This week’s public meeting on term limits was sparsely attended, but that does not mean that this issue is not critically important for Bermuda’s future.It’s unfortunate that more people did not attended the meeting because they would have heard two important speeches, one from commentator Larry Burchall, and the other from Association of Bermuda International Companies executive director Richard Winchell.Mr Burchall re-emphasised his theme that Bermuda’s economy needs a certain level of resident workers around 40,000 to thrive.That’s because much of the money generated in Bermuda’s international business sector does not directly affect the economy. If an international company makes $100 million a year, that $100 million does not sit in Bermuda.But a successful company is more likely to expand in Bermuda, adding staff, office space, buying local services and so on. And that is the investment that is important for Bermuda.Conversely, when thousands of people leave Bermuda, as they have done since 2009, the effects n the economy are there for all to see.Mr Burchall’s second point concerns the fact that the Bermuda population is not growing, and is likely to start shrinking. At the same time, Bermudians will start retiring in large numbers, meaning there will be fewer working Bermudians to support a growing population of retirees.For that reason, Bermuda is likely to need more non-Bermudian workers in the future, not fewer.In this context, term limits matter because they are one of the reasons people and companies cite when they leave Bermuda.That might be a reinsurance underwriter who moves his office to the US, or it might be a company that moves its domicile to Switzerland.In either case, the effect on Bermuda is worse than any possible deterrent effect that the term limits policy might have.Mr Winchell made the case that term limits are hurting Bermuda and are not necessary either.The major motivation for introducing term limits was not to ensure Bermudians got a fair crack at jobs the existing work permit policy did that very well already but to avoid having a large number of long term residents on the Island who would be able to demand rights or status.But Mr Winchell showed that this need not happen. No fewer than three legal opinions provided by ABIC to Government said there was no obligation to long term residents, and that expatriate workers could be required to sign an acknowledgment that they would not expect any residency rights. (His full statement is carried on this page).Such a document would end the necessity for term limits, which in turn could be abolished.“The term limit policy is regularly cited in exit interviews, by external recruiters and business leaders as a policy that has a negative effect on how people view Bermuda as a place to do business and to work. Removing the term limit policy would counter this negativity without damaging the interests and aspirations of Bermudians.Mr Winchell is right. The work permit policy protects Bermudians’ rights. Term limits are not needed if non-Bermudians acknowledge at the start that they will not get permanent residency. Term limits deter individuals and businesses from being in Bermuda and inject unnecessary uncertainty into an already fragile economy.It would appear that only pride is keeping this policy in place. Ending term limits would be the single best means of saying that Bermuda is open for business and that the Government is committed to turning the Bermuda economy around.