'Budget will be filled with empty promises'

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22: Bermuda is at an economic crossroads, Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards warned today (Wednesday).

Mr Richards said: “We’ve heard many people, particularly outside of Bermuda, refer to Bermuda’s economy as ‘the Bermuda economic miracle and in many ways it has been.

“But the miracle is starting to fade.”

Mr Richards was speaking as Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox prepares to unveil the annual Budget on Friday.

He said the Budget needed to address the island’s economic woes — particularly employment, growth of the economy and the national debt.

But he added: “My guess is that it’s going to be an election Budget — one thing we have learned about this PLP government, they always put politics before the country, put politics before policy.

“I predict it will be a Budget filled with not a whole lot, with empty promises and platitudes….we’re going to see a pie in the sky type of approach which does not address the issues of jobs, growth, employment and debt.

“The OBA will be looking right through the gloss and looking at the real Bermuda out there.