Back in the halcyon days of December, 2007 the Progressive Labour Party unveiled a series of election promises which offered all kinds of "freebies" for public transport, Bermuda College tuition, day care and health care for seniors.

When these initiatives were announced, it was clear they were going to be expensive. Just how expensive, no one knew, since Premier Dr. Ewart Brown freely admitted that the party had not calculated how much they would cost. But there was a sense, both from the Government, and apparently from the public since they returned the PLP to power, that they could be paid for.

That "irrational exuberance" was based at least in part on the sustained economic boom and Bermuda's remarkably resilient economy. Doubters were inevitably accused of "fear mongering" or worse. In fairness, the United Bermuda Party had a list of giveaways too, but did go so far as to cost them and say how they would be paid for.

Less than a year later, the economic picture has changed dramatically. Bermuda is not yet in recession, but there is at least a general acceptance now that the Bermuda economy, and by extension, public finances, are in for a difficult period. Dr. Brown admitted when he first became Premier in 2006 that economics was not his strong suit; he formed a Council of Economic Advisors as a way of reassuring the public that the economy was in safe hands. It has only met twice this year, to public knowledge.

Earlier this year it was called to discuss ways of restoring a better work-life balance for Bermuda families. Nothing concrete or new stemmed from that meeting. Last week, Dr. Brown called a second meeting. That makes sense, given the turmoil in the global economy.

But Dr. Brown's rationale and explanation of the meeting suggest he still has at least one foot in 2007, before new economic realities set in. Clearly, Government's own financial position has worsened. It already planned to borrow an additional $100 million this financial year and had to raise the statutory limit on borrowing to accomplish this, albeit to a level far lower than most other countries.

Now it seems possible that it will not meet the revenue targets it set in February. The CEA is meeting to "help ensure the Government takes the best steps to minimise the impact the world economic crisis has on the people of Bermuda and the Bermudian economy", Dr. Brown said last week. That's all well and good, but Dr. Brown went on to say that the CEA would also look at the economic benefits of its election promises.

"Our election promises were strong on social programmes designed to give people a hand up," he said. "We have already executed part of that agenda. I don't want us to take our eye off that target because some could face even greater economic hardship in light of current economic trends around the globe."

Some of this does not make sense: the programmes Dr. Brown is talking about may have a positive long term economic impact, and in theory, money not spent on college tuitions and bus fares will be spent elsewhere in the economy. But the impact will be pretty minimal right now. And the programmes will still have to be paid for.

What this looks like is the use of the CEA as cover to either save the programmes and the Government's credibility by giving them an economic imprimatur, probably at the expense of other Government expenditures, or alternatively, to use the CEA as cover to kill them. Then Dr. Brown can say: "I didn't want to do this, but these experts said I had to."

What was missing from last week's announcement was any kind of indication that the Government is either seeking ideas for tightening its collective belt or seeking new forms of revenue for the economy should international business itself be in for a period of restructuring. Dr. Brown's big idea there – to rebuild tourism – looks laughable at the moment.

What Bermuda needs is a fundamental discussion on the Bermuda economy's way forward. This is not simply about saving political election promises or "minimising" the impact of a recession. It should be a measured and well thought out process and should involve the economy's primary stakeholders, many of whom were left out of this past weekend's meetings.