January 26, 2014

Dear Sir,

Statistics can tell us the truth; they can also hide the truth.

Your page 1 story on Saturday – “We’re better off now than a decade ago” – is a case in point.

Every statistic in the report, as drawn from the Department of Statistics’ 2013 Household Expenditure Survey, is true: higher household incomes, greater spending on entertainment, more computers per household, etc.

But statistics can also distract from the truth. In this instance, it is the truth that thousands of Bermudians are not better off than they were a decade ago. Thousands remain unemployed, or earning less; and thousands who depend on them have to get by with less. You can see it in student meal programmes struggling to meet demand; in charities overwhelmed by people needing help, and in the tens of millions dollars the Government is committing to Financial Assistance.

What we have today is Two Bermuda’s – one that’s doing just fine, employed, making enough money; and one that is no longer working or that has seen paycheques dwindle over time, struggling every day to make ends meet.

Everything the OBA Government is doing, and has been doing since it got elected, is to grow the economy so that the thousands who have suffered for too long can have new opportunities to support their families and their dreams.

Our Number One mission is to get the Island working again for everyone. We’re doing it through changes in regulations, new approaches to old challenges, and a lot of face-to-face meetings to encourage investor interest in job-growing opportunities. That work continues every day.

My ongoing concern in all this is that it takes time to reverse the deep-seated, inherited trends in our economy that have made life so difficult for so many. The Government is getting the Island back on track, but we’re not there yet.

I am encouraged by the findings in your report, but I sent this letter to counter the impression that it might represent the whole truth.

As Premier, I’m looking forward to the day when I can say we no longer have those two Bermudas; that we are One Bermuda, with everyone working and living fair, free and prosperous.

Sincerely,

Craig Cannonier

Premier of Bermuda