Cayman model not sustainable: former regulator
From Reuters:
"Timothy Ridley, former chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, expressed doubts about whether the government had the political will to cut a bloated civil service to maintain the financial viability of a 'no direct taxation' model.
"What we have now is not sustainable even with savage cuts in expenditure. The sooner government and the community as a whole wake up to this fact the sooner we can address the issues in a meaningful way and develop broader and more stable revenue sources," Ridley said."
This section is, admittedly, buried at the bottom of the story. Scroll back to the top of the story, and we have folk like Antony Travers saying things can continue as before. Funny that Travers can be saying things like that, given that he seems to have been panicking about the problems, for some time.
This all sounds awfully like what seems to have been happening in Jersey. The havens are hurting - and rightly so.
We are not amused, however, to see that the "independent" commission set up by the Cayman authorities to consider the request by the British government to introduce a sustainable fiscal programme was headed by an American, James C Miller III, who just happens to be linked to the American Enterprise Institute - a right wing lobbying organisation - and was Director of the US Office of Management and Budget during the disastrous period of Ronald Reagan's presidency: not exactly the qualifications needed to put public finances on an even keel. It is entirely predictable that people such as this get appointed to these posts (the old boy's network is live and kicking in the offshore financial world). Equally predictable have been the core proposals that the Miller Commission came forward with: slash public spending and resist the introduction of direct taxes.
Same old Cayman, same old monkey business. The future does not look bright for the people of Cayman.
"Timothy Ridley, former chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, expressed doubts about whether the government had the political will to cut a bloated civil service to maintain the financial viability of a 'no direct taxation' model.
"What we have now is not sustainable even with savage cuts in expenditure. The sooner government and the community as a whole wake up to this fact the sooner we can address the issues in a meaningful way and develop broader and more stable revenue sources," Ridley said."
This section is, admittedly, buried at the bottom of the story. Scroll back to the top of the story, and we have folk like Antony Travers saying things can continue as before. Funny that Travers can be saying things like that, given that he seems to have been panicking about the problems, for some time.
This all sounds awfully like what seems to have been happening in Jersey. The havens are hurting - and rightly so.
We are not amused, however, to see that the "independent" commission set up by the Cayman authorities to consider the request by the British government to introduce a sustainable fiscal programme was headed by an American, James C Miller III, who just happens to be linked to the American Enterprise Institute - a right wing lobbying organisation - and was Director of the US Office of Management and Budget during the disastrous period of Ronald Reagan's presidency: not exactly the qualifications needed to put public finances on an even keel. It is entirely predictable that people such as this get appointed to these posts (the old boy's network is live and kicking in the offshore financial world). Equally predictable have been the core proposals that the Miller Commission came forward with: slash public spending and resist the introduction of direct taxes.
Same old Cayman, same old monkey business. The future does not look bright for the people of Cayman.
posted by TJN at 2:58 am
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