Bob’s your uncle? Not on Budget Day 2013, Mr Acting Editor. The man has some job to do and I don’t envy him one bit. You could say that the new Finance Minister in a new Government is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he hasn’t got a lot of room to manoeuvre.For starters, there is that staggering reported debt of $1.4 billion, and climbing, and both he and the One Bermuda Alliance have committed to reducing that debt, and I mean seriously reducing that debt before it becomes crippling, all of which has to be achieved in an economy that is, well, anything but robust, but rather in need of stimulation, while at the same time maintaining a Government that in size has arguably grown well beyond our means.Whew. That’s a tall order, on any view.Consider the options he has to work with in the short-term:n Government revenues are falling and expenditure appears to have been going in the other direction. How far apart and how that will be curbed will likely form part of the Budget Statement today.n There are no reports of anyone clamouring for any increases in taxes — at this time. On the contrary. Struggling businesses are looking for existing exemptions to continue and for further breaks on payroll taxes.n Pretty well everyone is looking for help. The chances we will see cutbacks in Government services — at this time — are probably slim. The One Bermuda Alliance already promised that the civil service will be trimmed but only by attrition. (So what’s with all the job notices that still seem to continually appear in the Government Gazette?). At the same time, it is probably also fair to say (and it probably will be said) that this is a new Cabinet whose members have had a limited time in which to familiarise themselves with the various programmes of their respective departments and to come to grips with what can or cannot reasonably be trimmed.The net result? A likely further increase in debt. Not good.If that isn’t bad enough, there are some deeper, long-term issues at play that are equally challenging — perhaps even more so if we do not face up to them now.Two trends are bearing down on us: 1) Slower long-term economic growth, assuming we can start to generate any, and 2) an ageing population. There can be no question that this combination is going to place greater and greater stress on public finances and present difficult decisions no matter who forms the Government. Other countries are already wrestling with the limited options that have come about as a result of this trend: increases in taxes and/or cutbacks in services. Few politicians relish either, and neither do voters — and that’s another problem.If those who make such predictions are accurate, and there are quite a few of them, all saying the same thing, the western world is likely entering a period of slow economic growth. Bermuda will not be immune, and if this is the case, Government revenues won’t grow as quickly as they have in the past, assuming no new taxes, and expenditure will have to be held in check.On the other hand, continued help from Government will be required by the private sector and of necessity some spending will also have to increase: healthcare spending for seniors for example, because there will be more of them.But extra spending is only half of it. The other is birth rates that indicate that there will be fewer people in the workforce to fund extra costs in healthcare and for pensions: even though this can be mitigated in Bermuda somewhat by imported labour.I call this the Big Squeeze (it’s no hug) and it is not likely to evaporate any time soon. We have had the warnings before, and to borrow a line from columnist George Will, the future has a cruel way of arriving unannounced.Get A DogAs far as bloggers go, the Terry Lister decision overshadowed the Throne Speech Reply and Debate. For vitriol and viciousness, it rivalled in reaction Randy Horton’s decision the week before. Stepping back for a moment, and on a personal level, we can probably all relate. There is little point staying where you don’t feel appreciated or welcomed.Yet there is always bound to be some shake-up and shake-out in any political party after an unexpected loss at the polls after 14 years in power. Colleagues will tell you it isn’t personal, it’s just politics, and I suppose it is: masquerading as transformational rather than transactional, which is so often what politics boils down to.It’s what you can bring to the table that counts and what counts is decided by those who already sit at the table. What will be interesting is to follow the political path Mr Lister takes from here: where to — who will join him and at what table?A quick PS and laugh for the day: Whatever politics may be about it isn’t about friendships. US President Harry Truman got it right when he famously advised people not to go to Washington (and into politics) looking for friends. If it is a friend that you want, he said, get a dog. Woof, woof, Mr Acting Editor, and may your bite always match your bark.Comments? E-mail jbarritt@ibl.bm