Austerity is not the answer — status is

$46,138. 

That is what every man, woman and child owes based on the 2010 Census Report of 50,565 Bermudians, divided by our estimated National Debt (at the end of March 2014).  Currently the gap between what Bermuda pays out and what it receives back, is $243,000,000 per year.  

A big fancy headline like “un-sustainable debt trajectory could cause catastrophic sovereign default” can be distilled down nicely as follows: We are stuffed.

That is unless we boldly change the trajectory we are on.  

Currently we have some serious heavy hitters huddling together under the auspices of the SAGE commission to work on the expense side of the equation. Public sector employment is the largest part of our national expenditure, and thus has a big red target painted squarely on it.  

Understandable fear is permeating through the various aspects of the civil service as the reality of pay cuts rapidly becomes overshadowed by the impending reality of job cuts.  

Real people. Fellow Bermudians.  our family, friends and neighbours.  Losing their source of income, and the ability to support themselves and their loved ones. Taking a hit to their pride, and their dignity.  

Unable to contribute to the mammoth task of paying back the $46,000 per person that we collectively owe.

Austerity — A frightening word that means deep cuts in spending, large increases in taxes, or queasily both.  

However, no equation can exist without at least two parts to create an answer. 

And another part of the equation is growth.  We have talked about rolling out the red carpet, giving tax relief, and other noble ideas to try and spur growth.  

However many other jurisdictions are giving the very self-same incentives, and the din and size of the competition can easily drown little Bermuda out.  We have to instead look to see what we can offer that no one else can, to dangle as a carrot.  

What is our absolute competitive advantage that can be the game changer; that will really make a difference and bring about more rapidly the growth that will pull our foundering economy back from the brink and bring jobs back for Bermudians?  

Bermudian status.

I imagine that just floating that idea has set some of my fellow Bermudians into shocked silence, which, if I know my fellow countrymen, is now being followed by loud protestations.  

I can hear it being said: “Are you fullish?  

We can’t find work as it is! How do we create jobs for out of work Bermudians if we allow more people into Bermuda?”  

And to that I acknowledge that opening the floodgates to willy-nilly Immigration is not the answer.  

However, opening pathways to citizenship in a measured manner to those who can actually create jobs, is.

I have personally spoken to four individuals who are serious business leaders on a global scale. They either have successful and thriving companies, or they have oodles of industry leading experience. And the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and bubbling inside them, needing an outlet.  

Unfriendliness

However, they have either left Bermuda because of perceived unfriendliness, have had to consider their children’s future, or they just don’t feel that they belong here.  So off they go with their job- creating entrepreneurial zeal, and back they go to the country they came from, or another welcoming jurisdiction (of which there are many with wide open arms).   

When I asked each of them: “what would it take to make you come (or move back) and create economic activity in Bermuda”?  The answer?  “Citizenship”.  

Citizenship, and the tremendous role and responsibility it carries.  These would be job creators are not just transients temporarily living and working here, but really and truly belong to Bermuda.  

The security of knowing that your children won’t be told to leave at some point to live and work in a country that they may never have known, but that they have to carry a passport for.  

Citizenship: the absolutely faith that job creators can live and work without the worry of a work permit dangling quietly above their head.  

The knowledge that the difference they create will benefit their country for years to come.  

Anecdotally I am aware of many more than just those four individuals.

It should be obvious; however, we often let insularity cloud our vision.  It is nonetheless simple.  Those that care the most about the future viability, and opportunity of these dear islands are Bermudians.  

We need to get really sticky with the people that can truly make a difference in hauling us out of this sucking quagmire of a recession. And by sticky I mean getting them really and truly invested in Bermuda.  Many of these good folks are globally connected business people that are sitting squarely in our corner.   

Leaders of respect who can actually personally access either the individuals, or those in their circle of influence, who are trying try to paint us as some demonic tax stealing entity. They would fight for us, because they ARE one of us.

For centuries Bermuda has survived and thrived because our people, who either arrived here by hurricane blown chance, despicable acts of slavery, birth, marriage or naturalization, have chosen to collectively roll up their sleeves and work together to grow Bermuda into the mouse that can roar.  

We need more of us to create collective opportunity, and like a sports organization looking to make a more competitive team, we need to seek out the marquee players. 

Status

So what would the path to Bermudian status be?  

Well we could start by stating the candidate for citizenship must newly employ at least five Bermudians, for at least five consecutive years (new jobs for Bermudians).  

Then the candidate, their spouse and minor children, can become a Bermudian.  

And for goodness sakes, let’s not put a massive price tag on the application fee, but rather charge them the same administration fee that a spouse of Bermudian pays when applying for Bermudian status.  

The compounding economic activity from the business growth will exponentially pay into government coffers more than any over the top fee could.  

Remember all those civil servants under threat of significant job cuts?  

Suddenly there will be jobs waiting to be had.  

If jobs are created at the same speed as they are lost, we have opportunity instead of misfortune, hope instead of despair, tax payers instead of tax takers.   

The civil service shrinks, but not because we force it to, but because opportunity exists for different job prospects, and they jump from the public to the private sector with hardly a bump.

Do you need more proof?  

One only has to look as far at the Green family, and their recent and growing developments in our shared island.  

They are global leaders looking to grow their business. They are savvy and connected. They believe.  They are Bermudian. Let the discussion begin.

Philip Barnett is a former president of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, and currently sits on the executive board.