By James M Bodden III
The infinite line between reality and negativity is often blurred and always runs parallel to each other; meaning we often run into situations where a negative situation is a real one. We are in such a scenario at present. With the increased fees and increased indirect taxation; this will create a rise in overall cost of living for the Cayman Islands. This means services and products will cost more; our money will have decreased purchasing power.
Our money will only be able to purchase less goods and services than it does now. The same amount of food will cost even more. Our water will cost more. Our electricity will cost more. In the end result, our local business, middle and low income populace will be the most affected by this recent change and increase.
The people will be further economically subjugated and imprisoned unless there are readjustments such as a government-mandated wage increase for cost of living. However, this may prove difficult and receive much opposition.
The many foreign companies in the Cayman Islands are more concerned about international affairs and local companies cannot afford to increase their overall business and operational costs.
At present it would seem that we have no other choice than the increase in fees, but considering that high cost of living has been an on-going and destructive problem for the Cayman Islands for decades, it certainly does not bode well that the only idea which has been offered is to raise fees. We have to make hard choices and focused decisions.
The Cayman Islands have allowed itself to become too exploited and too over-stretched to continue with the same system. It would be safer to internalize and concentrate our overall financial and economic system by re-engineering our current system to earn a justified benefit from our economy. The Government; more so, the people need to have more input, cooperation and oversight regarding the development and direction of the Cayman Islands. Tourism depends on the sight and feel of a place and more importantly, the price.
If Cayman allows all of its natural beauty and exuberance to be smothered by development and commercialization; combined with increase in expenditures, then we will lose our tourism product and industry. This will create a domino affect as all dependent and correlated economic subsets collapse with the loss of one of its main pillars.
With the money earned and the inevitable economic upswing, balance will be found, but a balance at the new level; the middle income sector will become smaller while the high and low income sectors exponentially increase.
With the middle income sector gone, the economy will destabilize and weaken as the rich pilfer the economy and the poor drain it. This economic situation will only hasten the overall collapse of the socio-economic structure. The truth is, if we do not learn from our reverberating mistakes we will lose the Cayman Islands, its people, its culture and history forever.
It is not a matter of being a “doomsayer”, however, it is a matter of being proactive. If our society is continually exploited and disregarded we will have no other choice but to impede certain behavior and liberties of the overall society to ensure longevity of the Cayman Islands. It is either that or lose the Cayman Islands altogether.
We have the chance to foster an ideology of restraint, foresight and conservation, allowing (with time) our structure to recuperate and strengthen or we can continue the same wasteful behavior.
We do need private cooperation and inclusion but we need to use this relationship to rebuild our social structure. Education makes a country great.
Healthcare makes a country great. It is not just dollars and cents and appearances which make a country to be proud of; we have to think proactive, not just reactive.
From great thought comes greatness. We have the chance to reinvent ourselves and create a gorgeous and prosperous society. It is obvious that the old ideas are not working and antiquated. To survive, we must change and to change we must think differently.
We must challenge the old bureaucracy and the old adages. Times are much different and we must come to terms with the changes and catch up with them. We have been lucky, we have been blessed, but we can continue with such if we learn and realize that we must first acknowledge our situation and then come to terms on how we can move forward.
This message is not to depress or castigate. We have to be honest and realistic because the infinite line between negativity and reality has certainly been blurred and the only way for our vision and path to be clear again is one way. That way is proactive thought. | 
