We Need Structural Reform

Today we are giving over Gef to you our readers.

Throughout the day, we will be running a series of articles which reflect the challenges people on our island are already facing ahead of a a rise in fuel bills and others costs heading into the winter months.

We are doing this because tomorrow sees CoMin meet before all Tynwald members gather for a behind closed doors discussion on what to do to help people on our island.

We hope members read these articles, they are after all the experiences of their constituents and our fellow islanders. You can also email your MHKs and all members of Tynwald with your feelings, thoughts and concerns. All their email addresses and some of their phone numbers can be found here.

The following was submitted by a former business leader who is having to fall back on savings and has concerns over the state of the island’s finances.

Like so many I have serious concerns about the lack of transparency around the island’s finances, direction and future. It looks dire 

 Cost of living crisis was somewhat preventable if action had been taken years ago to prevent things like lack of local sustainable food and energy whilst government was in pursuit of attracting businesses such as e gaming who are fickle to market swings and flee to other jurisdictions when better tax incentives or affordable and desirable living  arrangements for their staff are found 

We have become a one trick pony in the quest for attracting new business instead of culturing things like wave and wind energy firms and becoming a gold standard of embracing our natural capital resources and capitalising on out Unesco biosphere recognition  Chasing our tail and going down the same pathways because that is the way we have done it before needs to go -It does not work 

We have followed the UK and other countries in privatising  things which if in the public hands would be of more benefit to the long term living standards of the island.  Utilities are a large example of this   

Shocking when local companies fold and the government has no idea that they were struggling  

There are many of us myself included who started up businesses years ago  and due to onerous bureaucratic nonsense self funded a start up. Personally mine failed during the first lockdown I was not eligible for any support. Had zero funds from the government and sunk over £200, 000 into it and now trying to rebuild a life with only sparse savings left and a paltry pension from offshore paying tax in 2 countries. Because I don’t receive my pension from UK or here I am not eligible for any programs and when my savings which are now depleted are gone I have limited options really other than to rejoin the workforce or leave  -some friends in similar circumstances are contemplating taking their lives as they have nothing and feel abandoned and are depressed but cannot get care.

Gov bungled COVID with the toxicity of failed leadership and have now adopted the UK idea of no testing and letting it rip -forgetting that many illnesses can have long lasting effects with some not appearing for years such as post polio syndrome and ME  etc.  As a small community some ideas are not scalable 

Many are now faced with Heat, eat and health. Heating is not affordable nor are electrics broadband and cell service and rents are skyrocketing because of supply and demand not because landlords costs have significantly increased when most tenancies do not include utilities. 

Eating is going to be a balance of affordable foods which help sustain health versus less quality foods which satisfy hunger only but filled with fats and preservatives and sodium so will lead to more health related issues like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Heath eroded through disease caused by COVID -long term and short term and our workforces that are disabled will rise becoming more of a burden on the public purses but they continue to apply the wash your hands and we don’t have lots of LC cases  (they really don’t know the numbers yet). 

Paying for basic things like test kits to keep each other safe is appalling  but then they don’t want anyone to know the prevalence of disease but for what end I don’t know.  What will be next ?  High costs for diabetic testing…blood tests for other illnesses?

Salaried employees get pay rises for a job well done… government employees get pay rises  regardless of infective controls.

Spending a million pounds on a study by KPMG which is basically a plug and play document which can be used in many jurisdictions which basically gives us nothing concrete just common sense ideas was ridiculous  A research paper from a think tank or grad student would have come up with the same results at a fraction of the cost.

New boat that needed a new dock -better options no doubt could have been found.

Airport runway paving but not the needed lighting to allow more landing in poor visibility and a group of ATC and airport staff that just quit as their shift times are done instead of ways to have flexibility to accommodate longer hours due to transport delays. 

Vanity projects need to be stopped and more common sense projects which are beneficial to the public interests need to be brought forward  The Prom is an example of poor planning poor oversight and tribute of how not to run a major project   How many more things have gone by the wayside   Water pipes and aging sewer pipes, discharging sewage into the sea, roads in sad state of repairs…list is endless 

Extending a license to CROGGA to further drive climate change downward  by gas /fracking exploration  is pandering to a select few who make money and don’t have any regard for the community   It goes against the entire idea of being a biosphere and I am not buying into the notion they will build a wind farm ….let them build that first as a condition of revisiting the license. 

There needs to be a complete rethink by government and about government   It is top heavy and frustrates business growth and function by interdepartmental bickering and the constant meddling in running businesses instead of setting the regulations and doing audits not stepping into the shoes of management.  

Summary.  

Interim Support needs to be extended regardless of source of pensions or incomes and include things like a food “stamp” program reduced gas and electric tariffs and access to testing and booster shots and lower tariffs on communications.  We need a healthy population to survive and move forward.

Healthcare needs to be more holistic and available  -to bring in private consultants to provide care costs far more than just pounds it erodes what we already have  

The vast underground economy needs to be assessed and ways to tap into more tax collected even if just an annual fee. We cannot continue to have a large part of the  population making a lot of cash  some of them in community housing or getting other benefits 

Caps on rent increases as well as some of the restrictions to tenants such as no sharers, DHSC or pets and children. These restrictions border on human rights infringements  

The way a country treats it’s people is often the tipping point of a company looking to relocate I give us an “f” right now 

Everyone deserves a living wage so pension/benefits  support top ups  regardless of source are needed to offset the current levels of increased costs until permanent solutions can be found and implemented 

Focus on sustainability and embrace what we have -Eco tourism made Iceland a world leader and drove their economy up but they failed to also look at complimentary business to avoid becoming a single economic source nation 

If we look to tourism as a draw,  people will only travel if affordable and safe to do so and it  provides something unique….golf holidays, nature walks, diving, history, in a vibrant country with accommodation and a population that is engaged.  

Long term the root causes need to be addressed and remedied to bring the cost of living down and then support can be also reduced.  

We cannot let our poor or sick  or disadvantaged or aged population die with no heat, no electrics or food suffer or die. This is not humane at all.