Bermudian voters are politically astute and they have proven that they are no pushovers. Between 1998 and 2017 we have been see-sawing between the two political parties. But there comes a time when the voters themselves need to take stock of their choices and take partial responsibility for the poor state of affairs that our island is in.

After the 2008 worldwide recession that has lingered with Bermuda for a decade, coupled with incredibly poor fiscal management under Ewart Brown, the former premier, and snubbing of the tourism industry in favour of international business, we are now a nation in $2.5 billion of debt.

Taxes must be implemented, austerity measures must be taken, innovative resuscitation of tourism and small business development has to happen and Progressive Labour Party supporters need to suck it up. If not, we risk our Bermuda dollar being devalued.

On July 18, 2017, the PLP won 24 of the 36 seats in the House of Assembly. The majority spoke and so they need to stand shoulder to shoulder in supporting the Minister of Finance’s plans to get us out of this economic mess and stop whining. Curtis Dickinson is not a magician and he cannot wave a wand, but he does have a financial plan and we need to have some faith in him. The finance minister is well educated, experienced in the financial world and is a progressive.

My only criticism of his recent town hall meeting results is that intentions of taxing rental income were not clearly communicated to the public. There is no way that low to middle-income elderly citizens who rely on rental income from a tenant would be caught in the tax net proposed. There is no way that families who rent part of their property to help towards their mortgage repayments would be caught in the tax net. PLP supporters need to pay attention and accept that austerity measures must be implemented, but it doesn’t mean the party is going to burn those that are already struggling.

Surely tax should be applied to rent profits earned by modern-day descendants of the “40 Thieves” merchant families, modern-day descendants of the privileged families that owned the nine parishes and modern-day descendants of the shareholders of the Virginia Company/Somers Isles Company. They have been the ones that have gobbled up the 21 square miles we call home. They are the ones invested in real estate and, therefore, the profits earned from their interests in commercial tenancy, as well as high-end properties and multiple property investments, should be taxed on their capital gains like any other westernised economy.

I am acutely aware that not all property investors were privileged. There are Bermudians who came from nothing and made great achievements in real estate such as Sir John Swan, Harry Soares, Fernance Perry (deceased) and Freddie Yearwood (deceased). These fine citizens worked hard, had charisma, were smart entrepreneurs and businessmen. They did not amass their wealth through a silver spoon.

Bermuda’s economy is not doing OK, especially for the majority of individual household earners who are bringing in less than $50,000 a year. A vast amount of Bermudians fall into this economic bracket — they are living on the breadline, paycheque to paycheque with very little hope of ever owning their own home. Implementation of taxes should not affect this portion of our population. This is not what a labour party is about.

The finance minister has to have the funds to pay down our national debt, provide our schools with IT labs and keep them free of mould, maintain our public transportation and buy more fleets, maintain government buildings, roads, fund essential services such as police and fire.

We have no home for abused women, no home for children until they can be placed in a foster home, we have no halfway house for released inmates, and we are not providing sufficient homes and care for our elderly. We have an archaic youth centre in Hamilton and we cannot maintain Sandys 360. Curtis Dickinson cannot magically pull $2 billion out of a hat to repay our debt and to finance these initiatives.

The PLP is not proposing income tax. It is proposing implementing a reasonable, realistic 2019-20 Budget that will include new taxation because we have no other choice. We need to stop living so large but thinking we are poor.

The glass is half-full, not half-empty. There is hope, there is room to exercise different fiscal approaches and we just need to put our chin up and cut the minister some slack.

• Cheryl Pooley is a social commentator and three-times former parliamentary candidate