By James M Bodden III

Our situation is not improving. The Crown is forcing us to enact taxes and give away our “life’s blood”, destroying our financial industry. The Cayman Islands cannot afford to let this happen. It has become obvious that our English overlords do not care about our country and its future.

We have been given no choice but to “ride the line” for our survival. This will involve making some difficult choices; some innovative choices. There has been mention of the introduction of a property tax; there has even been discussion of the introduction of direct taxation (income, sales tax, etc.).

The introduction of such extreme and extensive taxation initiatives will not have the desired effect. With our weakened state and diminishing middle class, such taxation will only cause our economy to teeter into complete and irreversible collapse. To throw such “blanket tax” upon the economy would be the “straw to break the camel’s back”. However, if we were to invest our time and energy into strengthening the socio-economic structure, we would not have to adhere to the childish and bullish suggestions and reprimands made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and their officers.

England does not care and they are pushing us into the corner. It is wiser for us to enact our own internal legislation to protect us from inert and indirect bullying and manipulation from “John Bull”. With the creation of a central bank and a sovereignty charge, the Cayman Islands would never be without enough money. Once we reinstitute our ironclad secrecy laws, the Cayman Islands would always be atop the financial world; as well as have more than enough money to socially revitalise the Islands and secure a vibrant and prosperous future.

A blanket property tax would only further increase the cost of property and impinge on the local homeowner, weakening our real estate and development industry, further pulling a “leg” out from under our financial industry. If we enact a “holdings” (a percentage charged to those with extensive and great financial holdings within the Cayman Islands) surcharge, as well as issuing a Cayman Islands government-backed property bond to be sold on the open market. This bond would be based on the value of all real estate property and transactions within the Cayman Islands. These bonds would be set for a repayment term of ten years, twenty-five years or even thirty years.

According to current figures, such a bond issuance could bring the Cayman Islands between CI$17 and 20 billion. This would certainly balance our books and give us enough money to revitalise every sector of our socio-economic structure. However, the private financial industry would have to create and back the bonds, which would then be issued with the guarantee of the Cayman Islands government.

Each one of these suggestions would bring the Cayman Islands billions of dollars. Our books would be balanced, our civil service would be paid, all government contracts would be paid for and there would still be enough money to secure and continually cover our social aspects such as our education and medical sectors.

If we are to take our future and salvation within our hands, we should enact such innovative policies. These ideas would not ruin our status as a financial institution and would revitalise every aspect of our economy, while giving us the ability to create new industries and further pillars to our socio-economic structure. These industries could be as simple as the sponsorship of cottage industries and small business sponsorship, or these industries could be as large as refining factories or finishing plants. Once we have the cash flow, the possibilities are near endless because with these intro-ductions, there will be countless employment opportunities.

We may be but a simple colony. Nevertheless, we still deserve respect and we still deserve dutiful leadership. These suggestions would be successful but if the same greedy and selfish attitude is continued there will be nothing that can save us from our collapse.

Are we to bend until we break?

We cannot allow this to happen.

If we use our ingenuity and foresight, with a little innovation and ambition we have the chance to securely ensure our longevity and prosperity. First, we have to stand on our own two feet and think with our own minds. The further we allow ourselves to subjugated, the further we will fall into irreparable failure. There will be many more than just our civil service with fear of unemployment and crime will swallow our islands without remorse. We can stop this but first we must stand together and think as one.