A change in Government is the fastest way to get Bermuda’s economy moving again, says the Opposition One Bermuda Alliance.At a press conference called in response to Premier Paula Cox’s pre-budget report released on Monday, Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said, effectively, that things can only get worse under the Progressive Labour Party.“We’re still spending more than we earn, we’re still spending more than the budget calls for,” said Mr Richards at question time.“There’s all this talk about cutting back, and when you look at it, [Ms Cox] says she would spend ‘X’ million and she spends ‘X’ plus another set of millions. So Government budget is still out of control and with that we will see more spending and more debt.”Mr Richards’ prepared statement attacked the Government for “policies and attitudes” which he said made international business feel unwelcome.He noted that Government ran a $269 million deficit during the last financial year the “third consecutive year we have spent more than we have earned” and was heading for a “fourth straight deficit”.Interest on Government debt was $192,000 a day and projected to be $219,000 a day in a year’s time, he added.The trend was pushing Government to cut services and increase taxes, Mr Richards said.“The Government will continue to look for ways to come after your money. That is the reality of the situation they’ve created for themselves and now for you, the taxpayer.”Mr Richards added that Bermuda was lucky in that interest rates were low but they could rise in the future.“A rise in interest rates will mean paying even more for our still growing debt a rise that could easily lead to a Government cash crisis,” he warned.Government is already borrowing money to pay for day-to-day expenses, he said.“Think of a householder using a credit card to pay for his mortgage, for Belco, for groceries and other daily expenses. It may work in the short-term, but it is unsustainable. It cannot continue.”Mr Richards elaborated on his belief that the Government’s policies made international business feel unwelcome, saying that Immigration policies were “designed to slow business down” and protect Bermudians from being overwhelmed.“Now we have a situation where we need that foreign money to come in. We need those foreign workers. Five of those foreign workers create one Bermudian job. But we have institutions that are designed to keep them out,” he told the media.“This is a serious problem, a structural problem but we need a change in mindset to turn that around. And I say the only kind of change in mindset you can get to do that is a new Government.”Asked what an OBA Government would cut, he could not say.“We don’t exactly know what we’re going to find when we take over the government. That’s the problem with this kind of system. We only know what the Government tells us. And when you become the Government then you know what’s inside the wrapper,” he said.“We can’t say definitively what we’ll do when we become the Government because we don’t know what’s inside the wrapper. But we’re coming in with a particular philosophy as it relates to budget control, that’s the key thing. We’re not going to tolerate the sorts of overruns and the kind of laissez-faire attitudes that we’ve seen up until now.”It was pointed out to Mr Richards that the Government had recognised the problem of bureaucratic bottlenecks at Immigration and was cutting out excessive red tape in favour or a “red carpet” approach to international business. He said that Government had simply responded to his party’s drawing attention to the problem.He noted that the Incentive to Job Makers legislation excluded large public companies from its incentive programme.“All of the biggest job creators were screened out,” he said. “There is not a commitment to actually do something about this problem. There was only a commitment to window dressing.”Asked what the OBA would do differently, Mr Richards said an OBA administration would ask the international business sector what their needs are and make policy accordingly.“We view those people as customers. We don’t view them as threats. We’re the only country on Earth that views our customers as threats.”Mr Richards also rejected Government’s release of the pre-budget statement as part of their open budgeting policy, saying that it was in response to the Auditor General’s complaint to the House Speaker that she could not table her reports because the Audit Committee had not been properly performing its functions.“Information that we got on Monday is still is a very poor substitute for audited financial statements from the Government, which we should have had by now,” he said.Junior Finance Minister Senator David Burt told the Upper Chamber yesterday that the pre-budget statement was an example of the open budget process.“Budgets are not just numbers on a page, they are about our people. Governments are here to serve people, and it is important that citizens are informed about the budget process and understand what it means to them,” he said, repeating the Premier’s words.“Budgets affect lives, budgets affect business, budgets affect our children, and budgets affect our retirees. Budgets affect all of us, and it is vital that our people are educated about the formulation of our Country’s budget.”Last night Sen Burt added: “The Shadow Minister of Finance gave a statement long on rhetoric, but completely empty when it came solutions. The pre-budget report provided a road map for sustainable public finances, deficit reduction, and debt repayment.“On a day when one of our hotels announce a $52 million expansion, the Shadow Minister can continue to bet against Bermuda's future, but the Government will continue the work to ensure Bermuda and Bermudians emerge from this recession stronger than ever.”