Friday?s Budget was Finance Minister Paula Cox?s second, but the first for which she had full responsibility.

On the whole, there was very little to complain about in her Budget and quite a lot to praise. This was largely because the Government benefited from strong economic growth last year. Since Government tends to get the blame when the economy is in trouble, it can also take some credit when it is strong, and Ms Cox did.

Nonetheless, economic growth was largely due to a good year for international business, which extended a trend of strong growth that began in 2002. Construction ? as evidenced by the forest of cranes around Hamilton ? continues to boom and this looks set to continue at least through the middle of next year.

Because of that, Ms Cox had money available to put money into the Social Agenda, which so far has been more words than action.

Much of the spending, on education, rehabilitation and the like, is worthy.

Even so, many of the pressing issues have been put off, at least for the time being. Funding for public housing was not made available because the Bermuda Housing Corporation ? which Ms Cox said was now accountable, thus admitting in a roundabout way that it was not previously ? will seek funds from the local financial sector and has already been handed $1 million by the Bank of Bermuda.

In the meantime, private developers will have to apply to the BHC for tax breaks and incentives if they wish to build affordable housing along the same lines as the Harbourside Village in Southside, so it is not yet clear how much Government will be assisting them.

Depressingly, there was little in the Budget on how Government plans to help to control rising health care costs. That will have to wait until a health care summit later in the year.

And pensioners will rightly get another increase, this time of 3.5 percent, in August, although that may not be enough to keep pace with inflation, which could average four percent depending on the US dollar and oil prices.

Workers will see social insurance payments increase by 4.75 percent, and rightly so. Assuring the viability of the Government pension scheme requires that future beneficiaries put more money in it, especially when it gave out $3.6 million more in pensions last year than it took in in contributions. On that note, the Bermuda Birthright fund sounds like a good idea, but the details on it remain vague.

Sadly, there was no mention of Government workers contributing more to the Public Service Superannuation Fund, although Government will be writing off all of the $44 million owed by the fund to Government. Since the taxpayer is funding that, and civil servants generous 4.5 percent pay increase, it would be nice to see public servants doing something to assure the viability of their own pensions. As for other measures to make the fund viable, they, like health care, will have to wait until an actuarial study has been completed.

Perhaps the most significant item in the Budget ? and for the Social Agenda ? was the long overdue increase in the ceiling for payroll tax breaks for small businesses.

Businesses with annual payrolls of less than $200,000, $500,000 and $1 million will now pay less tax on a graduated scale. This will bring some relief to small businesses and free up money for capital investment and expansion.

That Ms Cox was able to do that was due in part to the fact that the Ministry of Finance underestimated (again) the tax it would take in when payroll taxes were increased last year, netting $28 million more than they expected.

It is undoubtedly better to underestimate tax revenue than to overestimate it, but $28 million is a shocking miss, and begs the question of what businesses and employees might have done if that money had been left in their pockets and the top rate of payroll tax had been left unchanged.

Still, it is good news that small businesses have been given a break; more should be done for them. That?s because they may be the best vehicle for bridging the wealth gap and for improving people?s lives. Barriers to entry for entrepreneurs are low, they create good jobs and they demand high productivity.

Ms Cox makes it clear at the end of her speech that she sees Government as the best vehicle to improve the lives of all the people.

But it can be argued that sometimes Government can best serve the community by getting out of the way. Reducing the tax burden and red tape for small businesses is one such way.