Sold short on pension

April 4, 2009

Dear Sir,

I was wondering if it would be possible to publish my comments in The Royal Gazette, regarding my pension.

You see, I lived and worked in Bermuda from 1971 to 1976; my employer at the time made Pension Contributions on my behalf.

Now that I reached the age of 65, I filed in an official claim requesting payment. Much to my surprise, I was told that whatever premium payments were made, a copy of which I received in the meantime by mail, will be paid back to me as a one time gratuity!

This is simply incredible, don't you think? The premium payments have generated in 33 years, no interest, no index growth over the years, nothing! I mean if I had kept that amount in a bank at the rate of say one percent, just for the sake of an example, that amount should have generated at least $1,000.

The Bermuda Pension authorities sent me the amount of 324 euros and in addition charged me for the transfer of funds!

I am utterly disappointed by this gesture. I spent some of the most beautiful years of my life with my family in Bermuda, but this really leaves a distasteful effect on our memories, unfortunately.

I think to all intents and purposes, if the Bermuda Pension authorities wanted to act with a bit of common decency, they would have added the going rate of bank interest generated over the years, to the amount owing me.

Mind you, the amount in question is a one time settlement only, unlike monthly Pension payments normally paid by other governments! Compared to the payments I receive from Canada where I lived for three years only, I receive an amount monthly for the duration of my lifetime!

TOM A. STEPANIAN

The Netherlands

We have stolen the future

April 6, 2009

Dear Sir,

In the endless and dreary list of articles about the credit crunch there has been one conspicuous absence. Conspicuous for Bermudians, that is. What has been missing is any comment on the huge Government debt that is accumulating, especially for our children and grandchildren.

Let me explain further. When you add what is owing to (or missing from), Government-sponsored pension funds the total amount of Bermuda Government debt is alarming. The figures read as follows: $ MILLION.

1. Government debt per budget 539

2. Deficit on Legislators' pension fund 10

3. Deficit on Civil Servants' pension fund 760

4. Deficit on Social Security Fund 1,774

5. TOTAL GOVERNMENT DEBT 3,083

Bad as this is, there is more red ink. As at March 31, 2008 the amount invested in equities in the Legislators' and Civil Servants' pension funds came to $1.024 billion. Assuming a conservative loss in market value of 40 percent or so, there is a further $400 million debt to add to the $3.083 billion stated above.

So what, I can hear people saying. This will be paid off soon and besides all this stuff about debt is nothing to worry about. I doubt it if this massive accumulated debt will be paid back anytime soon, and it should be a worry – at least if you have any moral scruples.

If you divide $3.483 billion by around 60,000 Bermudians, the per person debt is around $58,000 for each of us. That is $58,000 for every man, woman and child, or $232,000 for a family of four. Anyone born in 2009, does not have a golden spoon in his mouth but a huge overdraft in his back pocket.

What this means is that our leaders in the House of Assembly, and those who are in the civil service have been paying themselves (and us) more than we have earned, and, as a consequence, have stiffed the younger generation with the bill. They could teach Bernie Madoff a thing or two.

This is theft of major proportions – a large Ponzi scheme. Although a small part of future repayment will fall on adults around 50 or under, the vast majority of the bill will be paid for by little children with backpacks going to school.

It is one thing for the plundering politicians and bureaucrats to rob adults who vote. It is quite another to stick it to people in primary school or in baby carriages who do not vote. This is child abuse of monumental proportions – and it is a disgrace.

I might just add that in 1989, Government debt was nil, and pension fund deficits were minimal.

What has caused this huge increase in debt over the past 20 years? Try thinking about endless government travel, movie stars coming to Bermuda to have their picture taken, endless rumours of corruption, civil servant job growth, baseball games, or just plain incompetence or recklessness in Government financial management. The Auditor-General, Larry Dennis, has a much better handle on this than I ever will. Or it could be the Bermuda public pushing for more and more Government benefits without paying the cost in current taxes.

As adults, we have stolen the future of many Bermudian children by providing them with a fraudulent education. We are also fleecing them financially by standing idly by and watching the monstrous debts created by the Bermuda Government.

The next time you see some energetic, enthusiastic five-year-old with that innocent trust in her eyes when she sees adults, try not to smile at her or give her ice cream. Rather, just regard her as some plump chicken to be plucked by us adults who enjoying our big houses, big cars, foreign travel etc at the future expense of people too young to read or understand our criminal behaviour.

Anyone over 50, including myself, should be disgusted with our failure to stop this government racket. I shudder to think what will happen to young Bermudian children should President Obama succeed in his objective of shutting down international business.

ROBERT STEWART

Smith's

Extend rights protection

This was sent to Minister of Social Rehabilitation and Culture Dale Butler and copied to The Royal Gazette:

April 5, 2009

Dear Culture and Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler,

I was pleased to have read your online (April 3) Mid-Ocean News ascribed: "A gay rights amendment is set to go before Parliament this November..."

Althiugh any favourable LGBTQI amendment will come far too late in the day for this septuagenarian male-to-female 24-years' post-operative transsexual Bermudian's personal benefit. It will be very much appreciated that you and your fellow parliamentarians favorably include the extension of the European Convention on Human Rights treaty obligated legal recognition and protection to Bermuda's gender-variant folk, in the outcome of your human rights' deliberations, this autumn.

For the sake of not only the future wellbeing of the island's estimated 150 gender-variant men, women, and children experiencing varying degrees of dissociative gender identification, but the wellbeing of their ever caring significant kin, It is essential that it is understood that sexual orientation and gender identity are individually separate and distinct entities that need to be regarded and legislated as such in a very much needed amendment to Bermuda's present gay and gender-variant omissive Human Rights Act 1981.

BRENDA LANA SMITH R af D

Cornwall

Britain

TCD teething problems

April 6, 2009

Dear Sir,

I write this letter in total disbelief. Recently, I called and was given an appointment by TCD to have my car tested at the Dockyard site at 10.45 a.m. on Monday, April 6, 2009. I re-confirmed this on Friday, April 3 by visiting www.etcd.gov.bm

Having recently moved to St. David's, my mother who lives in Pembroke offered to take my car for me since she had the time and I had to work. Upon arriving at Dockyard and having driven all the way from Hamilton, she found no one there – no sign or anything suggesting that there was no testing or that it had been moved. She called TCD to be told that the testing was being held at Rockaway. When she arrived at Rockaway she was met with a very long line and was told that because she was late that they could not honour the appointment.

I then called TCD myself, only to be told that they had nothing to do with the appointments, that they were managed by the Bermuda Emissions Control (unbelievable!), especially since today's RG has an article explaining the procedure and that you can make your appointment on www.etcd.gov.bm – isn't that TCD?

Now totally baffled, I decided to double check the website to see if I misread my appointment instructions. FYI, you can view your appointments and any other vehicle information when you sign up on-line.

Lo and behold they had changed the location of the appointment in the system but apparently, failed to send an e-mail to advise me of the location change. I did provide them with my email upon registering on the website and I would have received it on my Blackberry over the weekend.

This would have saved my mom the scenic drive to Dockyard and back and me the gas. In any case, it is now 2.40 p.m. (you do the math), I decided to check on my mom to get the status of my car assuming she was now headed back to town and she said that she was just reaching the front of the line.

I think that my boss would have fired me if I had taken the car myself. Thank God for my mom. My only comment is: it's a good thing that we only have to do this once a year.

OUT OF GAS!

St. David's

Terrorism and religion

April 4, 2009

Dear Sir,

Just the mention of the name Osama Bin Laden and the words terror or terrorist come to mind. Why? Primarily the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001. Along with a few other terrorist attacks before and since then . He is labeled as a despicable international terrorist leader. As if international terrorism is something new. There is nothing new about international terrorism. It has been with us for thousands of years. Perpetrated by the Romans, Mongols, English and the Spanish to name a few. But they are given the names of conquerors and spreaders of the faith.. There is a peculiar ring to that statement.

That is what Osama Bin Laden is claiming to be doing. He is fighting the infidels and spreading the Islamic faith in turn converting the World into one big Islamic state. There is nothing new or unique about this statement.

The world's deadliest and most influential international terrorist leaders have been the Catholic Popes, most notably Pope Alexander VI who in his Inter Caetera, Papal Bull of May 4 1493, decreed that Christopher Colombus or any representative of the kings or queens of Spain or Portugal overthrow all barbarous nations to the west of the Azores from the North Pole right down to the South Pole, which amounted to North and South America. And force them into Christianity. Destroy all of their places of worship and their religious relics. And bring to him and all Popes to follow all the ill gotten gold and jewels to wear. This amounts to about one third of the world. These Popes are not despised like the Osamas, Hitlers, and the Stalins of the world. They are revered. As a matter of fact they still hold on to their ill-gotten golden treasures.

If I had written this letter about 300 years ago or so I probably would have been burned at the stake. Terrorism by any other name is still terrorism.

Some stated that they thought that the Bermuda Cricket Board return Mr. Stanford's money. I recommend that the Catholic church along with the Anglican church return their stolen properties. But I know that is not going to happen in my lifetime.

LESLIE JAMES SMITH

Sandys