This is an adapted text of a statement delivered by Shadow Finance Minister E.T. (Bob) Richards and Shadow Works Minister Pat Gordon-Pamplin on the current economic crisis and its ramifications for Bermuda.

The economic crisis now gripping countries across the world did not happen overnight. It did not appear out of the blue in the past few weeks. This downturn has been, if anything, one of the most widely anticipated in modern economic history.

Despite the warnings, this Government, for whatever reason, failed to prepare.

We registered our concerns on this point back in February in our Reply to the Government's 2008-2009 Budget, which took no account of the storm warnings.

We said the evidence was clear that the United States was headed for a period of either "slow growth, no growth or contraction" that would drag the global economic growth rate down.

We said it was critical for the Government to adjust its plans, its strategies and its spending habits given our dependence on the US economy.

Instead, the government has blithely continued wasteful and unnecessary spending despite the real possibility that its revenues would fall short because of a weakening US economy.

Curiously, it was the US Consul General's diplomatic shot last week that finally seemed to wake the Government out of its slumber.

In the days since, the Government has been scrambling to put together a plan.

One of our concerns is that the Finance Minister and the Premier are simply not leading. They appear detached and slow to respond. Economic leadership is about looking ahead, understanding conditions and possibilities and taking sound measures to adapt. We're not seeing that.

Today we will continue to put forward ideas the Government can use to provide the country with the leadership it deserves, and to strengthen important areas of the economy that are either underperforming or endangered.

Here are some of our ideas:

1. We need straight talk

The Government needs to provide the country with a straightforward analysis of the economy, where it is and where it is going.

We are not convinced it has a clear understanding within its own ranks of what we are up against. The Premier and the Finance Minister send mixed signals. They need to be on the same page.

The Government, and the Country, needs the best possible understanding of where we are so we can make the smartest decisions about the way forward. We say: Be honest with yourselves and level with the people. They will appreciate it.

2. Eliminate non-essential spending

The Finance Minister needs to impose a concerted, disciplined effort to reduce spending, including an immediate cap on public service hiring.

The Minister will need to drive her colleagues hard.

We have to ask whether she is tough enough to achieve the savings Bermuda will need.

Her record says otherwise.

Under her leadership, Bermuda's budget deficit before borrowing has grown from $26 million to $131 million.

Under her leadership, the national debt has mushroomed from $160 million to $456 million, while interest payments on debt have risen from $8 million a year to $21.5 million.

The fact that Government borrowing is at its highest levels ever makes cost-cutting a priority.

3. Prepare social support programmes

Precious time has been lost to adjust plans to weather the downturn. There will likely be hefty increases in demand for social assistance and steps must be taken to prepare for it.

In particular, we urge the government to put additional money aside now for Housing Assistance and Social Assistance, two programmes that saw significant demand increases in the last recession.

4. Plan to keep people employed

The government's excessive capital spending in recent years has diminished its capacity to start public projects over the next period.

There is no immediate need to move government projects forward because the construction industry is still fully employed. But as current projects are completed there is real potential for significant lay-offs.

It is essential at that point that the government be ready to take up some of the slack with projects that provide jobs lost during the down turn.

And when Government moves these projects forward, it must spread the wealth. Why should more than $100 million in current government contracts have been handed over to an "axis" of two or three construction bosses favoured by the Premier?

Government needs to play fair with other contractors, both large and small. Stop playing favourites. Openly tender the jobs. Spread the business.

5. Buy Bermuda

Every Bermudian can play their part in supporting the economy. We would like to reinvigorate the Buy Bermuda campaign because it will help keep Bermudians employed and businesses running.

The campaign needs a strong message that it's about helping the country, supporting your friends and families.

6. Support Small Business

Many small businesses are hanging by a thread, in part because of the decline in tourism. Lay-offs are starting to happen. To help them survive and keep their staffs employed, the government should prepare to cut their payroll tax.

7. Promote Energy Conservation

In every problem there is opportunity, and so it is with this financial crisis. Each year Bermuda sends tens of millions of dollars overseas to pay for fuel imports. This is a real opportunity to move the country toward a new energy policy. Once again, the Government can provide leadership with an aggressive national approach to energy conservation in the home and the work place, and it should start with the government.

8. Work with International Business

Bermuda's economy relies overwhelmingly on international business. It supports the livelihoods of thousands of Bermudians and makes possible our high living standards.

Yet the government has taken an adversarial approach to the industry that is undermining Bermuda as a place to do business. It grows the biggest enemy of business, which is uncertainty, and makes us vulnerable to international competitors. Its adversarial approach has already caused us to lose business.

Government is playing with fire, and it should know better. Dial back the tough-guy approach to international business. It is dangerous and puts us all at risk.

These relationships need to be fixed now. Improve the climate with business leaders and start promoting more effectively the value of international business to Bermudians.

Crime is also a major concern for international business, as it is for most Bermudians. The Government's continuing failure to take strong steps to fight crime is simply one more negative that has attached itself to Bermuda as a place to do business.

Once again we urge the Government to take the necessary steps to make our streets and homes safer.

9. Do better in Washington

The fact that Bermuda has become a punching bag in the US election says we have failed to explain Bermuda to US legislators and politicians.

We appreciate the hard work Gregory Slayton, the US Consul General, has done to revive the US-Bermuda relationship, but the PLP Government must understand that once-a-year photo-ops in the corridors of Congress has not and is not doing the job.

Bermuda needs a deliberate, sustained and focused diplomatic effort to make sure that US politicians fully understand the contributions Bermuda makes and don't act against us as a tax haven.

This will be a serious challenge in the year ahead as a new US Administration looks aggressively to shore up its financial strength.

Failure to succeed in this diplomacy could carry very serious consequences for the island.

One pragmatic step we recommend is a ban on corporate inversions in Bermuda. This is a practice that is in the crosshairs of US legislators. The risks they carry for Bermuda far outweigh the benefits.

The period ahead will be a challenge for Bermuda but we also see it as an opportunity to start doing some things better, particularly as they relate to the performance of the government, and this is the spirit with which we put forward our ideas today.