There are some similarities between the One Bermuda Alliance’s economic recovery plan and the Progressive Labour Party’s platform, both of which were released last week.Both recognise the need to ease some immigration requirement to attract business to Bermuda, both promise to get some hotel development going and both plan to redevelop the waterfronts of Hamilton and St George’s.Both want the Bermuda College to evolve towards being a four-year university and both promise a referendum on gaming. Both, despite strenuous efforts by the Progressive Labour Party to doubt the OBA, want to expand the Economic Empowerment Zones, which, it is worth noting, was originally a United Bermuda Party idea,Indeed, quite a few of the PLP’s proposals and recent decisions are Opposition ideas, or are decisions which are welcome, but beg the question: What has taken the PLP so long to get there?Both parties also promise to preserve the safety net which is crucial for the survival of thousands of unemployed and underemployed Bermudians.So, despite the sometimes vicious rhetoric, there are broad similarities between the parties.But there are also substantial differences, both in tone, and in substance.The OBA promises to suspend term limits for two years, while the PLP continues to tinker with the structure of the work permit policy, and will not come out with its promised changes until after the general election.The OBA would also introduce a Tourism Authority, and get the industry out of the hands of the politicians, which is wise since tourism has been in steady decline under Ministers from both parties for two decades.To encourage jobs growth, the OBA would also introduce a two-year payroll tax exemption for employers who create new jobs for Bermudians. This has been criticised by the PLP, first for costing Government revenue, and secondly, for being unfair to employees who would continue to pay their deduction.But this is nonsense. First, the tax revenue is not lost because these are new jobs — and new jobs that might not be created without an incentive. Secondly, the payment of payroll tax by the employer is not a deduction from a wage — it is a payment of an additional ten percent of the wage that employers now have to come up with separately — a huge disincentive to job creation.Not requiring employees to pay the 4.75 percent deduction from their wages would put money in their pockets, but it would not be a job creation incentive — because the money is already being paid. So if people want a job, and want to keep Government services running, then this is a relatively small price to pay for a job that would not exist otherwise.The OBA also pledges to reduce the cost of Government, starting with an immediate ten percent cut in Ministerial salaries; a welcome recognition that all Bermudians need to share in the sacrifice.The PLP has spent a good deal of time and money trying to scare people into believing that the OBA will cut social services. But there is no evidence of this, and the OBA has been explicit about what it will not cut — FutureCare — and what it will expand, affordable day care.But that does not mean that spending will not be reduced. It has to be if Bermuda is to get out of the debt spiral that is risking the Island’s fiscal stability and making it harder for Government to get money to those who need it most.The difference here is that the PLP has said it will reduce spending, but then has largely failed to do so. The OBA, although untried, has been consistent in questioning how much programmes will cost, and in uncovering waste.It comes down to perception and belief.One party has a record of overspending and broken promises on spending reductions. The other has a record of encouraging prudent spending while in Opposition.It is impossible to say how the latter will perform in government, if elected. But it will have an obligation to back up its promises.