“Mr Speaker, the PLP’s Agenda for Growth will reduce the cost of doing business in Bermuda, tackle income inequality, reform our tax system, diversify our economy, create jobs in Bermuda, harness technology, promote entrepreneurship, increase our global competitiveness, make government more efficient and design an immigration system that works for Bermuda.”

— Opposition leader David Burt, PLP Reply to the Budget 2017

According to the Progressive Labour Party website, David Burt’s political career began when he was appointed to the Senate as Junior Minister of Finance in November 2010. He later became shadow minister after his electoral win and the former finance minister’s loss in December 2012.

In total, this would give Burt almost seven years to come up with viable alternative solutions that can stabilise, restore and grow our economy. Although “The People’s Budget” commendably calls for solutions to address inequality, viable solutions are the one thing you will not find in the PLP’s reply. In fact, the first 1,560 words make crystal clear that inequality is just the veneer of a pre-election salvo.

To clarify, instead of presenting those much-needed solutions, Burt dialled the populist rhetoric up to 11 by recycling the PLP’s own misinformation. Having dismissed all factual information to the contrary, he simply regurgitated the same inflammatory propaganda about the airport contract, “the great Bermuda exodus” and the Par-la-Ville Hotel loan.

But what was surreal was Burt’s unsubstantiated claim that the One Bermuda Alliance has spent “tens of millions of dollars” on “their friends and families through lucrative and untendered contracts”. It was as if the Commission of Inquiry and the Government’s recently launched lawsuits simply do not exist.

Burt’s commentary on OBA job losses was similarly disingenuous. What was most amusing was that his own graph contradicted the very point he was trying to make. Not only was it blatantly obvious that he excluded any data that would show the trend of job losses before the 2012 election, he also inadvertently showed that the OBA has managed to stop the decline in total jobs.

One of the fundamental rules in economic trends is that one must first stop the rate of descent into a fiscal hole before one is able to ascend out of it. The deeper the hole, the harder and longer the climb out. Burt seemingly wants us to ignore that economic reality, while implying that somehow the PLP could have done, or could do, better.

Burt’s commentary on taxation was similarly depressing. Despite the PLP’s 14 years in power, and despite Burt’s seven years as a junior minister or shadow minister of finance, his reply contained no viable alternatives to the OBA’s latest tax reforms. Surely, he must understand that both the PLP and the OBA have given thought to income tax before? Nevertheless, all he has to offer at this point is the formation of a tax reform commission that will require 18 months for review and consultation alone.

Economic diversification is yet another topic that was once again presented as a new concept that no one else has considered before. Here, Burt promises that the PLP will shift Bermuda from overdependence on two economic pillars to five. However, after seven long years, his primary diversification solution is to form a group to consider diversification solutions.

If you were expecting the PLP’s Budget reply to contain actual solutions to closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots, you will be sorely disappointed.

What you will find are 563 words attempting to twist the obvious economic benefits and opportunities presented by the America’s Cup into a return to the racially segregated days of the Mid Ocean Club. Those words are merely a repackaging of the PLP’s tired “back to the plantation” pre-election rhetoric.

What you will also find are 1,287 words spent on an attempt to convince voters that it is not the Bermuda Tourism Authority and credible political leadership that have quickened the pulse in our tourism industry. Well, if a big enough tourism budget is all that was required, then common sense dictates that we ask why the millions spent by the PLP failed to turn around the industry.

The fact of the matter is that the OBA has proven that putting Bermuda’s affairs in order requires more than unrealistic promises. Economic recovery and social stability require vision, pragmatism and an abundance of skill. Our survival also demands integrity and a level of political maturity that avoids the self-inflicted economic wounds that come from barricading Parliament.

Words simply are not enough. But Burt’s Agenda for Growth, along with the PLP’s Vision 2025, are little more than words that are nullified by the harsh economic realities that Bermuda is facing.

• To reach out to Bryant Trew, e-mail bryanttrew@mac.com