Everyone knew any Government Budget in these economic circumstances was not going be a lobster dinner with all the trimmings.

Not only was it going be a major problem finding sufficient lobsters, but even the trimmings were in short supply.

It was expected that once the new Budget was announced by Finance Minister Bob Richards, there would be rumblings from unions and sections of the community who felt short-changed by various spending cuts designed to try to get our Island spaceship back on the ground of economic growth.

Few would expect any Government facing a huge debt problem that could threaten our way of life to come up with solutions overnight that would have the gravy train, so to speak, dripping with economic prosperity for all Bermudians.

That would be wonderful, but reality dictates that getting Bermuda back on track will not be easy no matter what was done to change course.

Although it is the Parliamentary duty of the Opposition to probe and question various cost-cutting initiatives in the new Budget, if they were at the helm they too would be scrambling to produce measures to improve the situation without creating further hardship in the employment arena. More damage to this sector will hurt families throughout Bermuda when many are already struggling to stay afloat in troubled economic waters.

The grim reality is that without a finger-pointing contest as to how we arrived at this critical economic state, the OBA Government is charged with doing everything possible to improve an Apollo 13-like situation — trying to find a solution under circumstances where it looked impossible.

Although some observers attribute the current state of affairs to global economic problems that affected many countries large and small, others felt that during their spell in office the Progressive Labour Party were not the greatest stewards in handling the public purse and keeping an eye out for that potential rainy day. Such observations will always be the subject of debate.

No Government in any democratic jurisdiction will ever be able to please everyone and that, too, is reality.

Finance Minister Bob Richards, speaking on the subject recently to a group of business officials, admitted that the civil service was bigger than it needed to be. He also stated that in a small arena like Bermuda, it would be wrong to, as he put it, “drop kick people to the curb” in seeking a means to cut costs.

He stressed that unlike larger countries, Bermudians would not have the option of simply moving to another part of the Island to restart their economic lives. Although our economic pie probably had 20 available slices, there were 40 people sitting at the table wishing to be served. It would take a Biblical answer to handle that situation.

Most Bermudians are not financial experts but while many have a problem comprehending complicated graphs of statistics showing how this or that percentage of the budget affects the community, they are fully aware of a wallet that has more space than it should have. The road ahead is going to be rough before we reach the smooth section, which everyone is hoping for.

There are countless problems facing Bermuda with no easy answers. Despite this, the potential for success is not out of reach. It will take a common sense and honest approach by political and community leaders with a spirit of co-operation never seen before to move the Island in the right direction.

Without that, we would only have ourselves to blame for not trying to carve out a better future for this generation and the next.

The people are watching very closely and expect nothing short of our best effort to make life better for all Bermudians.