Sanity at Corporation

July 22, 2008

Dear Sir,

Sanity finally prevails at the Corporation of Hamilton.

For the first time in years City voters had a group of high quality candidates to chose from, and they did so with common sense. The three elected Common Councillors all have a wealth of experience which they bring to the Corporation.

Common sense also prevailed when Councillor Gibbons decided not to contest the Alderman's vacancy to avoid a situation where either she or Councillor Ferreira would have lost a seat if they stood against each other.

Mayor Sutherland Madeiros now has an excellent team to work with, along with a new Secretary, and if they all pull together there is no reason why the Corporation cannot get back to being a well run organisation as it was for many years. They now have nine months to prove themselves.

With one vacancy for Councillor still available following the elevation of Pamela Ferreira to Alderman, it is to be hoped that last night's unsuccessful candidates, John Harvey and Diane Gordon, will contest that seat. Both have the necessary qualities to be very good Councillors.

The one issue now remaining is the eligibility of David Dunkley. By all means he can appeal his case, but even if it takes months to be heard by the court, an effort to retain his seat at the next Corporation election would mean running against another candidate, or other candidates, for the first time since he was elected to office. With the calibre of persons now willing to stand for office he may wish to re-consider his position.

CITY FAN

Smith's Parish

Can't insure my dog

July 18, 2008

Dear Sir,

This is in response to July 17's article about the new dog laws. I am curious to know now that all these new regulations and laws are being implemented for dog owners which, don't get me wrong, I totally agree with. Is there going to be an insurance company that will start allowing dog owners to insure their pets, as most of us dog owners consider our pets part of our families?

I have brought my dog in from overseas, had him microchipped, vaccinated, licensed, and doing everything right by law as a pet owner, and now after calling all round the Island have come to realise that there is not one insurance company on this Island that I can insure my pet with. I consider him a part of my family, so why is it my daughter and I can get insurance but my dog is not able to?

I am sorry after demanding all these new laws, you as Government would need to demand that these insurance companies on our island start to insure our pets!

PET OWNER AND LOVER

Pembroke

Why we have poor people

July 21, 2008

Dear Sir,

Poverty we are told for a family of four is income below $76,000 per annum, and 11 percent of households fall into that category.

In Chad, to take a random country, the average income for the same family would be $6,400 per annum or about 8.5 percent of Bermuda. That's a real poverty line but then nobody really cares about Chad even though the population is just under 10 million.

What the study neglects to mention are the two major reasons why some people are poor in Bermuda.

Firstly, most poor people are the victims of a fraudulent educational system that has condemned them to the financial margins of society. For at least 20 years, the gross incompetence of the Department of Education was denied by those in power, and the Hopkins Report is only the most recent public condemnation of this evil system.

It is no surprise that over 40 percent of parents send their children to private school in order to give them a chance of success in life.

Those who have been cheated by government of a good education tend to end up in low paid jobs.

Secondly, the Bermuda Government spends annually roughly $15,000 per head of the population, or $60,000 per family (divide $1 billion government expenditure by a population of 65,000).

This means that on average a family of four pays directly, or indirectly, $60,000 in taxes or about 79 percent of the $76,000 of the income needed to stay out of poverty. These are astonishing figures. But then somebody has to pay for subsidising Playboy clubs and private jets not to mention subsidies to Hollywood stars so that the Premier can have his picture in The Royal Gazette.

In short, the poor get shafted big time not only by a dysfunctional educational system but by the huge waste of government spending that feeds the ego of the politicians.

However, Robin Hood is coming to the rescue, for in The Royal Gazette of July 19, we read that there will be "free" child care for Bermudians with yearly incomes of less than $70,000. What that means is more taxes on the poor for the purpose of paying the poor more income. This is infantile economics and the poor are being misled yet again by this stunt. There cannot be something for nothing. Somebody has to pay.

A Government that fails its people by providing terrible education and keeps them poor by excessive taxation to be spent on such things as foreign travel now proposes to save them from poverty by taxing them more, and then giving it back in "free" child care. Something stinks.

A more accurate headline for the Gazette should have been "Once again Government fools the people by promising to pay them child care whilst the politicians take a huge rake-off for themselves".

Of course, no one in government quite puts it like that. The politicians speak about social justice, economic equality or some other verbal garbage dressed up as a high flown ideal.

The message of crooks and shysters never changes – "trust me and you will become rich". Reality is – "expect the bossman and his cronies to come out of this with even more money at your expense."

ROBERT STEWART

Smith's

Give trees a chance

July 12, 2008

Dear Sir,

How sad to see the dying young trees. Yes there has been a long dry spell and many of the young trees planted over the recent months have not survived.

From the sowing of the seeds in the nursery, the nurturing received with daily watering, developing into a healthy plant.

Someone purchases the plant, digs a hole. In you go a bucket of water and you are on your own. We read the Daily telling us of the good hearted citizens planting these trees, a wonderful vision of the return of the Bermuda forest! I have often asked: "Why are the trees planted so close together? Natural attrition seems to be the answer I am given by the experts.

Well, yes, we have Bertha at hand and hopefully she will bring some good rains and not much in the way of wind but none of this will help these cedar trees already dying and the only trees to be blown away will be those not dead at this time.

To top it all today I see the paths at Spittal Pond have been mown. How can you mow sand? The time wasted could have been used watering the young trees, saving the wasted gasoline which only contributes to the strengthening of the likes of Bertha and her brothers and sisters.

Let's give them a helping hand.

KEITH ROSSITER

Smith's