Premier admits conundrum of poverty
Premier Alden McLaughlin asks Finance Committee for $2m more for NAU, July 2018
(CNS): Despite what appears on paper to be a growing economy and falling unemployment rates, in Finance Committee on Tuesday the premier accepted that more people are seeking support from the Needs Assessment Unit, as he asked the members for almost $2 million more in supplementary appropriations. In his role as community affairs minister, Alden McLaughlin told the committee that the cash was needed to meet an increase in demand, largely for poor relief vouchers and rent for people in need.
As he outlined the changes to the appropriations, McLaughlin explained that without the additional appropriations, the various budget allocations for the NAU would run out by August because of the increase in the number of people coming to the unit for help. The premier pointed to the conundrum his government faces of economic success on one hand and growing poverty on the other.
“We have a situation in the country …which is a matter of considerable concern and deserving of more analysis,” he said, adding that despite all the indications of the “vastly improved economy”, including employment levels, the number of applications for assistance to the Needs Assessment Unit continues to increase year on year. “We believe that there are a number of factors at play but there is clearly cause for concern,” he added.
He noted that the Caymanian population that is aging out of the workforce is creating a significant demand on the service as they lose their working income, and he admitted that their pensions “are grossly inadequate”.
The premier accepted that while unemployment figures suggest that things are improving, there is “still significant under-employment”.
Government has been reluctant to admit the impact that home repossessions are having. Nevertheless, the premier agreed that the increase in demand for rental support from those in need was due to that factor. “Although we don’t have the numbers, there is assistance being sought with respect to assisting with the consequences of foreclosures. All of this is putting pressure on rental demands,” he added.
More money has become available to NAU over the last couple of years, and the unit’s increased ability to assist has itself attracted more people who might have dismissed it in the past as a source of support, suspecting it would not help them. But an increase in the regular poor relief payments for those on permanent assistance might have resulted in people entering the welfare system for first time.
The requested appropriations also saw the department reshuffle cash from areas where spending was less than had been budgeted to help areas where more was needed, which, in addition to the $1.35 million for the short-term support for poor people with food vouchers and $1.3 million more for rental costs, included increases for general needs by $70,000, another $140,000 for lunch and uniforms for kids, and $60,000 for burial assistance.
Category: Government Finance, Local News, Politics
‘It’s a conundrum!’ – Economic success cannot be termed economic success if only half the population benefits, as in reality the rich only become rich off the back of the poor. Frankly amazing how all the Politicians come together to pontificate about the private life of two Caymanians, but cannot come together to find a solution for the public poverty in front of them.
1/ Vocational school.
2/ Support Caymanians to get and keep a job through training and financial support while they are in work to encourage them to stay in work.
3/ Instead of investing tens of millions of dollars in a cruise ship facility that will more than likely mainly benefit the cruise ship operators, build more affordable housing.
4/ All these companies building multi million dollar condominium complexes by law should have to invest some of their money into affordable housing where it is needed.
The Political man talks, the compassionate man acts.
And so Pam, it looks like you’re on that ATHEIST hit list of persons who are ignorant. You along with Unison are ignorant. ..lol.
This is how atheists respond when a person who mentions “god” has more intelligence and common sense than they do.
Typical arrogance thats what your seeing here 😉
Moderator, thx for placing my comment in the wrong spot
CNS: Your comment is in the wrong spot because you put it in the wrong spot. I cannot move them around.
Thumbs up for CNS! What a dick
What is going to happen when all the people in the overcrowded prison get out after serving their time and have no job to fall into? That’s another large number that will be out of work. Anyone planning for this?
If inmates at Northward learned life skills while “doing their time” it would certainly help them to gain employment, BUT, is this actually happening? If you want to reform someone, start by giving them a means of making an honest living, not just “doing time.”
And you can’t even figure out how a comment board works so you’re on the ignorant list too. Bye
With the cost of living so. high and employers not giving raises for year after year, what do you expect. I mean that’s for those of us lucky enough to have a job. Add the very poor standard of education which leaves even some of the smartest children lagging behind when they go overseas for further education. Letting in every tom dick and harry with no proper background checks, what about border control? There are only so many ways to get in to Cayman by sea because of the reef. Are these even patrolled on a regular basis/. Then there’s corruption and lack of conservation. Buildings going up everywhere – for who – the unemployed Caymanian cannot afford any of this. No control on work permits, no real efforts to get the unemployed back in the work force. Its a crying shame what has happened to Cayman in the last 10 years.
Education. Conundrum solved.
And this is set to continue because look at who is being trained to replace our current leaders. Imagine what will happen to this place if the current Opposition becomes the next Government. The quality of politician we have is about to go down, not up, no matter what you think of the current quality. When someone like Winston gets elected and goes in to tackle the issues he gets hounded out of office. As long as politicians keep politics a dirty, insider’s game (and a game within a game as to whether you’re a man and a Lodge member) and the rope so greasy no one of any reputation, ability, integrity or honesty will run for office and get into a ministerial position AND have support of colleagues to tackle tough problems, they will remain and get worse.
The current Cabinet have accurately assessed Cayman as quickly becoming separated into haves and have-nots like much of the Western world; they can see that it is driven by natural selection/human behaviour (meritocracy is not equal; better genes (nature) and parenting/environment (nurture) means you get more), and they don’t care whether you’re Caymanian or expat, they want to be one of the haves. You can’t blame them as human beings; only as politicians. Which comes first when food needs to go on their tables too?
This is where the Caribbean Strongman comes in, firing away in all directions, stirring up discontent with unworkable solutions to misunderstood, oversimplified problems shouted through loudspeakers turned up to max volume with steel pans banging down the road. Anyone with sense or education goes “oh boy…” and plans accordingly.
This is where one of McKeeva’s ideas he had many years ago would have been paying big dividends today: the creation of a Senate along the lines in Bermuda (some Government, some Opposition, some appointed by Governor), a house of “sober second thought” as they say in US constitutional theory, where respectable individuals can still have legislative impact without the demands of ministerial work or the hand-dirtying business of fighting elections Caribbean-style. It would fold them into the general group of people tasked with solving the problems of the past and present and planning for the future. That idea needs a new champion. It would put a lot of our brightest and best who are now retired to work instead of force them to sit in their armchairs and shake their heads. Some of them have been appointed to councils and commissions and what have you but this is not enough. The legislature is where the laws are made; that’s where we need better people.
A second (elected or partially elected) house is crucial for accountability in the Cayman islands and would introduce one of the only positive portions of the US political system, midterms to Cayman
Forcing our politicians to work for the entire 4 years not just the last 6 months
For too long the slim majority governments of the LA have been able to slide their agendas through the house stiffing opposition commentary and dissent, with no oversight and no checks and balances
The longer we sit and allow the legislators of the Cayman Islands to predetermine the outcome of the system behind closed doors in caucus the worse things are going to get
The majority have the right to pass laws that they please, but that does not mean we should make it easy or inconsequential for them to do so regardless of legal flaws, shortsighted drafts and decisions clearly outside of the interests of the people
First thing to do is stop asking government to raise you out of poverty. You have to DIY. Cayman has more opportunity than most places. Stop sitting by the road in a broken chair.
What’s the old saying, give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish he eats forever? We need to stop giving out fish and teach people to support themselves correctly. We also need to give the same people to opportunity to do so.
Starts with the schooling they receive… which is crap. When these kids from public school talk to me and can’t string an English sentence together you know they are in trouble. Now I’m not talking about chatting with your friends in the local vernacular I’m saying talking to someone who is obviously not of the Caribbean origin. They are not taught proper English as a way of furthering themselves in life. They can’t get a job if they can’t spell or string a sentence together in this day and age.
Why do we always having to ask the MLAs for more money to support the Needs Assessment Unit?
Here is where, I believe, government need to enforce a payroll tax every month from working Caymanians to help maintain their own less fortunate.
I don’t see anything wrong with this, and it will not negatively effect the banking and financial industry. The Needs Assessment and Social Services will have the funds available at all times.
Ya no. I don’t work to pay for someone to be lazy.
The beginning of the root then wings who is caymanians im human a person what u call urself yeh u- who deh dat tri ta feed the cayman people wid nonsense- anyweh chek dis out give them guns they shoot give them drugs they use it give them jobs they work (u ga pay me awa) get them help is a clean understanding lets work together give them protection they live peacefully and everything mentioned costs money to operate- including more permits has always been there from the beginning the service employs 80 percent of people in cayman today even those wolves in sheep clothing that has three to four jobs to live their luxurious livin wah u call dat kind da livin again…ppm has made great changes here in cayman and for all the works they all have done past and present i down wid dem bobo fa real Anyone in the whole wide world “Show Me That God Exist” the proof is in the pudding-not tricks Changes we ask betterness we seek not one but all in the entire world and how???? U telly me i andicapp awa
Huh?
That pretty well sums up the problem…
What are you talking about?
Dear God. If anyone was actually in any doubt why some people can’t grasp the opportunities they have…
Omg hahaha
ppm unity CON sortium do not, let me repeat it do not give a $#!T about you our your criminal little children full stop! What they do care about is this foreign behemoth’s agenda and every little whim or desire they have in this place. If that is not abundantly clear to you bunch of no brain Caymanians now, from what you are witnessing, i do not know what else this government needs to do to you for you to understand that. WE don’t count here anymore!
It’s truly alarming that the powers that be are only now seeing or admitting this!
There are also many on the Public Service Defined Contribution Pension Plan that are retiring on pensions that are “wholly inadequate” and so are having to join NAU line. One would think that if someone met the requirements for retirement that their pension would at least match poor relief!?
Cayman is rapidly becoming a socialist shithole. The hard working people are sustaining a bloated, lazy government.
Alden McLaughlin knows all about this and he is in on it. There is no “conundrum”.
He is not ignorant, nor incompetent, just downright bloody devious as he sells his birthright and the birthright of his people to globalist interests.
He know exactly what he is doing and he and his Lodge buddies in the echelons of power will not stop until the plan is complete.
He will not succeed. There is now underfoot a massive #walkaway movement taking place in the Western world as sensible people go back to sensible values. Corruption is being exposed daily in the showbusiness and political world as light exposes darkness.
Secret societies have no place in modern politics. It is treasonous to have an affiliation to an external power that brings your country into slavery.
If you stand for politics, you should put your own people first, especially those of lesser means who through solid education and a good support infrastructure can aspire to greatness.
Jail beckons for the members of our local cabal when the depths of their corruption perpetrated on their people comes to light.
This government is so out of touch with the people of the country it is outrageous. This is not a country of 100 million people or 1 million sq. miles this is the size of a small city yet the leadership remain out of touch with the people for which they profess great love and concern.
Perhaps someone with down to earth common sense could help them to get over their conundrum.
Someone said you will always have the poor
Lots of comments here….
Mr. Premier Keep giving funds to NAU. 2021 election is right around the corner please give it another monkey wrench for your business people and investors because you are not for the poor people okay. Amen another Mr. Ivan but include his children and wife for this hurricane season should resolve all the problems and everyone should be at the same level.
Cayman already has an apartheid system in place, just look at the schools. Expats then to stick to themselfs and have very little interactions with locals.
But then again all locals do is to gossip and spread rumours. Here expats have no rights. Locals hold all the power and can you booted of the island .
Rick, Jamaicans and Hondurans are expats too, and the government schools are filled with them!
My expat friends and my family mix quite well with locals. I don’t know what you’re going on about, Rick. The schooling situation is what it is. The government needs to put money into public school because they are failing and not everyone can afford private. However, expats and locals attend private as well.
The Caymanian people need so much that the premier and his unity government cannot provide… jobs, lower cost of living, security, more accountability & responsibility, humility, hope and REAL solutions. Again ALDEN…. stop throwing money at the social problems and use all the “intellect” of all those high paying MLA’s (including yourself), CO’s and other senior ministry personnel to change the current status quo of just giving people money so that they stop calling or bombarding you. Stop doing the same thing and pretending that things will get better. IT IS TIME FOR THE BANDAID TO COME OFF AND THE CUT TO HEAL!
“The premier pointed to the conundrum his government faces of economic success on one hand and growing poverty on the other”. Yes Mr. Premier, when your plans for economic success are for the rich, the needs of the poor will increase. Maybe, just maybe, your plans for economic success should include success for all member of our society.
We need many career MLAs to awaken to their own ineptitude and apologize for decades of charlatanism….that would be refreshing.
The only reason why the records show less unemployment is because more Caymanians are out of work and more foreigners are replacing them so with the population increase that amount of people with jobs appears to be more by percentages
This puts the whole theory that “more permits = more jobs” for locals down the proverbial toilet flush. The system is clearly not working. If you think immigration (bringing in more foreign people to the country) is the solution, you’d better start thinking about a sustainable tax base too. It’s inevitable, especially with mother legislating for its territories’ financial services industries.
Hmmmm..Donald Trump and the Brexit crew might be on to something.
Simple solution. Invest in a Vocational School.
Even simpler, enforce the immigration law including as to the provision of reasonable training opportunities.
What do you think the Community College was until the geniuses turned it into a university? I remember woodwork dept., electrical dept, auto mechanics, etc. which had the potential to train Caymanians in the skilled trades. SAD. Is work permit revenue more important than training Caymanian youngsters?
how can things change when half your budgetted revenues is derived from hiring foreighners and not your own caymanian people??????????? recipe for disaster….
Lets take a look on who is getting assistance. Group of 20’s-30’s sitting in Bodden Town, drinking anytime of day you drive by on the beach area, group of 20’s-30’s hanging out under the trees again everyday going towards NS. Are these some of the few collecting assistance? Are these the “Caymanians” we are taking jobs away from???
hope you don’t expect answers from the ppm….they are masters of doing nothing and sitting on their hands.
ok Mr. premiere, lets look at facts…the foreigners come here…live low and save high and go back home with pension and savings that multiply 20 to 100 times in their country. We poor caymanians have nowhere to go and with tge cost of living increasing every year and salaries going nowhere, what do you expect??? duh….
Something happened in Cayman that did not happen in the other Commonwealth Caribbean islands or even the other BOT’s. At some point it was decided that Caymanians are less valuable or less smart than other people and Caymanians themselves ran with that and exploited their own people.
Maybe spend some time in BVI where discrimination is quite the other way, where foreigners do not have a fair chance, or even any normal country elsewhere on earth, and you will understand how crazy and provincial Cayman seems to an outsider. Cayman is the richest country in the Caribbean!
It is tragic, and if you do not reverse it now, it will just be a little apartheid South Africa down there in a few years.
Better ask master dart before you do those type of things
We came! We saw! we subjugated! You are right.
Has it occurred to you that maybe one of the reasons Cayman is the richest island in the Caribbean is precisely because we don’t discriminate against ‘foreigners’ as much as places like BVI which have remained relative economic backwaters?
FREE CONDOMS. Help people to help themselves by not creating more persons that cannot be looked after.
11:28 Only problem you’d be giving them out to people who aren’t smart enough to understand how to use them. Don’t laugh – that’s what happened in the UK!
It’s not people having children that’s the problem but rather people finding jobs to support themselves meaningfully.
Exactly, each generation of Caymanians have less children. Couldn’t afford to have more.
Rubbish. I’ve never robbed someone because I can’t afford to live! It’s crap parents raising crap kids.
Promoting sensual desires, will only encourage more promiscuity and accidents. Rather, the help people need is a spiritual and disciplined one: learn to abstain and direct desires in a responsible and godly way.
I hope you’re joking. If you truly believe that then you are way to ignorant to argue with.
Just curious. What is ignorant with what Unison wrote? Please enlighten us.
I’ll add you to that list then. But I guess I’ll spell it out even though you obviously have a computer to google yourself.
Teaching abstinence barely works. What works is teaching people about contraception and the reality of how babies are made and how much work they are.
I’m not even going to comment on the god thing cause I don’t need god to be a decent human being. Stop relying on everyone else to make you better and make yourself better. Bye.
How about having our hordes of civil servants contribute directly to the indigent, as do all private sector employees with the premium on their health insurance payments?.
The Premie admits conundrum of poverty , and I think he likes it that way because he can depend on the poverty vote re-electing him . That how the socialist does it , keep giving free stuff and it keeps them in power .
Alden raise your people out of poverty , and maybe you would still get their vote .
How about health care as a human right! Not dependent on your income. For all private or civil servant.
Hey, how about nobody having to contribute to their health premiums/co pays? Why do wingnuts always have to race to the lowest common denominator? This is one of the main causes of the income discrepancy issue and need to increase the NAU budget.
Yay. Free healthcare! Why hasn’t anyone done it before?
Tell us again, how’s the new and improved John Gray High School coming along? There’s simply no political ownership under the alternating self-serving regimes that refuse to hold themselves to basic levels of accountability, honesty, and conflict checks. They are just as reliant upon voter handouts as those held down to receive the backsheesh.
No country has ever ended poverty or moved people to the middle class by handing them money.
You are absolutely correct, but please remember that those people living in poverty have short term AND long term needs. In the short term they need to be able to put food on the table today. And in the long term they need employment opportunities.
Yes, but the problem is the short term never seems to end for those people.
There are plenty employment opportunities. But you have to be willing to work for the wage that is being offered. It’s unfortunate but that’s how the whole world opperates. If you don’t have a skill than flipping a burger or cleaning a house will have to suffice. It does for many who also have enough to send home too.
However having the skills and /or being educated should also mean that Caymanians should have preference. Do not confuse preference with entitlements and some of you like to do.
But caymanians do have the advantage! No one in private sector wants to go thru the hassle of hiring expats but they have to!
I agree preference should certainly be given to suitably qualified Caymanians but like it or not that is an entitlement!
Problem easily solved by creating a worker shortage driving salary and productivity up!
Record permits, outrageously unsustainable PR (= status) grants, temporary ditch digging jobs for Caymanians EQUALS poverty…Aldart you’re a conundrum
Record permits = Record collection fees that return to Caymanians
Excatly! I’ve never seen a place so dependent on actual people doing work that could be done online. The more expats here keep job securities for police records, immigration etc.
The clueless unleader
This is the worst government Cayman has seen in modern times. No plan and no leadership from top to bottom. The have created wholesale poverty for natives.
Look at some of the people begging around the place..and by the way they are Caymanian born and bred…and you will see how many have been addled by hopeless parenting, failure in schools where they could not stop misbehaving and drug and alcohol abuse. They are incapable of working, don’t know what it means.
This country is in a poor state, as person are out of work and whenever they go to the Employment agencies to get full time jobs, they are only offering 4 hours per day. What can 4 hours per day do for someone when they have increasing bills and kids to feed??? Then they turn around and bring in a foreigner to work 8 hours a day with a big salary to back it.
There has to be a margined across the board on hiring foreign workers and Caymanian workers, otherwise they will be asking for even more money to feed the poor person on a continually basic.
The employment and Immigration law has to work together or its useless to have it in the country.
The poverty cycle is fueled by the myth that the government has limitless resources to bail out chosen groups from one life crisis to the next (in exchange for voting loyalty) and by an unchallenged drug transshipment industry, seemingly endorsed at high levels, that preys on the weakest in our society. What have we done to correct either in the last 20 years? How many known kingpins have been arrested and removed? There is the way it’s spun, and the way it actually is, by design. Both point to high level corruption.
They bail out who they want and pursue agendas of special interests while the majority suffer.
WAKE UP CIG!!! Take off the rose colored glasses and realize the LOCAL people are in fact NOT prospering.
And the reality is, he doesn’t give a rats a$$ about it. If you not dressed in a full suit, with a accent, he isn’t interested in helping you.
Now come election time, oh boy, nuff love for Caymanians. And the fools fall for it every time.
I know so many people out of work and it has nothing to do with age. Alden is just as lost as ever. We have 28,000 People her on work permit, all those fees should be more than enough to take care of the 3,000 retired elderly. The problem is that as the economy he signs about grows it only grows by foreign labor. Look at this construction boom we are having, its quite remarkable today and yet when you drive by the worksites there are no Caymanians, with the exception of status holders. Yet young youth are left to loiter around bars all day and night clubs all night, we all know what that results in, violence of some sort. These companies should be hiring and training these young people to benefit from all of this development yet seems like we only better the lives of foreigners.
That’s a big part of the problem right there, and you nailed it. As a young man, were I ever out of work, I didn’t “loiter around bars all day….”. I found work. Wasn’t always the work I wanted and never the pay I thought I deserved, but it was work and I worked my way up.
I see (mostly) men of all ages just hanging around, bemoaning their terrible lot in life, and I feel for them, because they seem to be caught in a trap of their own making: They get a lot of help from NA, and if they work, that amount is deducted from their dole. That’s an awful incentive to find work. We need a structured program to help people to get off the dole, to build meaningful lives and if that means NA support while they work, I’m all for it, as long as it doesn’t go on forever.
I see several apparent able-bodied people doing nothing. I think a significant amount of those would like to have good jobs, and would work to keep them. Sadly, I think a minority of them have no real ambition nor desire to work at all.
Many of these people, young and middle age don’t want to work! They would rather hang out under a tree and sell drugs than to wake up every day and go to work. Further, they claim poverty support and collect payments from the NAU every month. It’s a mess and I don’t know what the answer is but handouts to what old Caymanian called “hard back” people is encouraging laziness and adding to the problem.
It’s a way to buy votes legally.
And the poverty will unfortunately continue. There are numerous reports that have been published in the past, which have not been fully acted upon by previous administrations and the current administration. Here are some factors:
1. When most private sector employees retire, they do not have adequate/affordable health insurance coverage – hence they come to NAU to apply for CINICO.
2. When employees retire they have inadequate pensions to cover their regular monthly bills – hence they come to NAU to apply for food vouchers, rental assistance, etc
3. Caymanians hire foreign nationals, who are willing to work for minimum wage – which in Cayman is basically way below poverty level. This is the biggest factor on why Caymanians are coming to NAU. Many of our politicians and senior civil servants either run businesses or are associated with businesses that have foreign nationals working at the lower end of the wage scale. Do we need to name names and businesses????
4. There are many, many able-bodied Caymanians receiving NAU assistance who are willing to work – prime example is on Cayman Brac – just look who is working on the road crews (great programme that allows people to work 3 days per week and they are doing a great job). I give full credit to the Honourable Moses I. (Trump) Kirkconnell for this programme.
5. Inept senior leadership at the Ministry level. The prior Chief Officer was truly a disgrace – one who never should have been in charge of the Ministry that oversaw NAU . . . and thankfully after her woeful appearances before PAC she decided to retire. Then previous Minister was an ineffective leader . . . and thankfully the voters of his district recognized it and voted him out.
6. NAU management lacks leadership to effectively run the unit. Cannot stand to see the Deputy Director constant deflecting/misleading answers pertaining to NAU rental assistance. Let me clarify this for the public – most of us landlords are reluctant to rent to NAU sponsored-clients because 1. NAU/Client do not provide a deposit. 2. NAU does not keep its commitment in line with the contract it signs – intending to mean that the rent is late, late, late, sometimes just a couple months, and sometimes 4, 5, 6 months. And if you don’t believe this, then do a full audit just on the NAU Rentals – oh and publish the results – won’t happen. This is a challenge/dare for you NAU Deputy Director, go ahead get an independent audit done (hey Mr. PAC Chairman hope you reading this, you need to look at NAU more closely).
7. Banks are not to blame for foreclosures, period. No bank wants to be in the business of foreclosing on homes and trying to recoup their money. Go ahead ask senior management, ask the board of directors, they prefer that people with mortgages to continue making their monthly payments. I personally know a number of people who have went thru the foreclosure process and in each instance the bank gave them months and months, sometimes years to make a concerted effort to work with the client.
When you as a client sign your mortgage papers, you need to understand what you are signing. The language is there in your papers – talks about interest rates. But let us not fool ourselves, most people when they get a mortgage just want to know what their monthly amount will be. A number of these same person will be amongst the crowd who will elect to skip a payment at Christmas and some will simply add on their house insurance year after year. If they are young enough they will go to the bank to extend their loan for a longer period. And how many ever make additional principle only payments?
Many live beyond their means, too “big eye”.
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS #1- Enact legislation that mandates that private sector employers provide Health Care Coverage for employees when they retire – i.e in the same manner that Government covers their employees in retirement with CINICO.
#2 Enact legislation to prevent taking out pension funds early for this thing or that thing or to quit stop making contributions for a period of time. The more your raid the pension fund or delay contributions, the less you will have upon retirement – duh!
#3 No easy solution, as politicians would rather receive work permit fees for minimum wage foreign nationals and support Caymanians with NAU assistance.
#4 Create programmes like Moses Trump did on Cayman Brac – people from Grand Cayman are coming to the Brac to look for work on the temporary, part-time road crews.
#5 Having a strong leadership team at the Ministry level is vitally important – time will tell if the current Chief Officer/Minister will be proactive in providing solutions
#6 Ministry needs to select those who have significantly more personnel management experience. Mr. PAC Chairman has previously done a fine job in his inquiries about NAU and Social Services programmes in general – but I suspect that the Unity Team is not acting upon any of his findings, just because of who he is.
#7 Banks need to stop the “skip a payment at Christmas thing” this is contributing to part of the mortgage problem.
Okay naysayers/critics, now tear my blog apart, you all know that what I say is true.
You are spot on, don’t give a rats behind what the naysayers have to say. They are the biggest part of the problem.
Good Points Bro
All good points. I take exception with the “Moses Trump” — I think that’s an unfair characterisation of a man who works hard for his country.
I agree with everything you’ve said. The minimum wage is a joke. Yes, raising it will cause other costs to rise. We must do it. We must make the minimum wage a living wage; only then will we begin filling formerly WP positions with Caymanians.
The higher costs will be worth it several times over.
Yes people need a more livable wage BUT the reality of the situation is that even at the minimum wage level employers can hire a college graduate looking to frolic in the beaches of Cayman for a couple of years. This is a scenario nothing in the system or laws is capable of addressing because it is the right of the business to go with the highest skillset it can buy at a certain price. The only susatainable way to address this is to have a higher level of education and skills training amongst the local population.
Good points but you missed one… the community affairs minister (aka the Premier) needs to resign!
@5:24 excellent post.
“Caymanians hire foreign nationals, who are willing to work for minimum wage – which in Cayman is basically way below poverty level. This is the biggest factor on why Caymanians are coming to NAU.”
So much to be said on those lines. The incidents of homes not making ends meet are piling up. Sadly, many Caymanians hace to relocate to another country.
Well FINALLY our Premier agrees that the bustling economy which he and the rest of his so called Unity Government formed. Now see that CAYMANIANS are not benefitting from its success. And look who is sitting next to him. The newly appointed Chief Officer Ms. Teresa Echenique, who after seeing my post on FACEBOOK when she was appointed acting Chief Officer in The Ministry Of Community Affairs. After the out going Chief Officer left and didn’t have the common decency to reply to my email or telephone call. Who last end of September made 2 calls to me and on the 2nd call got ahold of me. We spoke for almost 30 minutes and I explained my current job situation and housing, food, CINICO INSURANCE COVERAGE. I was assured by her Ms.Teresa Echenique that I would have no further issues getting the much needed assistance I require from NAU.
Oh my, She has quoted nothing but POLICY since then to me. I also reached out to Ms. Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, Mr. Bernie Bush, Mr. Capt. Eugene Ebanks, Mr. Austin Harris. The Director of the NAU, and Deputy Director of NAU. Harris promised to meet with me to discuss my dire situation. No meeting has ever taken place. Instead he belitted me via emails, questioned me and never have addressed the promised meeting. Your last doctors medical report that was sent to the NAU. Deems you fit to work and that is what we expect you to do work. Even after a letter was written by one if my doctors at THE HSA detailing my health issue. Am a born CAYMANIAN who has been living with the HIV VIRUS for almost 6 years, am UNDETECTABLE.
I was assited for3 years and then all of a sudden EVERYONE IS QUOTING POLICY. I’ve been looking fir a job during that time. But no company, nit even CI GOVERNMENT will hire me. I’ve aired my concerns about being DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. Even filed a complaint with The Human Rights Commission against the NAU, COMMUNITY AFFAIRS MINISTRY, CAYMAN AIRWAYS. Only to be told via email my HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE NOT BEEN VIOLATED. So here it is, this is how I have been treated.
This is an open invitation to Ms. Wendy Ledger to do a full interview with myself. I have the emails and letters to backup my inhumane treatment. Even have a letter signed by The Director of the NAU stating I can no longer be given, housing, food and that my CINICO INSURANCE COVERAGE HAS TO BE REVIEWED EVERY 3 YEARS.
AM fit and willing to work, but am being DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
Thank you kindly,
Chet Oswald Ebanks.
You tell them old boy. You have all that debt to pay cuc too for cutting off your light 3 years.
Kenneth Bryan should have addressed the issue of unemployed individuals being able to withdraw from their pension fund until they secured employment. Once employed they would have to increase their contribution. I wonder if it’s too late to address this matter?
Mr Premier please consider allowing individuals with Private Pension Funds access to some funds on a monthly basis with the written agreement that once they’re employed, they will have to increase their contribution. This would relieve some of the pressure off the Government and individuals would be able to maintain their dignity. It’s truly humiliating to be seeking handouts from Government when you have funds that you have worked for, sitting in a Pension Fund that’s losing money nearly every quarter.
Relieves the pressure now but creates more ongoing pressure to make those increased payments and more pressure when at retirement age they don’t have anywhere near what they should have had if they hadn’t taken it out in the first place.
A dangerous request! If a person has no pension when they get old, who will pay for it ??? Think!
I think that one of the reasons for an increase in applications to NAU is persons with Police Records being unable to secure work to take care of themselves. The family members help but they have their own bills etc to take care of. The Government is hesitant to give persons (who have private pension), access to their funds because if they do there won’t be enough to maintain them upon reaching retirement age. Mr Premier people need to eat today, need a place to live today, need to send their children to school today, they can’t worry about reaching retirement age as with the stress of living here in Cayman, we won’t live to see 65!!! Just saying.
Oh dear.
What everyone knows is that in the past, when Banking was just getting started, interest rates were low. Cost of living was reasonable, because land prices was going up. The law didn’t dictate health insurance, besides “it not enough to pay medical bills”. Of course if you have pre-existing “you not going to make it”.
House insurance went up 2 times more expensive after “Ivan”. Vehicle insurance went up 3 times. School fees are climbing every year. Then you retire or you try to retire at 65 and get out of that job so the youth can gain that opportunity of higher wages.
But you didn’t pay pension, not enough time. No worries, your parents left behind land or businesses. But competition is fierce for some businesses. Because Government always looking for more revenue, they keep increasing another fee with more beauracracy to curtailed that much needed retire money. When another new law which is slowly slipping through the crack too add more Caymanians begging from NAU. Environmental council has gained power to force you to sell swampland because they will not allow any development. They are the only people who will buy the property at the lowest price possible. Sad, so no inheritance for the next generation. Where are the MLA’s? You all need to fix this!!!
MLA’s won’t fix squat. They are making sure they use their positions to secure their own wealth so when the time comes for them to walk away they will have NO reason to look back or around for that matter. They will be set and perched high on their nest while we flop around in the grass looking for worms.
If Alden McLaughlin actually cared for his people over his Lodge affiliation, there would be fewer complaints. He does not care, it is obvious and his country folk are crying bitter tears of discontent.
Sir, I have no idea what you intend to do, but the least you can do is reach out to your brothers and sisters born and bred. Your tenure as Premier has yielded no benefits for your people.
Perhaps the lobbyists and special interests are doing well, but I can assure you, only a limited subset of your population are actually prospering.
Please get off your high horse and get back down to the people level. By the way, your Lodge affiliation has been incredibly destructive for Cayman. I would suggest that you openly apologise to your people and remove your affiliation to this Luciferian organisation.
Anyway, by way way of my post at least everyone knows where you stand. Shall we talk about the part where you got in the coffin to be raised to life anew?
No, I thought not. And you are the leader of our nation? SMDH.
No, Dave. He isn’t the leader. He is just a pretender. Leaders are very, very scarce here.
Young Caymanians, particularly boys/young men must work towards becoming skilled in a particular field. That doesn’t mean everyone must become a CPA, Lawyer or Doctor but focus more on Tourism, Management, Education, Mechanics/Engineering..Earn that degree/award/certificate in what ever you’re interested in and where work/career is feasible in Cayman. Improve Customer Service Skills.
Government should do more to protect Caymanians from being overlooked for posts they are qualified to do. Also, if some Caymanians, not all, would improve their work etiquette and respect time, companies wouldn’t mind hiring local. If hiring local leads to lower productivity compared to hiring expats you cannot blame the companies. We would all want the best people working for us… na no Driftwood bo bo
poor alden…..so many questions…and no answers
Thank you Jesus that our Premier is finally beginning to see the light. Now if we can now get him to understand that it is true that Caymanians are being discriminated against in the work place and in our endeavors to find employment. Mr Premier we are not given a fair chance. Please remember that regulation 6 is still being trampled on and immigration laws are being abused. It is still true that employers will bring in outsiders to fill their positions instead of hiring Caymanians . You should be a fly on the wall in some of the interviews and see how they even change the requirements during the interview if it seems like the interview is going in our favour. Mr. Premier we need your understanding in this. Some of us are getting desperate and might I add very angry. Help us here and you wont have to help us at NAU.
The guy is out of his depth and needs to resign.
He is controlled by Moses plus the merchant or corporate class that funded the campaign and Kurt & Big Mac. A legacy of political failures. He’s done nothing to help the average Caymanian. Think about that when you next drown your sorrows.
Alden, Kurt and Big Mac, three of a kind, except two have a bit more finesse. There will be a special place in hell for the bunch of them. As for the merchant class they have been stealing from the common folk from the days when they had to depend on them to wash and iron their clothes, rake their yards and coo their food. I hope they realise that all of their slave master habits and wrong doings will be held against them and when they leave this earth all of their ill gotten treasures will be left behind until time for it all to turn into chaff.
Think about it when you next cast your vote!!
You can say what you wish about Mac as he’s not perfect but he looks out for the people of his District as well as persons from any other District as a matter of fact. The majority of development going on now is due to decisions made by him years ago. If it wasn’t for him there would be no Ritz Carlton, Camana Bay or Kimpton just to name a few. Give him his due as I said he’s not perfect but with him as Premier Caymanians were not in the state we are today!! Go on and bash me now, idc as the truth is the truth!
Ask yourself why there are so many Caymanians leaving to go to England where they are employed ir in school and doing very well?
And of the total work force at those locations what is the percentage that is Caymanian? A professional and independpent government entity should collect and publish such data.