Fancy that – common ground

November 10, 2010

Dear Sir,

I thought I would add my layman's voice to the growing chorus of opinions on the economy. Why not, it's a free country right? OK, let me start on a good note by saying that generally speaking I think that economists are good people that are seldom listened to by practical folk despite the fact that some of them actually have some very good things to say. However, even the most astute economist has to admit that their field is in a quandary as to how to fix the global financial mess we now find ourselves in.

In fact, some critics have gone so far as to say that the field of economics has turned more into more of a guessing game than a science. This is because the good old days of the traditional Phillips curve of supply and demand expectations with minor shock adjustments here and there has turned into a tsunami of never ending scenarios of stagflation (the simultaneous increase of unemployment and inflation rates) that is a most vexing situation for Western economies to solve, confounding both politicians and economists alike. In addition, the complexities and differing views on how and, whether to apply monetary policies, among other issues have not helped much to relieve the crisis either.

Not surprisingly, we see evidence of diverging economic opinions everywhere. US President Obama has adopted a sort of post-Depression era, bail-em-out-by-the state strategy. And even though some disagree with it, the premise of this thinking can be found among some historical economic thought of the 1930s. On the other hand, the tea party movement has adopted the kill-big-government-and-let-the-free-market-be-free mantra. This too has a historical academic basis even earlier then the Great Depression era. And to make it more complicated, Ben Barnanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System perhaps has his own monetary policy view that can also be supported by historical economic thought.

Now Mr. Editor, when this kind of diverse thinking plays out in Bermuda the story gets even more interesting. Who can save Bermuda from spiralling into the financial abyss that currently faces the world, the Government or free enterprise? There are some well-intended, or perhaps mischievous people who would have us believe that today, the Government is a big scary monster from whom we all must be protected, and that the free market is the panacea for all manner of freedoms. But is it really? Why was Bermuda constituted in the 1960's? Was it because our forefathers wanted to free and liberate every inhabitant of Bermuda to exercise his or her right to be an equitable participant in the market? Or, was it because there was a civil rights movement brewing and in order to get a handle on that, the oligarchy of the day had to ensure that they became the Government so that they could maintain control of the so called 'free' market among other things? These are rhetorical questions of course. We know the answers … for some, Governments are allies and for others, the free market ain't so free! It all depends on where you find yourself in history, the economy and politics.

So where does that leave us Mr. Editor? Do we trust the Government to get us out of these hard financial times, or at the very least not to make it any worse? Should Americans look to the Feds for answers and Bermuda, the Ministry of Finance? Should we demonstrate unwavering support for our leaders in their wisdom to incur unprecedented debt (and ultimately taxes) to help to "fix" the problem? Or Mr. Editor, do we shrink Government and its related controls and allow the free market to be free to coordinate itself back to health, trusting that it will engender an uncharacteristic temperament of equity that allows all who are willing to participate fully without discrimination, exploitation or hindrance?

I will leave it to your discerning readers to formulate their own opinions Mr. Editor, but I do have one caution. I do not see anything productive coming out of finger pointing from the proponents of these differing views. Sure, even I agree that the idea of inordinate Government intervention in a market economy is neither an ideal nor desirable. However, I can also agree that markets, like Governments, are operated by people and therefore are subject to the same failings and injustices that have often required Government intervention.

Furthermore, I would caution that with the levelling of the playing field it isn't so easy to finger-point these days. I know of one or two astute capitalists that have become politicians and, dare I say it Mr. Editor … one or two economists too! And I know of one or two socially-minded persons who have become capitalist. Fancy that … common ground! It is this common ground, I suspect, that will get us further ahead in the debate of restoring the economy than the sole ramblings of frustrated economists, intervening governments or free market enthusiasts ever will. Perhaps, your readers might agree … but then again it all depends on where you find yourself in history, the economy and politics I suppose.

CLAUDETTE FLEMING"SMALLER BUSINESSMAN"

Pembroke

Stop the intimidation

November 2, 2010

Dear Sir,

I watched with interest how the PLP representative, David Burt, dealt with the issues of the day on ZBM's "Let's Talk Bermuda". A show for which Gary Moreno deserves much praise. Despite questions concerning the most serious matters of mismanagement of public money, Mr. Burt feels it is time to move on, move forward, well let's just call it what it is, forget bout the causes. Mr. Burt also wanted to know if we would prefer to "go back", by this I take it to mean to the plantation. Well Mr. Burt that is not our only choice; maybe we could just go back 13 years to a time when international business was pouring in, children weren't shooting children, tourists still came and felt safe, jobs were so plentiful we had to import labour, mortgages were available, people had hope and security and of course, the debt was round one tenth of what it is today. Mr. Burt, the people of this island who allowed your party to make decisions would like to see you hold yourselves accountable for all that has happened to create this debt. the wisdom of the crowd precludes you from blaming all this on the global economy. the global economy did not ignore policy and procedure which side stepped putting the TCD project out to tender. Madoff did not force you to come in over budget and over schedule on every major government project since yo won the 1998 election.

The public demands accountability now. The days of intimidation need to be over. Investigation needs to be initiated by your government not by the victims who speak out on behalf of their children who will inherit one thousand million dollars of debt while the perpetrators put their feet up with a piña colada in St. Kitts. Your party rejected gambling so it is ironic that when we gambled on the PLP, they lost us a billion dollars! When we, the public are expected to take on the burden of an insecure future, it is we who tell you when it is time to "move on". the government could possibly humble itself enough to not only re-welcome international business but also seek some advice from those wh turn more profit in one quarter than our country has in 12 years. To the government's staunch supporters I ask when will you speak up for your jobs and your children's future? Leave it too long and the international business will be gone and with it the fuel that drove the powerful engine that gave you the standard of living you enjoyed. If you doubt this fact, look around you, check the unemployment figures, listen to the weekly gun shots, ask yourselves if you can pay all your bills every month, and what would you do if you list your job? Read the business section and note the volatility, job losses and share prices.

It is time for those responsible for this massive mismanagement to be exposed and dealt with, whoever they turn out to be. A new Premier, a new Cabinet; show us you are there for all of us and not only manage the future but clean up the chaos of yesterday or nobody can move on. I would sign myself ''small-business man'' but as of now it should be

St. George's

A great opportunity lost

November 3, 2010

Dear Sir,

I would like to congratulate our new Premier and her cabinet and wish them the best of luck in their work, because they will certainly need it, but I am concerned that sport is no longer even part of the name of any ministry. The two sports which are important to me personally, karate and boxing, have been neglected by government even when "sport" was officially in the name of a ministry. For simplicity, I use the word "karate" to refer to the martial arts in general.

Earlier this year government, in a misguided effort to ensure that sport is drug free, forced all schools and clubs to pay affiliation dues to the government recognised martial arts association. Six months later no receipts have been issued and no AGM has been held to obtain a truly representative executive committee. Requests for redress to the department formerly responsible for sport have been completely ignored. That is taxation without representation or perhaps highway robbery would be a better description.

Years ago a boxing gym was promised by government, but it never materialised. There was a great opportunity lost when Clarence Hill won his Olympic medal in the '70s', probably due to racism and the obstructionism of the then permanent secretary. Troy Darrell, who fought top amateurs and professionals in New York, could also have contributed to a programme, with coach Alan (Forty) Rego. That may be ancient history, but it has set the stage for now. There is an amateur boxing association in Bermuda, but no amateur boxing and government leadership has been notably absent. When we had the first instances of gun violence in Bermuda, each one produced some kind of march or protest. Now that these are weekly occurrences, no one bothers to march anymore — in any case the protests produced no result. I would like to see some real leadership from our newly formed government, even combining the efforts of all the ministries involved, to help our youth in the area of martial arts and boxing.

SKIPPER INGHAM

Founder, Bermuda Karate Institute