argue about everything, good and bad, big and small. It seems to us that the Opposition Progressive Labour Party even argues against things it must know are best for the Country. The PLP has loudly opposed the legislation to create a quango to run the Airport and now it calls Government's plans to put the National Stadium under local trustees a "giveaway''. Yet both ideas are clearly in Bermuda's best interests.

Bermuda has a long history of running things well by using quasi-Government bodies. There is plenty of evidence of that success at Dockyard but it has also been true of operations as diverse as schools and the Bermuda Housing Corporation. The system works because Bermudians in the private sector are willing to give their time and talent to help Bermuda and that is often talent no Government can buy or can afford to buy.

The PLP tried to imply in the House of Assembly last week that people who give their time and effort to these boards somehow benefit or even get rich. The PLP does not know much about boards because its members do not serve the Country that way but the fact is that people who serve on boards generally wind up out of pocket. Bermudians have a long tradition of helping the Country and other Bermudians by serving. We are amazed that the PLP does not recognise that.

We think that boards for the Airport and the National Stadium will serve well because talented and distinguished people will accept appointments. The kind of people Government could never afford to pay for their time and talent will serve virtually free.

Instead of that, the PLP wants to hold on tight and have Government run the National Stadium and the Airport. It would be folly for the PLP to do that because the talent in the PLP parliamentary group is stretched thin now and it is hard to believe the PLP could find the people to run an Airport for a token fee. The problem seems to be that the PLP is unable to give up the socialist ideals that prevailed 30 years ago when the PLP was formed.

It was true in other countries, especially in Britain, that Labour governments rushed to get their hands on everything and to run everything from industry to health care, with the people footing the bills. That has generally been recognised as a formula for disaster. Britain and other countries have now moved away from socialisation to privatisation and there have been notable improvements in standards in many operations.

These local boards allow a much wider number of Bermudians to take part and contribute to Bermuda rather than leaving everything in the hands of a narrow political group with a political agenda. This system allows Bermudians to get involved and help Bermuda and, generally, they have also kept the costs down.

The hospital is a quango and while medical costs are high they are much, much lower than the United States.

We think Bermudians believe in helping Bermuda and understand that service is entirely healthy. It is also healthy to have a wide section of Bermuda working for Bermuda. The PLP seems to want total Government control and the result will only be more taxes to pay for that control. Bermuda has a long history of everyone lending their best hand. It is also the envy of much of the world and the best of the islands.