in the House of Assembly.

*** Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons used the closing hours of Friday's debate on the Budget to question Government's economic vision.

He said a clear pattern was being set with the three PLP budgets -- increasing spending by 6.1 percent, 8.1 percent and this year 12.1 percent.

"What we see here is a rapid ramp up in the total expenditure. Spending is increasing so appreciably, I'd like to know whether the Minister is working toward a plan of some sort. The next budget may increase 15, 18 or 20 percent.

How are we going to pay for this extraordinary increase in spending?'' Dr. Gibbons also questioned whether too heavy a tax burden was falling on international business. "Will international business be prepared going forward to shoulder some of the burden that is clearly coming their way.'' And he said the most recent Archer report noted that there was an "extremely poor'' rate of response from international businesses to the report's questions which might suggest that international business was becoming less cooperative.

Dr. Gibbons discussed the idea which was floated by BHC chairman Raymonde Dill about the possibility of using pension funds to subsidise low cost housing. He called the idea "ridiculous'' and asked Finance Minister Eugene Cox to promise such a scheme would not be attempted.

Continuing on the theme of pensions, Dr. Gibbons said that he was concerned about the intersection of the Contributory Pension Fund and the National Pension scheme. He said that many seniors find it very difficult to live on the low contributory fund payments. Some seniors, he said, "to some degree have fallen between the cracks'' of the two schemes. "Is there any plan going forward to look at a merger of the two schemes,'' he asked.

Dr. Gibbons also suggested a major overhaul of the Post Office is needed as it continues to work under "widening losses''. He said that the Post Office was working on a $1.67 million deficit and that its future survival would depend upon focusing on the new ways that people communicate.

He pointed out in the US, four trillion e-mail messages are sent every day versus 101 billion pieces of mail and that European postal authorities were reorganising and some were even privatising. "Traditional ways of communicating are changing rapidly,'' he said. "I suggest the Post Office needs a national review committee of some sort...'' Dr. Gibbons also argued that Government needs to get tough with employers who are not paying pensions, payroll taxes and hospital insurance. "This is a criminal issue,'' he said. "Employers caught should be prosecuted.'' But, he noted, the last Auditor's report said that the Attorney General's office was not acting on these collections. "I suggest that honourable member ( Dame Lois Browne-Evans ) get on with it.'' Although, Dr. Gibbons raised a number of issues, the Finance Minister was only left with three minutes to respond to his questions.

Mr. Cox said Government works out six-year economic projections. And he said that ideally Government could pay for much needed capital projects out of a capital surplus. "But that's wishful thinking because rarely do you find yourself in that position,'' he said.