Daily Archives: April 23, 2017

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The social entitlement programmes promised by all the political parties are worthless unless we get our fiscal house in order, a leading governance reformer urging: Grow the economy, shrink the Government.

Robert Myers, a principal with the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), told Tribune Business that the Bahamas needed to set targets and timeline for reducing the size of Government.

Calling for privatisation, semi-privatisations and public-private partnerships (PPPs) to tackle the Governments biggest loss-making entities, Mr Myers said this - rather than increased social spending - was the answer to the growing $7 billion national debt.

We can talk about National Health Insurance (NHI) and all these entitlement programmes; it doesnt matter, he argued. If the country goes bankrupt and does not have the money to pay for these programmes, its all mute.

Its a waste of time to talk about social programmes or entitlements until we get the fiscal house in order. Its laughable and irresponsible for any responsible MP or leader to suggest otherwise.

Unless that order happens, we will go under. Its not a question of if; its a question of when if we carry on like we are. The statistics show that. We have low GDP, and increasing crime and increasing unemployment.

Despite a net $756 million increase in revenues over 2015-2016 due to Value-Added Taxs (VAT) implementation, the Government has continued to run $300 million-plus annual deficits and overshoot its fiscal targets by huge nine-figure sums.

The Government has blamed the deficits for the current and 2015-2016 fiscal years on Hurricanes Matthew and Joaquin, which is part of the story, yet Central Bank of the Bahamas reports continue to note increased spending on NHI and the likes of the Public Parks and Beaches Authority.

And, despite blasting the Ingraham administration for adding $1.5 billion to the national debt between 2007-2012, the Christie government has exceeded this with $2 billion worth of red ink, despite its VAT revenue advantage.

The PLPs 2017 election action plan makes no mention of the fiscal deficit and national debt, and how it plans to tackle these, and Mr Myers said: Any party that does not have that as the number one issue on its agenda is not worth voting for.

If its not at the top of their agenda, then theyre pulling the wool over the Bahamian peoples eyes. They can talk about all these programmes they want to implement, but theyre worthless if we dont get the fiscal house in order through accountability and transparency, a Freedom of Information Act, a Fiscal Responsibility Act and a State Sectors Act.

The latter piece of legislation was introduced by New Zealand, a country widely seen as a fiscal reform model to emulate, in a bid to improve public sector management, governance and efficiency/service delivery.

Mr Myers warned that the Governments ever-increasing hiring and expansion was only digging a deeper and deeper hole.

It shows a complete lack of understanding and accountability, he told Tribune Business. With all that hiring, our position is not getting any better.

Its absolutely reckless and irresponsible to do that. We need to get more productive without people. We have to shrink Government and grow the economy. Its growing the economy, not how you grow the Government.

If they [the political parties] dont get that, they have no business being in power, being in Government. Anyone that says different doesnt understand the reality of the situation. They just dont.

Tribune Business previously revealed how the Christie administration has increased the civil service by a net 4,500 persons since taking office in 2012, a development that explains where a sizeable chunk of VATs net $756 million revenue rise is going on an annual basis.

And, in recent interviews, constituents of Prime Minister Perry Christie and Jerome Fitzgerald, minister of education, science and technology, have both revealed how the two men have secured jobs for themselves and their family members within the public sector.

Mr Myers said the Bahamian economys anemic growth since the 2008-2009 recession, with GDP expanding by less than 1 per cent per annum, and even contracting in 2014 and 2015, was the root cause of much of the countrys problems.

The problem is the economy is shrinking, he told Tribune Business. Youve got to grow your economy and reduce the size of Govt, so we can be more competitive.

Lets shrink the size of Government over a defined period of time, and PPP, privatise or semi-privatise these things that are causing the Government massive losses, like Bank of the Bahamas, ZNS and Bahamasair. Get rid of these things and the inefficiencies in government.

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Social Entitlements 'Worthless' Without Govt Fiscal Order - Bahamas Tribune

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Turning Point USA, a national conservative activist organization, received approval to form a Tulane chapter at theUndergraduate Student Government meeting on Tuesday. Ultimately, this affirmationof free speech was the correct decision while highlighting a drastic need for the university to address hate speech more seriously.

Many Tulane students, especially those that are more progressive, view this decision as a failure of the administration and student government to ensure the safety of their students. Freedom of speech, however, must never be limited. The only way to combat ideas that are viewed as outrageous is to discuss and defeat them through logic.

There is a crucial distinction between hate speech and free speech. Aside from national and state laws, the Tulane University Code of Student Conduct takes a clear stance on this issue: The University encourages the free exchange of ideas and opinions, but insists that the free expression of views must be made with respect for the human dignity and freedom of others.

Despite several instances of racist and discriminatory behavior from Turning Point chapters at other universities, Tulanes branch has not expressedhateful speech. The group claims to be focused on freedom, limited government and fiscal mattersand those claims should be respected. It is unfair to assume that the members of a conservative organization at Tulane will demonstrate the same white supremacist beliefs as other members of this organization at other universities.

An organization like Students for Justice in Palestine provides a relevant analogy. Though members of SJP at other universities have committed violent acts against Jewish people and brought explicitly anti-Semitic speakers to campus, if someone wanted to start a Tulane branch, they must be allowed to express their views. Some Jewish students, knowing the organizations capacity for anti-Semitism across the country, might feel unsafe with the groups presence on campus. But unless SJP were to crossthat line, the group shouldbe allowed to exist at Tulane.

Similar logic can be applied to anti-abortion rights groups that peacefully protest, even though it might feel like an attack to individuals who have had abortions. Unless the protesters are harming others, they must be allowed to voice their concerns.

This being said, the debate raises critical points about how we treat marginalized students on campus. The administration must treathate speech with the utmost seriousness. If it doesnt,these concerns over safety can never be assuaged.

An additional measureis creating concrete safe spaces oncampus for anyone who needsto escape hurtful words and enjoy the unityof other marginalized individuals, to protect students feelingsbut without limiting intellectual freedom. The expansion of places like the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the creation of a Muslim prayer space are important steps toward ensuring students have access to safe spaces.

Furthermore, students must join the fight against discrimination and work together to end a hostile on-campus climate toward marginalized groups.If weband together as a student body to monitor and hold organizations accountable, we are engaging in proactive and not reactive protection.

This issue may sting for students on campus who feel attacked by the expression of certain views and ideologies. Progress cannot be made in this country, or anywhere for that matter, until we create open forums to hear the opinions of others while continuing to draw an unwavering line between what is hard to hear and what is hateful to hear.

This is an opinion article and does not reflect the views of The Tulane Hullabaloo. Josh is a freshman at Newcomb-Tulane College. He can be reached at [emailprotected]

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Turning Point's Tulane chapter rightfully approved - Tulane Hullabaloo

The tenth edition of the Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index has just been released, and once again, Utah was found to have the best economic outlook of any state in the nation. The rankings are based on 15 equally-weighted economic policy variables, including tax rates, labor policy, and regulatory climate. They continue to show that states valuing economic freedom and competitiveness outperform states adhering to the tax-and-spend model, with state economic policies having a substantial effect on where businesses and individuals choose to set up shop.

Taxes matter for economic competitiveness. People and businesses often seek out lower tax burdens across state lines. Rich States, Poor States data shows states that keep taxes low, avoid job-killing over-regulation, and follow prudent budget practices consistently and significantly outperform their highly taxed, over-regulated counterparts. Shown below are the top- and bottom-ten states in terms of economic outlook for 2017. Over the past decade, two states have made the top ten in the rankings every single year: Utah and Wyoming. In fact, after enacting tax cuts, a flat tax, and pension reforms, Utah has earned the top spot in all ten editions of Rich States, Poor States a truly impressive accomplishment. On the other side of the spectrum, New York and Vermont have managed to land in the bottom ten each of the past ten years.

This year, several states earned their best all time rankings in Rich States, Poor States. After enacting right-to-work legislation and aggressively cutting tax rates, Indiana, which sat at 24th as recently as 2012, claimed the second-best economic outlook in the nation this year. Texas and New Hampshire both also saw significant improvement in the 2017 rankings, earning their best marks to date.

By examining state-by-state migration trends, it is easy to see which states are enacting pro-growth policies. After all, Americans have shown that they are willing to vote with their feet for better economic opportunities even if it means leaving their home state. The top-ten states in the 2017 rankings have gained more than 3.75 million residents in the past decade. The bottom-ten states, meanwhile, have lost more than 3.78 million residents over the same period. In addition to experiencing a mass exodus of residents, states with oppressively high tax rates such as New York, Illinois, and California have lost vast economic opportunities and vast amounts of wealth. Job growth over the last ten years was nearly three times higher in the top ten states than it was in the bottom ten.

When state governments enact bad policy, individuals and corporations react rationally, working less, investing less, or moving to a more business-friendly state altogether. Growth-oriented states routinely prioritize core services in their budgets while minimizing the tax burden on residents. Poorly ranked states in the Index consistently stifle growth with higher taxes and increased regulation.

Of course, tax and fiscal policies are not the only predictors of economic growth. Demographics, climate, natural resources, and other geographic amenities remain important factors in state economic growth as well. But even adjusting for these other factors, states that embrace sound economic policies vastly outperform those that dont. Coastal California may enjoy a better climate in its ten-day forecast than Texas for much of the year, but economic growth and migration patterns strongly suggest that the Lone Star State has a brighter future than the Golden State.

While free markets and low taxes enable resources to flow in a productive manner to meet the demands of consumers, markets distorted by government through cronyism, taxes, and regulation create lower output and stifle investment. In Rich States, Poor States, the 50 laboratories of democracy give us clear examples of this every year. Freedom works, and the Index proves it.

Jonathan Williams is the chief economist and vice president of the American Legislative Exchange Councils Center for State Fiscal Reform.

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Free-Market Policies & Economic Competitiveness: Business ... - National Review