Readers weighed in yesterday to give their opinions on Bob Richards’ first Budget. Here is a selection of what they said.‘This is laughable. If the PLP put out a budget that said we were going to borrow $333 million, the Chamber of Commerce would have branded it a terrible budget. The people over at the Chamber, starting with the president, are all OBA supporters. Anything from them should be taken with a grain of salt.‘I heard a real estate agent on the radio this morning, advising that many hundreds of condos were for sale and that overall home sales transactions were down by two thirds over a couple of years ago. He was saying that he hoped the budget would reduce the licence fees for non-Bermudians and PRC’s who purchase property. I see that the Government has reduced the license fees, but have they gone far enough? I know many people who purchased condos over the past few years as investment vehicles. The plan was that they could rent them out to ex-patriots and they did for a while. Then expats started to leave, so these people can’t rent their condos and they can’t sell them either. Some of these people are in serious trouble and risk losing their property and their investment. Even with the drop in licence fees, I don’t think that its going to stimulate sales.‘Heritage Wharf deserves special mention as the poster child for government bungling and waste. Not only was this project hugely over budget, it was not built to the required specifications and therefore did not survive the first hurricane intact. Now the new Government is forced to spend millions of scarce dollars to make repairs in time for the cruise ship season in April 2013. Like Heritage Wharf, this budget is groaning under the weight of economic decisions of the former administration.‘This is going to get ugly. Don’t know if people saw the international news but the ENTIRE public sector went on strike in Greece this week over pay reductions that were being imposed by the government. With the strength of the unions here (and their blatant disregard for labour laws in the past), I fear that the same will happen locally. If the BIU, BPSU and BUT all combine their efforts, we all know what happens. Unfortunately, Bermuda can’t afford for that. The other shoe has yet to drop when it comes to what’s affecting this Island but some of these measures were going to be necessary. Taxing luxuries is the only way to indirectly increase revenue from the wealthy (who do not want to pay direct taxes). Raising the cost of a bus pass was also necessary. The previous government was paying over 50 percent of the cost of each bus pass, with the buyer paying the other 50 percent. There have been a lot of things that the previous government gave to the people, but they are expensive.‘As Minister Richards said throughout, we are all in this together. We have to try to put the recent past behind us and figure out how we can forge a future for all of us. The money is gone — we won’t get it back. We don’t have to forgive but we probably need to put the anger aside because anger uses up our energies. The important thing now is to do our utmost as a community to assist those in genuine need — keep our social fabric on an even keel — and work together to build our economy and provide employment and opportunity. I’m very worried about the state of the Opposition and whether they can be a cohesive, intelligent participant in our government. Or, are they going to be a detriment? So far, the Opposition appears to be childish and reactionary. There’s a difference between constructive opposition and disruptive behaviour.‘I tend to agree with the sentiments expressed in this article. Yes, the debt ceiling has been increased and government borrowing will continue. However, these are necessary in order for the country to function and hopefully catch itself after this period of economic instability. The “refreshingly honest” part of the budget is the fact that the FULL situation has been revealed. We have a Government that is presenting the people with a clear view of our current economic situation. Our situation is not the best, but at least the public know what our Government is dealing with. I wish the OBA the best in their financial endeavours as the Government of this country. It’s not going to be an easy task and a lot of their decisions may not be popular but popularity is not what a Government should be aiming for. On the contrary, a Government should be working toward social and economic prosperity and this may come at the cost of popularity.‘Overall this appears a reasonable budget although I am not sure how increasing the debt ceiling by such a huge amount is any different than increasing it on an as-needed basis annually. I also don’t see how the ten percent pay cut taken by Cabinet represents much of a sacrifice when they took the cut after they received a huge raise in pay because the difference between the pay of an opposition MP and a Cabinet Minister is huge. Asking the average worker, who has not had an increase in years, to sacrifice further when cost continue to rise will not be an easy sell!‘We have to pay now, for years of mismanagement. Mr Richards just gave us a reality check!!!‘In order to even borrow to pay on Government debt from previous lenders, the money to pay on the interest of that debt ... deepening depressing debt restructuring within the country had to take place ... anyone following the direction that is going? Once the direction is established off the tracks the train basically keeps going that way just not quite so orderly as when it had not been derailed.‘I have a class C not because I cannot afford a larger car but because I refuse to pay stupid money just to drive, what is a compact car anywhere else in the world, around Bermuda’s crowded roads. If I had the larger car I would more than make up the difference in licensing in extra gas, duty paid etc but Government can’t see that. I have a vehicle overseas. A pick-up truck. A diesel one with the dual rear wheels. Yeah, it is big. It costs about the same a year to license as a 150cc bike in Bermuda. The trailer I pull with it costs nothing to license a year. There comes a point where people refuse to pay any more than they absolutely have to. The UBP did it. Bumped up boat duty to 55 percent. People stopped buying boats. Government got nothing. They dropped the duty to an acceptable level. People bought boats again. Got money again.‘Good luck, Bob. One thing left out of the budget speech is the concept of value for money. If we were getting something of value for the $984 million plus $85 million of capital expenditure we’re spending, then we could justify the deficit as an investment. But, you know, we’re getting maybe $500 million of value from the current expenditures, and the capital spend seems to result in a liability rather than an asset. This is what needs to be turned around the most. Not the numbers, the performance. Seriously ... if our heritage was represented by the Heritage Wharf, we wouldn’t be here now. It’d still be rats and pigs. How do you pour $60 million of concrete into the ocean and not wind up with a solid dock? Did they forget to use forms or something?‘What a mess we are in! But we now have the right people in government to get us out of it. The budget speech was frank, inclusive and decisive. Well done, Bob and the OBA. You certainly have your work cut out for you.