Opposition plan to offer alternative budget

| 31/10/2017 | 43 Comments
Cayman News Service

Opposition MLAs (L-R) Chris Saunders, Alva Suckoo, Anthony Eden, Ezzard Miller and Arden McLean

(CNS): Members of the opposition have said that they plan to propose constructive alternatives that offer action for the people when they engage in the debate on Wednesday on the government’s $644 million spending plan for next year and the $657 million budget for the year after. Having spent the weekend scrutinizing the budget documents, Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller said they would support things in the budget that they believe are good for Caymanians.

Meanwhile, the independent member for George Town Central, Kenneth Bryan, who no longer caucuses with the opposition, said his major concern about the Unity government’s 2018/19 budget was the lack of any commitment to deal with the issue of foreclosures.

“This is the number one issue for me,” he told CNS. He pointed out that his constituents are still losing their homes but government has not allocated any funding, and in his Budget Policy Statement the premier made no mention of the problem or how government intends to tackle it.

In addition to questioning why there was no mention of addressing the foreclosure issue, Bryan said he was not satisfied that enough would be done over the next two years about unemployment among locals.

Speaking about the official opposition’s approach to the budget, Miller said that he and his colleagues would be focused on ensuring that where they recommended government allocate extra cash for priorities, such as education, they will also recommend where in the spending plan the administration can cut expenditure to fund it.

“We intend to make constructive alternative uses of the resources projected to be collected by the government, that is the $730.7 and $722.8 million as stated in the budget documents.  For example, when we suggest that resources should be increased in a particular area like education, we will recommend equal reductions in other areas,” the opposition leader stated.

Miller said that as they contribute to the debate later this week, the five members of the opposition would be following the theme of ‘Building a better future’ by learning from the past through a return to their founding principles. He said that local politicians should return to encouraging, demanding and demonstrating, work, conscience, character, ethics, humanity, sacrifice and principles while combining all these with good old fashioned Caymanian common sense, ingenuity and entrepreneurship.

During the budget debate all 18 members of the LA sitting in the chamber will be given two hours to make their contribution before the finance minister and the premier offer their closing remarks on the budget itself as well as the policy and thrones speeches.

The only member excluded from the opportunity to comment on the budget, for the first time in his three decades in the House, will be the speaker, McKeeva Bush, who is a member of the new coalition Government of National Unity. He will, however, have the opportunity to ask questions during the Finance Committee stage, which will follow the debate.

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Category: Government Finance, Politics

Comments (43)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    pseudo event….i swear these guys are movie actors man!? all air….

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  2. Gaius A. Diocletian says:

    Kenny, “Charity sees the need not the cause”

    • Diogenes says:

      Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus is it really you???

      Diogenes

    • Jah Dread says:

      Kenneth Bryan are you sowing a lac of depth. You need to debate and question. Find people who can explain to you or assist you in formulating questions or making recommendations. No man is an Island and most certainly there are brighter minds outside of the LA who might help you if you humble ya self Sir. You are a representative not a 2 issue politician.

  3. OneVoice says:

    Let me see who these people are form left to right , Mutt, Jeff, Dumb, Dumber & Stupider. LOL. If they could get anything done they would have done so. United they say but really divided in the end. Too many big egos not to mention bellies . LOL

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    • Diogenes says:

      *Calls elected officials dumb, misspells the word “from” uses “LOL” (twice) and clearly has no bearing on how to effectively punctuate sentences*

      Stop it people, making me giggle on Halloween night, isn’t it supposed to be scary? The only thing remotely scary is your complete and total disregard for the English language.

      Diogenes

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  4. West bay Premier says:

    Mr. Bryan you better learn fast how to be a Politician, because in politics you don’t get much done by yourself. Help the opposition scrutinize this new budget that might be better for Caymanians.

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    • Anonymous says:

      he’ll be ok….he just goes on radio every 2 weeks and spouts populist nonsense…..
      like foreclosures are his #1 issue……zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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      • Diogenes says:

        Are we really pretending that in Cayman politicians are going to be held accountable by the electorate?

        Completely leaving out the fact that the election is basically 3 and a half years away, funny.
        Diogenes

  5. Anon says:

    Foreclosures is not even a problem. Jobs may be the issue. Kenneth and other should try and understand what the relevant issue affecting the people really are.

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    • Anonymous says:

      neither are a problem….but make fine sound bites when you have nothing else to say….

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    • Chris Johnson says:

      I think sometimes the banks are making bad loan decisions but it is tough when borrowers lose their jobs. In the eighties there was a housing development corporation to assist those that could not get a loan from the banks. At one stage Ezzard chaired the board and I was privileged to serve on the board whilst Angela Miller ran the corporation. Later Dan Scott was elected chairman. It is interesting to note we had no bad debts, were the first to produce our accounts, had no audit problems and Angela ran it like a Swiss clock.
      The money was raised by issuing debentures to financial institutions. Somewhere the plot was lost the mortgages were sold to a bank and all debentures were redeemed. That was the demise of the HDC.

      Meanwhile there was no position for me when a certain obtuse West Bay politician intervened and after 16 years I was made redundant as he put his cronies on the succeeding board.

      Notwithstanding this I believe now is the time to revive such an institution to assist those in financial difficulty without resporting to handouts. There is much local talent that could ensure it is run in the same efficient manner as before.

      • Jah Dread says:

        I wonder who that obtuse politician was. ? Hmm perhaps a name that was vilified on many occasions by the writer who for the first time in a mighty long time has made a positive and necessary point, i.e. sans the comment on the obtuse politician. Thank you Mr. Johnson your thoughts are shared by many. Kudos.

      • Anonymous says:

        That obtuse person reminds me of the great one up north. If he don’t understand all the nuances of proper banking procedures due to his grade 1 level of comprehension he will stomp on it , get rid of good talent and put in grade 1.persons as himself who will merely obey his orders without asking a simple question.

  6. Goodheart says:

    The UK Gov’t would not tell their MPs to tell their constituents to do that. Come on, God bless the mother country.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    I plan to offer an alternate too. No one will take any notice of that either.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Kenneth, giving away money has been tried before and it does not work. How about telling your constituents to quit having babies out of wedlock get some skills and get a job.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Yet we don’t we see the Opposition lobbying for Standards in Public Life Bill…Heaven forbid there should be any minimum code of conduct on our double dealing, six-figure snoozing, fat cats.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    haha…can’t wait for this….
    a nations budget is always best prepared on your dining room table!!!

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  11. Anonymous says:

    This is the problem when you elect non-achieved vote pandering politicians to the LA. You can bet without a shred of a doubt that they: 1) Don’t understand how economies works AT ALL, not even high school level as pathetic as that may sound. 2) They don’t understand the private sector and its role into funding governments revenues 3) They will always promise their constituents *your* tax dollars for handouts, bailouts and give aways 4) They will never deliver on all their utopia filled promises and as a result will *always* blame a group for their continual economic failures, which generally come in the form of some sort of division, be it: it’s because of *the rich* not paying their fair share, because of *the expats*, because *of some nationalities*, because of *prejudice* meanwhile will *never* address the real reason people are foreclosing which is typically because someone buying a property they had no business buying! If you are one or two pay checks away from not servicing a loan, YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS BUYING PROPERTY!! Buying property is NOT an entitlement! No one OWES you a house! Certainly not your neighbour and your neighbours tax dollars shouldn’t be bailing out people who can’t afford their house! Tax dollars are for community and national purposes. Schools, Roads, law, security, emergency, a limited government, infrastructure etc. NOT your house, your groceries, your clothes, and just basically not just >>YOU<< in general and definitely NOT for your damn politicians to hand out like free hams.

    Foreclosures are a normal and necessary process in the private for a banks/lenders to reclaim its losses from entities not being able to service it's debt. This happens at the individual level, the corporate level and governmental/public level (see Greece, Argentina, Puerto Rico and the list goes on). This process is necessary otherwise the debt is never corrected and lending institutions would eventually collapse without this process.

    Now comes along the know-it-all/smarter-than-the-private-sector/make government pay for all the downtrodden, economic imbecile politician that will promise private sector revenues (government income) to pay for all of those who can't service their debt…

    If you want to see what perfect model countries looks like that adopts these idiotic policies, look no further than Venezuela. It's the perfect poster child for these babbling cretins that have absolutely no business being in office.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    People are not losing their homes Ellio Jr. They belong to the banks. That’s how mortgages work. If you can’t afford something, don’t buy it.

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  13. hahahahaha says:

    Where’s Kenny!?

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Why should government money be used to protect those faced with foreclosures? If people cannot fulfill their promises to their debts they should have their homes foreclosed and that should be a cheap, quick and efficient process. Anything else puts up the costs for those good honest people that have mortgages and do pay their debts.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Hope they suggest some additional funds for the enhancement of LGBT rights and the associated enlightenment of some persons.

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    • Diogenes says:

      More likely to allocate money for a public homosexual registry, I’m honestly surprised Anthony Eden and Alva Suckoo haven’t advocated for one already.

      Especially considering you’ll find many a person on these islands ( and in CNS comment sections even) that equate homosexuality to pedophilia, even though research and experts say they have no correlation.

      ( feel free to read for yourself one of many sources on the topic – http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html)

      Gays are the scapegoats for child abuse just like expats are for the any caymanian’s economic woes and the islands criminal enterprises. Let’s not forget Cayman’s not so secret history of genetic cross contamination, wouldn’t want to anger my inbred haters

      Diogenes of Cayman

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      • Unison says:

        Kevin Spacey’s weak argument: “Sure I molested a 14 year old boy but I’m gay.”

        Trust me, to associate being gay with pedophilia is NOT A FAR CRY, nor a form of homophilia. This is how Milo became gay.

        Please send us a link of your research. I would really like to see it ?

        • Diogenes says:

          Kevin Spacey confronted with a sexual scandal out of nowhere 31 years later , wrongfully used the opportunity to deflect (and to attempt to score sympathy) by coming out at the same time does that mean that all gay persons are pedophiles? By that logic any singular straight person represents all heterosexuals, shall I remind you Errington Webster and Ato Stephens among others both straight and both having assualted females or been involved with young females from this year. Feel free to show me all the cases in Cayman with gay men assaulting boys I will wait for the (nonexistent) list that you will fail to provide also how me how homosexuals are responsible for the majority of child sexual abuse and pedophilia in Cayman.

          The link to my evidence the is clearly provided in my original comment( from Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D,well known author and professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis) but feel free to provide evidence for your claims, show me all the verifiable claims and studies that correlate homosexuality and children

          If by Milo you mean Milo Yiannopoulos the gay poster boy of the Alt right movement in the US then you are just as fundamental and backward thinking as I thought. To even assume to use that nutjob shows just how insane you really are.

          Milo Yiannopoulos is the same person who:
          Encouraged his twitter followers to attack a black actress he compared to a gorilla, twitter has now permanently banned him for online harassment and bullying.
          Uses words like “Jew” “faggot”, “tranny” as insults while spewing hate filled rhetoric
          The man Calls Black Lives Matter a hate group while supporting white supremacists and claiming that blacks are “at war” with white people
          Milo is the man who publicly defends college hazing even when students die or are permanently injured
          The man Threatens and blackmails persons who disagree or argue with him
          Milo is the man who said if someone accuses you of being an antisemite you should post up swastikas to “troll” them
          The man who has said that birth control makes women “crazy and unattractive” and also compares feminism to cancer
          A man who has said that Donald Trump is the first black president of the United States

          You and Milo deserve each other, and you are a special kind of despicable hate filled human without enough common sense or brain cells to rub together
          Glad Breitbart is what you consider a valid source of reliable information
          You are the scum of the earth
          Diogenes

          • Unison - out says:

            The moderator here must be gay too or you and the moderator must be in the same bed, so I am unable to post you my views on this subject like I would to inform and contribute.

            I think they lost a contributor. Its been nice conversing with you. Bye ☺

            CNS: Unison, you don’t have to be gay to find homophobia repellant, just as you don’t have to be non-white to find racism repellant. The fact that you don’t get this is quite telling. For the record, I have no idea who Diogenes is.

            I cannot remember the comment in question but I assume I decided that it drifted too far into homophobia or was an obnoxious attack on Diogenes sexuality, which he/she has been quite open about. There are probably people who think that some of your other comments were over the top and should not have been published. You can comment or not as you like, but I do believe that you should seriously consider how you frame your opinions on the matter.

    • Unison says:

      Lgbt rights? What more rights do gay people need that they don’t have already??? ?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Marriage rights. Property rights. Immigration rights. Medical rights.

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        • Diogenes says:

          All of the above

          Diogenes

        • Unison says:

          I have no problem with the other rights. But how can marriage be a right that warrants redefinition?

          Kindly, I think before there was ever an America or UK, marriage existed. ?

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          • Diogenes says:

            You are correct the US and UK didn’t invent marriage but neither did christians. Marriage has existed in one form or another for thousands of years yet you still believe you can dictate what the parameters are based on a desert book allegedly written by 40 separate people in 66 separate pieces over 1500 years and then put together by an entirely different set of people hundreds of years later.

            Marriage from the state perspective is a legal union not a spiritual one, even in Cayman show me the portion in the law that says marriages involve “love” or “spiritual union”.

            Firstly your personally held beliefs (i.e religion or arbitrary “morals”) have no relevance in a legal debate, my entire platform remains exactly the same no matter what situation I find myself in the constitution says that every citizen has equal protection under the law and will not be deprived of rights and the government is not providing equal protection and is depriving members of the islands of rights.

            You cannot offer legal rights to one portion of citizens and not another based on immutable traits and inherent biases that is called discrimination.

            We want equality, aren’t you the one who posted about learning from others perspectives, cause you seem to be quite shit at it
            Diogenes

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  16. Anonymous says:

    So according to the news. West Bay is being short changed by the elected member being the Speaker and therefore very limited as to what he can represent.
    CNS
    What if Big Mac resigns as MLA and continue as Speaker of the House.?
    Is this even possible?

    There must come a time to stop this foolishness of picking a Speaker out of Elected Persons, since all it does is over pay one person and take away representation from the people in the in District that it happens.

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    • Anonymous says:

      If west bay is being left out it is not because mckeeva is speaker, he has the premier’s ear all the time. Don’t forget he is keeping the government together some kind of way. Mac is controlling the Premier and his minions. You forgot that or wha?

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    • Diogenes says:

      The speaker still has quite a bit of control over the proceedings of the LA and Mr Bush has gotten exactly what he wanted a nice comfy chair to look down on Alden’s slicked back hair, and the joy of being addressed as Mr Speaker for the next four years while collecting a tidy sum.

      As for the whole “West Bay being short of an MLA situation” the speaker does have a tie breaking vote (in the event that one occurs) but that isn’t really a common occurrence. Also while the speaker doesn’t have a direct influence in the debate or the voting on most bills per se, indirectly they frame the conversation. Also the speaker does have a designated portion of the process for questions and concerns as far as I am aware,

      If you want to talk about a constituency that is actually all but screwed it would be GTC, they elected a hothead who doesn’t play well with others (which doesn’t exactly get you anything in the Westminster Legislative System) , 1/18 votes ain’t gonna get you or your constituents anywhere Kenny, especially cause you’re out in the cold without an organized group around you.

      Diogenes of Cayman

      • Anonymous says:

        Sounds like Kenny is not in agreement on the “Shadow Premier” selection..

        • Diogenes says:

          He better hope that his constituents weren’t expecting him to get anything done,
          They might be sorely disappointed.
          Diogenes

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