and that for one thing Bermuda’s infrastructure would not allow huge numbers of residents.Health Minister Zane DeSilva said Bermuda has been battered by its worst recession in 80 years, and the reason Government didn’t put money aside during the good years was that it was investing in infrastructure and people, following years of neglect by the UBP.He labelled Mr Richards and Dr Gibbons doom and gloom merchants, adding that there are 40 percent more jobs in international business now than in 1998 when the PLP took over.Environment Minister Marc Bean went for a similar theme, saying the OBA are reverse alchemists because they have taken a positive report and turned it into a negative debate.Government, he said, “says the cup is half full; they say it’s half empty”.He charged the Opposition with wishing to keep money out of Bermuda to get into Government, and said they would “try and leech like a parasite the emotions of the people”.Shadow Community Minister Donte Hunt protested that Mr Bean was impugning the Opposition with unjust motives.Continuing, Mr Bean questioned Mr Richards’ closing promise that the OBA would control Government spending.“To this day, no one in Bermuda has received a substantial answer as to how you would do it,” he said. The Opposition, he said, simply wished to paint a negative picture of Government.Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe remarked: “If the tone of this debate continues, I will shut this debate down.”National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief rose next, observing: “Bermuda, when it comes to counting insurance captives, ranks number one in the world.”International firms enjoyed the Island’s political stability, he said, adding: “I wish that the Opposition, in trying to be political, would not speak untruths, would not erode what Bermuda has taken decades to build.”Calling Mr Richards’s argument “duplicitous”, Mr Perinchief said: “They know that the real threats are external, not internal.”