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In support of Sweet Pea

The private sector pays enormous sums of money to cover their healthcare. I pay 50% of my healthcare, my portion of which amounts to approximately $260 (this is my rate as a fairly healthy non-smoker) and my employer pays the other 50%. Therefore, on an annual basis, the healthcare provider receives over $6,000 from me. This does not include my husband or dependants.

Trimming the fat (literally)

While I follow the current heated debate whether the size of civil servants can be reduced or what austerity measures can be implemented to save the government a buck or two, I must say that among all things that come to mind, the continuous 100% health care coverage for all civil servants AND their dependents is what bugs me the most.

How money movement creates revenue for government

Let’s look at a day in the life of a single Cayman dollar bill. As our smallest valued paper currency it doesn’t seem like much but as you will see it packs quite a punch: Transaction 1 - It begins in the early morning when the dollar wakes up and goes to the coffee shop to be used in part of the purchase of a cup of juice and a newspaper. It goes into the cash register.

Minimum wage

I don't think the pros and cons of a minimum wage have been well discussed in Cayman. I have an opinion but I haven't seen a good logical argument made for either side of the debate. Perhaps this is a good time to start. My quick and somewhat disorganized opinions: A livable minimum wage will have no negative effect on our ability to compete for foreign income, i.e. offshore finance, tourism, hospitality, property management, construction.

Country First

As I listen to the discussion over the past couple days and I hear the criticism of the independents not acting in a manner or with the expediency that some of the public seem to want or feel entitled to, it really makes me wonder if we, the public, are being reasonable. I say this because: 1) Roy, Winston and Tara have never been greedy, nor are they doing this for personal gain.

The trouble with 'Miller time'

Ezzard Miller has done a few good things as an opposition member over the past few yeas, but his actions immediately after last week's general elections have resulted in an opposition which will likely fail to meet any expectations of effective checks and balance on the PPM government.

The importance of a strong opposition

With a decisive win in this election, the Progressive party is now able to form a strong government. Once a speaker is chosen from the House (Ezzard Miller or Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, perhaps), they will have a clear majority on the government benches and be able to move forward with their policies without having to haggle in a coalition government. But, just as importantly, this has also given us a potentially dynamic opposition.

Don't stop the party

Wherever you stand on this morning's election results, one thing is clear: party politics is here to stay. The C4C had a good showing but truth be told there were only 4 "real" independents that won seats last night: Ezzard, Winston, Tara and Roy. The others, while loosely speaking are independent, are either until recently members of a party or just individuals dominant in small or single member constituencies (such as Arden and Julie). Ezzard escapes that description only because he left the party system over 5 years ago.

Did women really get the vote in our own right?

I was chatting with a friend on the weekend; this is a friend who is voting for the very first time in Cayman. Both she and her husband, after nearly 20 years here, have now been granted status, become naturalized and have signed on to the electoral roll. This particular friend told me that she was at home alone the other night and heard a knock on the door. When she answered the door, there stood one of the political hopefuls in the upcoming election. 

Cayman flip flop

As a first time voter, I have made a solid effort to watch, listen and read all the different debates in regards to the upcoming election – and I must say I am extremely disappointed by everyone involved. I really hoped that in this election, some candidates (whether party or independent) would have had the guts to speak the truth, but unfortunately, everyone was beating the usual campaign drum as this is just the easiest and most popular thing to do.