Gulf between rich and poor widening, says UBP
Signs of wealth are camouflaging the struggles and frustrations of many working class Bermudians, Opposition Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons charged last night.
Speaking before Sandys Rotarians, Dr. Gibbons compared Bermuda to the opening line of Charles Dickens' novel `A Tale of Two Cities'.
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," he said. "In Bermuda today we see a similar paradox: two Bermudas, where signs of affluence mask the financial struggles and frustrations of working class Bermudians."
However by diversifying the economy, it will be possible to begin to bring these two Bermudas together, he said.
Listing affordable housing and rising health care costs as two of the biggest financial obstacles to most Bermudians, Dr. Gibbons said: "Overall individuals and businesses are paying $100 million more in taxes than they did in 1998.
"The job outlook is no better. Since 1999, 1,000 Bermudian jobs have been lost while more than 770 non-Bermudians have been hired."
With an unpredictable global climate, a sluggish US economy, threats to the international business sector, alarming drops in tourism revenue (over $300 million since 1998) and a "dangerous narrowing of our economic base", Dr. Gibbons said Bermuda faced two clear choices.
"We can stick with the status quo, which has brought economic stagnation ... Or we can look for modern and innovative ways for economic management that keep pace with rapid change.
"We believe the key to Bermuda's future economic prosperity rests, in large measure, on broadening our economic base. And we believe the key to Bermuda's future social well being depends on ensuring that all Bermudians can share in the Island's prosperity."
Bermuda's increasing reliance on international business as the source of revenue for the country (roughly three times the contribution from tourism) is "close to having all our economic eggs in one basket", he said.
Part of the United Bermuda Party's plan to achieve diversity, he said, was the creation of two new Ministries: the Ministry of Finance and Budgets, and the Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development.
"The new Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development will be dedicated to developing strategies that position Bermuda as a compelling centre for business and investment in a knowledge- and service-based economy," he said.
"And it will, through the Office of Economic Empowerment, ensure that all Bermudians have an opportunity to participate in the future success of this Island, particularly those who have been left out and left behind."
The team at Tourism and Economic Development would be lean, focused, and would work in a "very coordinated way", he said.
"They will research potential opportunities in such low-impact, high-value areas as financial services, information technology, alternate energy sources, marine sciences and biomedical research, off-site continuing education, communications and, of course, tourism.
"They will draw on local expertise and tap our global connections ... They will work with other Ministries to create conditions conducive to certain industries - just as we created an attractive regulatory and supervisory environment for insurance and reinsurance several decades ago.
"The team will function as matchmakers, bringing together potential investors and businesses with other Bermudian groups having an interest in development ... They will be deal makers, not deal breakers."
Finding ways to empower Bermudians economically would be a top priority within the Ministry, he said.
As for the "twin pillars" of tourism and international business: Dr. Gibbons said they would fare "very well" with the new initiatives, as diversification was needed in each sector.
Politics would be taken out of tourism with a Tourism Authority to revive that sector, and studies on international business would allow Bermuda to "go to bat" for the sector which "has single-handedly kept our economy from serious recession over the last several years".
"The entrepreneurship, innovation, hard work and determination that for so long defined Bermuda can again be the source of our economic success," he said.
"That's the vision for One Bermuda ... As long as Bermuda's next government works with all its citizens in an atmosphere of integrity, fairness, respect and humility, we can deliver on the promise of a prosperous and stable future."