COMMENTARY

Commentary: NHIP referendum before it's too late Published on Friday, November 13, 2009 Email To Friend    Print Version By David Tapfer The answer to the health care debate is obvious. It cannot go forward because we simply cannot pay for it. We must vote it down. This is the Titanic racing at breakneck speed towards the iceberg. The passengers know it and it is time for them to vote on putting the ship’s controls into reverse… right now! David Tapfer is a retired, US-born engineer and management executive. He is married to Yvette Robinson, a TCIslander born in Middle Caicos and raised in North Caicos. They have a home in Conch Bar, Middle Caicos. He is also the chairman of the Middle Caicos Branch of the opposition Peoples Democratic Movement. According to TCI budget crunchers, we are going deeper in debt every month and they are relying on the tourist season to wipe out the year to date $5 million additional deficit but only if tourism revenues are adequate, a big “if” by any standard. Hopefully, the fiscal year 2009 ending March 31, 2010 will come out even. This despite massive budget cuts and no pay down of the existing $135 million debt. This debt is just lying there, killing the creditors and, like a dead fish, it is getting no better with age. The fact is, if the $135 million was paid, most of it would stay in this country and be back in circulation. According to the government releases, the new health care plan will add $5 million per month to the payables. This will start in April as we move away from the tourist season into the summer months of lean public revenue. We will not be able to pay the health care bills unless we lay off enough government employees or increase taxes enough to raise the monthly $5 million -- fat chance. How can we pay for it? Through taxes? Let us examine this. The $60 million cost per year amounts to a yearly charge of $5,500 for every man, woman and child in this country who is a Turks and Caicos belonger. A family of four will pay $22,000 per year. Even if this is spread among all legal residents -- mainly work permit holders -- it amounts to almost $2,000 per person. A family of four, on average, will be paying $8,000 per year for a system that cannot provide the preventative measures of mammograms and pap smears. If real estate taxes are introduced, it will not be the legal foreign workers who will pay, it will be property owners, Turks and Caicos Islanders and expat home and condo owners. Goodbye to them if that comes to pass. It matters little how the British assess the taxes, income taxes, real estate taxes, business taxes, co-pays, whatever, if this monster goes forward, everyone in this country will have to pay for it some way and soon. The PS of Finance, Delton Jones, reports he has been attempting to find someone to pick up the present $135 million old debt. Since our expenses cannot be met, it is doubtful he will be able to find anyone to refinance us because we could not make the payments. By April of 2011, we will have added $60 million more and debt will approach $200 million with little prospect of being paid back. To have any chance of bringing this country out of the financial quagmire the former government has left it in, we must have a referendum and stop this NHIP in its tracks. Never mind the penalty, we cannot pay it either. Every lawyer worth his salt knows it is pointless to chase a defendant who is already deep in debt. Ask Delroy Howell of Southern Health Network. Fat chance he will ever get his punitive $16 million. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the British Labour Party government may be hiding this debacle under the rock of continuous discussions until after their election. If so, shame on them. Douglas Parnell has sounded the call…. “Referendum now!” Let us slow down this Titanic monster before it sinks and us along with it. This Titanic called NHIP is captained by Chairman John Smith and if I recall correctly the original Titanic, which the British said could not sink, was captained by a Smith also.   Reads : 360 Back... Comments: No comments on this topic yet. Be the first one to submit a comment. Back... Send us your comments!   Send us your comments on this article for publication in our Readers' Forum or as a Letter to the Editor. All fields are required and in the interest of openness and transparency we will no longer accept anonymous submissions. We therefore request that all submissions include a name for publication, regardless of content. We will in special circumstances protect a writer's identity only after we have established good cause for anonymity, otherwise we will not be able to publish the submission. For your contribution to reach us, you must (a) provide a valid e-mail address and (b) click on the validation link that will be sent to the e-mail address you provide.  If the address is not valid or you don't click on the validation link, it will be a waste of your time typing your submission because we will never see it! Your Name: Your Email: (Validation required) Comments: Enter Validation Code *