Bahamian Politics
FNM: 2012/2013 Budget Response: Lame, Blame and in many ways more of the Same Budget
By fnm2012.org
May 30, 2012 - 2:30:55 PM

The Government has presented what has amounted to a LAME, BLAME and in many ways more of the SAME BUDGET.  Having promised the world to the people of The Bahamas and having campaigned on the message that the FNM was borrowing too much, the Progressive Liberal Party has presented to the Parliament a budget that makes a lame and feeble attempt at delivering a first deposit on its wild promises. It hardly has any offerings in the Budget that represents the new and innovative initiatives it promised the Bahamian people.

It has now decided, as it did when it took office in 2002, to turn to the blame game for this lame effort. Ignoring the drastic global economic circumstances that the world has faced these last five years, inclusive of the latest World Economic Outlook Report by the World Bank, as well as the continuous statements made by us while in office about the same, it pretends to be shocked that the fiscal circumstances the country faces.  Also, manipulating the numbers to make the present circumstances appear worse that it might otherwise be by charging off certain expenditure, it plays the blame game.  Showing no courage in reducing the large deficit it claims exist, either by taking appropriate revenue measures or expenditure adjustments, it relies now on a number of programmes left in place by us to move it ahead.

Having put in place real property tax caps, and the like and having lost office notwithstanding them, it now returns to the SAME; nothing new and innovative; just the same.  For instance, as he did in 2002, Mr. Christie put some $15 million in the Budget for their plan; yet no one can give an account for the $10 million put away in the budget in 2002.  We have said before, this is the same old Christie and he just can’t change. Thank goodness that we left in place fiscal measures, including the Debt Management Committee, the programme to initiate the Tax Administration Department and the Real Property Tax Reform Programme to give them some semblance of direction in these difficult circumstances.  We will have more to say on this as the debate proceeds.