Hello Bermuda and happy belated Valentine’s Day! I do so HATE that observance.It’s a total farce perpetuated by businesses and emotionally immature and unenlightened persons who are insecure and possibly love-starved because they don’t give love throughout the year, which makes them go all wonky and stupid on February 14.But I digress. I said I wasn’t gonna write about Valentine’s Day but at least I didn’t do it in such a way as to contribute to peoples’ propensity to overspend in the middle of February. There. Done with the subject. Now onto a more meaningful topic.A few weeks ago we were discussing feedback from a person who appeared to be a US-based reader. We looked at the topic of socialism.I had a rather intellectually stimulating exchange with another reader that I just have to share.The quintessential and most poignant part of the discussion was found in definitions that he provided in comparing socialism and capitalism. You’re gonna love this; because I sure as heck do. Here goes.“Capitalism is a system whereby man exploits man. Socialism is just the reverse.”More on this after the top 20.Improving to #1 is Good Feeling by Flo Rida, the same song as Levels by Avicii, a smoking dance track. Tumbling to #2 is We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris. Jumping to #3 is The One That Got Away by Katy Perry, a former essential new tune.Falling to #4 is Rain Over Me, by Marc Anthony and Pitbull. Falling to #5 is Without You by David Guetta featuring Usher.Still climbing at #6 is Ni**as in Paris by Jay Z featuring Kanye West. Slipping to #7 is Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO. This track is catchy and bangs.Way up to #8 is Turn Me On by David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj, a monster dance hit which is tearing up charts worldwide. Improving to #9 is Rack City by Tyga, a former essential new tune.Improving to #10 it’s Hangover by Taio Cruz featuring Flo Rida. Also on the way up, at #11, is Dance (A$$) by Big Sean featuring Nicki Minaj.Falling to #12 is Mr Saxobeat by Alexandra Stan, the Romanian Bombshell. I’m told that lots of the honeys over there look like her. Nice place to visit.Tumbling to #13 is a rare hip hop/rap love song, Lotus Flower Bomb by Wale featuring Miguel. Falling to #14 is Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera. Dropping to #15 is Party People (Ignite The World) by Erika Jayne.Climbing to #16 is Hotel Nacional by the original Latina Diva, Gloria Estefan. Slipping to #17 is Love On Top by Beyonce.Last week’s essential new tune, International Love by Pitbull featuring Chris Brown, improves to #18. This is a bouncing dance hit featuring a rapper and a vocalist, both of whom are on top of their crafts.Improving to #19 is Someone Like You by Adele. Adele can flat out sing. Anything she sings/releases is an instant hit. She’s got mad skills and her CD is a collector’s item.Slipping to #20 is She Will by Lil Wayne featuring Drake, a smooth rap track that has done well in charts worldwide for months.Now back to this week’s topic socialism versus capitalism. Well, where do I start? How about at the beginning. In any event, I want to share a reader’s view, which I feel is quite excellent.He said, and I quote, “that most people go into politics and into government with good intentions”.Yet world history of all governments supports Lord Acton’s famous quote “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.The reader’s view is that because of this it is essential that there is an effective system of checks and balances in place to prevent and curb excesses and to save people from themselves and their human inability to refuse and resist the temptation to do certain things.The theory is that this helps to keep us and our political leaders honest, real and in touch with the people that they are elected to serve.Ultimately, a country and indeed its economy can thrive in any system of government as long as the leaders and captains of industry are honest, exercise integrity and have the best interests of the people of that country as their main motivation.Anything other than that leads to corruption, scandals, misuse of funds, breaches of financial instructions, perceptions of all the above, questions about whether people in authority are on the take, and more of the same.Have we all read the Auditor General’s report? I submit that it should be required reading for every person domiciled in Bermuda because it highlights what can go wrong when an effective system of checks and balances is not in place.Some of my personal concerns from the report and other public documents provided by Auditor General Heather Jacobs Matthews are:n Way back in February 2011, the Auditor General expressed discomfort with Bermuda’s increasing financial challenges, which included a shrinkage in revenue, a weak cash position, expenditures significantly outstripping revenues, increasing long-term debt and, by extension, a growing deficit and public debt.n During the period from March 31, 2009 to March 31, 2010, interest expense on debt rose from approximately $60,000 per day to approximately $100,000 per day (up 67 percent).n At March 31, 2010, the accumulated deficit stood at $1,018.9 million, up $361.2 million (55 percent) from March 31, 2009.n At March 31, 2010, the public debt (net of the Sinking Fund totalling $64.5 million) stood at $969.5 million, up $486.2 million (100 percent) from March 31, 2009.n Inappropriate conduct of the chairman and deputy chairman of the board of directors of the Bermuda Land Development Company Limited.n Inappropriate use of public funds to pay for personal legal expenses.n Denying the Auditor General’s Office access to information.n Obvious conflict of interest.These are some of the outcomes of a system where effective checks and balances are not in place or are circumvented. Let’s hope for a better system of accountability and improved fiscal responsibility.I’m neither a chartered accountant nor an auditor but the numbers don’t lie ...….DJLT