self-serving mouthings of Front Street. Yet Bermuda's top bankers are the experts on this economy and Bermuda is happy to turn to expert advice when dealing with other problems. Bankers naturally have an inclination to caution and, sometimes, to pessimism. However, Bermuda's bankers, including the Hon.

Sir David Gibbons and Mr. Donald Lines, did remarkably well in realistically warning about the recession.

Long periods of extreme prosperity with wage increases above the increased cost of living have led Bermudians to take cash and success for granted. That period of our development seems to be over, perhaps forever. The time has come to get back to hard work for our living and to recreate Bermuda in much the way it was changed in the years after the Second World War.

That is really what Bank of Bermuda president Mr. Donald Lines told his shareholders in a quarterly letter dated July 15. He told Bermudians that our price is high and that we are not competitive with other resorts at a time when the recession has made US visitors more price conscious.

But we do not think all of the public accepts that. There are people who still believe the smoke that everything will be all right if only "they'' will let it be. Mr. Lines said, "....most Bermudians do not accept that our competitive position has been eroded over the years by a sense of complacency based on past success, high expectations, Government policies which over protect Bermudians and unrealistic wage demands in the past which have been met because employees are largely insulated from external forces which affect our economy''. We would add to Mr. Lines' list the fact that Government set blistering wage rates which the private sector scrambled to meet and which led to internal inflation.

We think the real warning from Mr. Lines is included in the sentence, "Unfortunately ....the aspirations of many Bermudians still remain at unrealistic levels given the Island's ability to generate business and jobs in the current economic environment.'' He is telling us that we will have to settle for less than we expect and that Bermuda can no longer provide as generous a life as it once did. That's a bitter pill because Bermuda and Bermudians have been on top for a long time and people the world over are unhappy to reduce their lifestyle, Perhaps that is why "most Bermudians do not accept that our competitive position has been eroded...'' Bermudians just do not want to believe that their beloved Bermuda isn't what it used to be or that their lifestyle is in danger of being cramped. That is only human nature.

No one likes to admit that there are faults in the one they love.

We believe what Mr. Lines says even though his answer to the problem is a very difficult and very bitter pill. He says, "Recognition of our fundamental problem will take honesty, a new work ethic, a devotion to quality and a renewal of the Islands' commitment to provide first class service at reasonable prices''. That's easy to write but hard to achieve because it would amount to virtually a revolution in Bermuda's workplaces. Yet great change does come about as a result of a great crisis and this recession has certainly been a crisis for Bermuda.