Letariat Pro•6 years ago Many are focusing on the short term recovery, and rightly so, we need to get the people here out and into the economy again. With everyone unable to connect any other way, we need to facilitate online commerce, making it easier for people to transact locally. But ultimately, with all the local online shopping and "staycations" we are just circulating the same 2¢ and the Bermuda bank account isn’t getting any larger. I liked the idea of a digital ID that Minister Caines had touched on a couple of years ago. If supported by local banks, this would make it easier and safer for people to do business P2P and P2B, open new accounts, pay online or from their mobile device. It would eliminate the mountains of paperwork created by KYC regulations and could also be links to driver licenses and passports. Being able to check out of a store with a NFC device would make transactions faster and simpler, as would being able to pay another person. There are many technologies out there that provide this functionality, but it may take Government spearheading this initiative to gain local bank support. In the mean time, many retail businesses are setting up online storefronts to adjust to the situation, which is great, along with that comes payment, facilitation and delivery challenges. Perhaps delivery vehicles could get license relief if drivers gain certain qualifications. Perhaps discounted licence if they use electric vehicles for delivery.Something Government may want to ensure is in place is some assistance for customer grievances for online purchasing, in addition to policies to protect vendors from unreasonable complaints. In essence, anything that will help retail or service providers do business digitally.This alone will not bring back the economy. Along with many other smaller initiatives, it could help to create opportunities.There are some harsh realities staring down this government, and one is the shrinking population size. Our power costs in total do not fluctuate much from supporting 65K people to 60K people, so if there are 5K less people, those left take on the burden of the balance that was fulfilled by those that left. Similarly, other instances where the infrastructure needs to be in place to supply services to the population. Those of us left will see inflated costs. This also a similar situation with Government’s debt. There is a smaller population contribution to the government’s coffers, which will necessitate an increase in taxes to cover the shortfall. So with things like power and taxes increasing for the individual, because there are less people now contributing, the rational solution would be to get more people contributing.How do we do that? Well, the best solution, and simplest, unfortunately is unpalatable to many. We need more people here. I understand there is concern about people taking jobs away from Bermudians, however, these are not necessarily the people we need. We need people who consume products and services, so folks who have made or are making more than enough money to live here and buy expensive retail and food items with higher margins, hire locals for construction, consulting and other services.We had a lot of these folks once, when IB was booming here, unfortunately we did not look at how we could keep them here when situations changed. I am sure we have done this with our many committees set up to provide these same recommendations, but bring the heads of the IB and large local businesses together and find out what they need to bring people here and keep them here. People are a resource, and we once had a great thing going, but that seems to have been squandered for the time being. Sure there are folks who will always feel they missed an opportunity to be the CEO of a fortune 500 company, but we need to bring money back to the island so we are not passing the same buck around to each other. There are a couple alternatives to this unpopular train of thought, but they are likely going to be received lukewarmly as well. First, we have a whole bunch of folks here who have lived, worked and are still working here some have attained status, some just PRCs and some are stateless. This number is dwindling as those with PRCs feel they have no more future or opportunity here. With them they take their spending potential. They are already here, working living, spending. They are not taking jobs from Bermudians, they are already working and have permission from the Government to do so. Then there are the Stateless. Here, and have always been here, but have none of the rights as their friends and relatives who happened to be born in the right place at the right time. I would suggest we bring these people into the fold. Show them they are appreciated and there is a future and opportunity here for them. Give them status or provide some pathway to status that then in turn would encourage them to grow deeper roots and provide opportunities to other here.If the previous two ideas were not liked, then this one will really go over well. Still focusing on getting more people here, specifically people with capital and spending power. We seem to have come into ownership of a half-built facility with no plans on how to get it to pay for itself. Perhaps, there is an opportunity here. There are still folks out there with a good sum of money looking to retire. I know, it is madness to think about retiring here. How an we make that palatable? This property could be completed(if we can get the money) and zoned and sold as a retirement community where someone could buy a unit, and receive residency here. I am not a lawyer and there may be some legal implications here, tax avoidance and such, so this one is iffy, but if we could sell each unit at a price that would in total cover the cost with some profit for each unit, then at least that is that white elephant taken care of. They would have to be finished properly to warrant the tidy sum and it would need to be designed for retirees, with access to all the facilities that well-off retired folk like to have available. To make it more appealing they could receive the same benefits as seniors do here, and perhaps we can work with the insurance companies to create a plan for them through the corporation running the property. So essentially we are selling PRCs for a small fortune and they get a free waterfront townhouse out of it. We could also provide PRC for people who buy very expensive homes, but they cannot work. That idea might need some fleshing out though. But it doesn’t hurt to think about how we can capitalise on that potential revenue.Here in Bermuda we have potentially one of the nicest places in the world to live, even today with the tarnish, there is still a shine underneath. The majority are still friendly, it is still relatively safe and it is in a great spot in the middle of the Atlantic where we can get to both continents relatively easily, barring any global pandemics, then we are safe, surrounded by a giant moat. Unfortunately, we produce nothing, have nothing to sell and our tourism business cannot pay for our debt alone. IB is shrinking as an industry for various reasons. But we still need the money. Now, we talked about selling in the last idea, well, this will likely be the least popular of my ideas, but probably one of the most lucrative. It won’t require us to pay anything, finish building deserted hotels or sacrifice Bermudian jobs. But it could bring in millions. It has been suggested before and has been done with varying degrees of success in other jurisdictions. We just need to look at what worked and what didn’t for them and tailor a solution for us.You probably have guessed that the next suggestion is selling citizenship. Now before you throw eggs, hear me out. In other countries, people can buy property over a certain amount and have a pathway to status, or they can set up a business that employs a minimum number of people, in addition to paying the government a good deal of money and have a pathway to status. So logic would dictate that these folks would have a few pennies to rub together, they are just the people we are looking for! If we can entice them.I am not saying throw open the gates and let every billionaire in, but let’s look at it and find the right price, the right set of circumstances and perhaps limit it annually based on the current population targets. Some sort of lottery or auction or waiting list. If it was say $1mil for status, and limited to 20 people in a year, that is $20mil straight to the Govt’s bottom line, and then they have to purchase houses, cars, furniture, food, gas, electricity, etc. They pay land tax, insurance, and have their houses renovated, cleaned and painted. So there is much greater potential than that initial $1mil. I am sure the Government would be keen to have that income right now.Many of those ideas cost us nothing, other than conflicting with the narrative that foreigners are a burden and remove opportunity. Well the loss of guest workers has clearly had an adverse effect on the economy, even before the pandemic, and now with tourism scuppered for the foreseeable future, perhaps my fellow Bermudians would be receptive to more unorthodox ideas. If you think about it, if we welcome new folks into our island family to live and grow and invest and multiply, just as we have in the past to those from the islands, UK, Azores, etc, in a few generations their progeny would be as Bermudian as the rest of us. I believe it has to be thought out, we have to be selective and find the best match for us as an island community.Finally, I just want to touch on the pink elephant in the corner. The government’s payroll. I am not an accountant, but it is clear it is unsustainable to employ over a 5th of the working population and have the rest foot the bill. I don’t want to see a whole whack of fellow Bermudians suddenly unemployed like we have seen this past month in the private sector. That doesn’t help the situation at all. But the Civil Service as a whole should reduce its size significantly. Now if that means consolidating departments or spinning off branches into the private sector that could flourish, training folks to take things to the next level in the private sector and being very focused on efficiency in hiring and team building. There are a lot of clever people on this island, I am sure there must be a way we can reduce the size of the Civil Service as painlessly as possible. Attrition alone won’t be enough as the economy continues its downward trend. People also have to be honest. Some in the Civil Service (just like in the private sector) are not the best performers. There should be accountability and standards to be met as the taxpayer pays a premium for this service. Those who do not meet the standard should be assisted out of the civil service into a training programme, or placement programme that gets them on a path more in line with their skill set. We have to stop promoting people who cannot perform to get them out of the way(because we cannot let them go). We have to stop hiring and promoting friends and family unless they are suitably qualified and meet the high standards we should expect. People need to take pride in their work and perform to the best of their ability. The government cannot do this alone. It is going to take everyone playing a part tot he best of their ability and recognising when their abilities are not quite enough. And we really need to look at unnecessary consultants and ministers. These positions should not be used as a reward for party faithful or friends and family, by any party. The good news is, if we implemented the aforementioned ideas, there should be much more opportunity in the private sector. There is nothing new here really, that has not been put forth by the Sage Report or Bermuda First, we need to put politics aside and get on with what will get us moving in an upward direction.We cannot keep setting up committees to figure out "comprehensive immigration reform", at some point we are going to have to do something and unfortunately you cannot make all the pope happy all the time. But if the numbers reflect growth, and people are back to work, I bet there will be a lot more happy people than there are today.TLDR;
Do what it takes to make retail easier and more efficient - pushing local digital storefronts, strategies and IDs.
We need more people to pay the costs of the government and power.
Get PRCs and Stateless pathways to status right away.
turn Caroline Bay into a retirement community for the well-off foreigner complete with a PRC.
Citizenship lottery/purchase for job makers and well-off.
Reduce the size and cost of the civil service and government.
